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Amazon Stinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 18
Date: December 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I got this new Shadow Ranch game and I was installing it and it comes up: Enter disc 0 to finish installation. I don't have two discs. I think Amazon didn't put the other disc in or my computer is acting weird!

Thoughts of what could have been...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 15 / 17
Date: July 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I love the Nancy Drew games, they're great. All of them (sans Secrets Can Kill) have been a truly enjoyable experience for me. The Secret of Shadow Ranch is one of those enjoyable experiences. As stated in another review, though, it is not without fault(s).

1. The Game Screen - Call me old-fashioned, but I tend to prefer the old game screen. It could be because I prefer being able to access my items without having to open up a new mini-window to do so, but that's my take. The larger game window isn't anything amazing, but I like it well enough. I also think that having the journal and cell phone as menu icons instead of something on your computer and an item is great. So if keeping it that way is good, then I guess I can sacrifice the old item system. Perhaps they can put the item box where it used to be, but shrink it by two icons (so it's 2x1), and put the cell phone and journal on the bar, and have the same conversation system as in SSR. Just a thought (or two).

2. The Ranch Chores - ND has been making lots of progress with the feel of their games lately (actually since Secret of the Scarlet Hand), with their more organic attitude towards puzzles and activities. However, the ranch chores are annoying. Not only can you get kicked out of the ranch for doing them incorrectly (picking an unripe veggie or two?), but you do them three times during the three days over which the game transpires. And speaking of puzzles...

3. Puzzles - Now, with a lot of this game being based on a "brain-vexing" treasure hunt, this may be too far. It seems as though HI threw some puzzles in just to extend the game. Like the ranch chores, the puzzles can become annoying at times (such as a puzzle where you must navigate four magnetic beads through a maze that is partially hidden by wood). The hints throughout the game for puzzles and other such things are almost giveaways at times. I also tend to feel that Nancy shouldn't have to rely on the internet and phone friends for so much of the game, but I suppose it's less annoying that flipping through a "book" to find the info.

All in all, it was great. But these flaws are upsetting after the wonder that was DODI, which is HI's crowning achievement to date. Hopefully all that was good in DODI will return in the next installment: The Curse of Blackmoor Manor.

Not the best Nancy Drew game...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 18
Date: July 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First of all, I think that the Nancy Drew games are wonderful. The developers have done a great job in the creation of these software programs. I have met fans of these games that are young girls, elderly adults, and even urban, teenage guys. With their affordable prices, you can't go wrong with a Nancy Drew software game.

That said, this is one of my least favorite games in the series. It starts out well - Nancy takes a trip out west to a working ranch where there are phantom horses, treasure lore, historical romance, and quirky characters. The visuals are lovely and the music is fun. But, the enjoyment of solving the mystery quickly gets lost in the tedious tasks that make up most of the gameplay. There are a lot of puzzles and clicking activities that are required to complete the game. Normally, puzzles add interest and intrigue to the gameplay process. In this case, however, the sheer number of mundane tasks and procedures make the game frustrating and, often times, boring. For example, doing a detailed pixel search to find ten arrowheads scattered around the game...trying to bake a cake ten times because much of it is trial and error...playing the same gameboard on an arcade game fifteen or twenty times to receive a necessary prize, etc. Many of these tasks are built into the storyline, such as the daily chores of picking vegetables and gathering eggs. Although these activities help give the game an authentic "ranch experience", they come at a sacrifice of the actual mystery-solving. I wish that the developers had spent more time creating a multi-dimensional sleuthing experience, and less time coming up with random puzzles and trivial activities. In fact, it feels like many of these activites were added just to extend the playing time and drag out the gameplay. This is certainly a case where quantity is not better than quality.

The developers also used a new visual format to create a larger action screen. The tools and objects that Nancy uses are now in pop-up menus that are activated at the bottom of the screen. The dialogue box also pops up during conversation and then disappears. This design makes sense in theory, but adds to the frustration during gameplay because of the additional pointing and clicking that is required. At times, it was also awkward to maneuver through the scenes - you might see an item of interest but have to turn around or back up before you could actually click on it.

That said, I am not sorry that I bought the game. If you are a fan of the Nancy Drew games, or if you are interested in horses, ranching, etc, then you will probably want to buy this game. However, if you have not played a Nancy Drew game before, I would advise that you pick a different game to start in the series, such as Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, Treasure in the Royal Tower, or Message in the Haunted Mansion. In my opinion, those games are more enjoyable for their pure sleuthing fun. If you like the Nancy Drew games but would also enjoy a more adult-oriented mystery game, then try the Law and Order software series.

