Nancy Drew: Labyrinth of Lies

Nancy Drew: Labyrinth of Lies is a disappointing entry in the dynamic Nancy Drew series. Its setting had the potential to be picturesque and exotic but is neither. The entire adventure is confined to limited surroundings, with old-fashioned locations that are visually boring and minimally interactive. Its cast is hamstrung by fairly wooden voice performances, not to mention inexplicable emotional responses. (They'll yell at you to go away, and the next time you approach them they'll say, "Hello," as if nothing's wrong.) The story line isn't that thrilling and leaves several unanswered questions, with the result being a clunky back-and-forth experience punctuated by weird emotional outbursts and tedious, often arbitrarily placed puzzles tossed at gamers to expand the gameplay. Although some are interesting, the overwhelming majority are obscure.

On a more positive note, the game offers some interesting information regarding Greek mythology and art, as well as teaching players a little bit about theater craft, museum curating, and authenticating artifacts. It also has a really nice Mediterranean music score. There's a built-in objectives menu to keep track of what you're doing, but it would be nice if completed goals checked themselves off. Also, the tiered hint system is a good idea but fails when you need it most by not allowing you to skip the most infuriating puzzles. Overall, Nancy Drew: Labyrinth of Lies is disappointing in just about every way, and sadly, the best thing about Labyrinth of Lies is the trailer at the end of it teasing the next Nancy Drew mystery, Sea of Darkness.