Not my favorite Nancy Drew game.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I have every Nancy Drew game and I would have to rate this one my least favorite. I liked the idea of the game being a treasure hunt with clues to find but the puzzles were too easy or just plain annoying. I would not recommend this title to a newbie. I would suggest any other Nancy Drew title to play first and then if you absolutely have to play them all I would get this one.
For newbies I would recommend getting a multi pack. Like the 75th Anniversary or Mega Mystery pack. You will get more games for less money and I am sure you will be hooked on the series.

not bad

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 15
Date: April 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I played the game at adult level I was bord with this titel and disapointed since enjoyed the final seen titel

50-50

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: June 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I think this is the best game of Nancy Drew. Bad parts, scary, too many dark places, mysterious people. Good parts, ride horses. The ghost horse isn`t that scary. It is pretty. The places I shall rate. Shadow Ranch-9, Mary`s Gifts-10, Dry Creek-1, Trail Stop-5, Cougar something-6. People- Aunt Bet is not ever seen along with her husband Uncle Ed, Bess and George are helpful SOMETIMES, the Hardy Boys are jokesters, Dave LOVES Nancy (how cute), Tex- Do not make him mad or he`ll throw you off the ranch- he is very silent and mysterious sounding-AND he loves Mary Yazzie!, Mary Yazzie-nice but holds secrets. There`s more but that is enough. Do not get the game if you don`t like mystery, scary places, combat, and suspense. PS nancy is really cheesy when she talks to the horses! "You two aren`t to shabby either."

very hard puzzles

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

the puzzles in this game make 50 percent of the hardness in this game the other part is the chores you have to do in this game. besides being plain hard it has a good story line even though it has little to do with the actual book, the graphics are good for this game and is fun.

Not HI's best effort

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 24 / 34
Date: July 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First off let me say that I have played every Nancy Drew game in the series and am a die-hard fan of all the games. This was a fun and challenging game (as they all are). However, there were a few tragic flaws:
1. Hate the new popup window. HATE IT! You have to click to bring up the window, scroll to your item, select it, X out of the window, (being careful not to accidentally place your item back into inventory, and on and on. It is annoying. I much prefer the old screen setup, as found in DODI, GDML, etc.
2. I enjoyed doing the farm chores, etc. the first time around. It was different and gave the feeling of being on a ranch. However, I didn't like having to pick eggs and vegatables over and over! That is not called fun! That is called tedious work! I can do tedious work anytime! In this same vein is the cake baking incident, in which you have to use trial and error to figure out how to bake the cake. And though baking a cake 27 times may be fun to some (the developers of this game?) I found it excruciating. The crowning jewel of this hidious repetitiveness was the lengthy failure sequence you had to endure everytime you messed up! "What, Nancy? You picked on over-ripe tomato! How could you! Pack your bags missy, you're out of here!" I mean, who would really do that?
3. Also, this game did not seem to have the same atmosphere as the previous few games. I did not find myself feeling spooked, scared, or even unnerved by anything. I mean, aren;t mystery games supposed to be a little tiny bit scary? For example: Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake; those dogs, the graveyard, the bird guy who only comes out at night-scary! Or Scarlet Hand; empty museum, ancient tombs, smugglers-spooky! Now, I am a big baby and got on edge/jumpy with most of the other games in the series, and I don't even like "scary" games, but this game...come on, the glowing horse just rides up and then runs away. Oooh, dangerous, a horse rode by. Even the ghost town was a snooze!
Alright, I know I'm sounding negative, but it is only because this game felt like a step down from the previous games, which were exquisite, and I waited SO LONG for another Nancy Drew game to play. But seriously, despite these flaws, this game was still FAB! Not the best offering, but not the worst either. It is an awesome series and the people at Her Interactive are awesome. I wish there were more games like Nancy drew and less action/adventure/gory/violent shootemups. If you like fun challenges, you'll like this game.

Great! Didn't have a problem with the game screen at ALL

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: August 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Nancy Drew: the Secret of Shadow Ranch is one of my favorite installments in the series yet.
Nancy is staying at a ranch in Arizona, and Bess and George can't make it because they are having airline troubles. There is a Phantom Horse (which is NOT scary at all) that runs around and blows things up. Well, not blow up, but...uh...wreck. Nance needs to figure out the story behind the horse and the accidents (what else is new).
The characters: Mary Yazzie, who owns a souvenir shop, Tex Britten, the head wrangler who is very moody and needs medication, in my opinion, Dave Gregory, who works on the ranch, and Shorty Thurmond, who is the cook and is looking for ways to get rich quick.
Now, I'm hearing a lot of you other opinion-sharers out there nagging the public about the game screen. The new popup system has caused me no trouble and I really don't see anything bad about it. I bet a lot of you were even bothered with the smaller game screen.
That said, here is what I didn't like about the game, which doesn't affect the total experience that much. First and foremost. The cake is evil. I blew up the oven because I left the cake in too long, and I knew that was exactly how long I was supposed to leave it in. You know what? I tried that about forty-six times before I realized:
I was using the wrong pan.
Boy, was I mad when I found that out. All this time I was using the WRONG PAN and COULDN'T MAKE THE CAKE JUST BECAUSE OF THAT?!!
Well, that's over. This game is very entertaining and I would have to give it four stars.

ND-SSR

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: July 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Hands down to the Nancy Drew series. It is amazing.

Secret on Shadow Ranch overall was very well done. The story plot was good and kept me entertained for a good amount of time.

As mentioned before, the new way of getting items out of a popup box is rather annoying, especially when you have a lot of items. but other than that i liked the new screen format and the way things were done.

This mystery wasnt too challenging for me. i was never so stumped that i was frusterated. i was the most frusterated with a couple of the puzzles already mentioned, they took tons of time rather than being complicated.

I liked this mystery, but it wasnt in my top three. But overall it is entertaining and fun!

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