Review by Bundt Lust

Teenage sleuth Nancy Drew is back and better than ever in her latest case, Danger on Deception Island. This time around Nancy is visiting marine biologist Katie Firestone at her friends request, but things go wrong as usual. Shortly after Ms. Drews arrival at to the San Juan Islands, Katie discovers that her whale watching boat has been vandalized. While Katie makes everything shipshape, Nancy is hot on the trail of the vandals, along with investigating recent burglaries, digging up Snake Horse Harbors past and making friends with a local legend.nBesides Katie, Nancy meets Holt Scotto, fisherman and harbormaster candidate, Jenna Deblin, owner of the Hot Kettle Caf, and Andy Jason, who runs a rival whale watching business and wants to buy Katie out. Add to that strange fish that have been washing up on shore, a string of burglaries, and an eccentric widow who launches messages in bottles into the harbour.n Danger on Deception Island is the most organic and satisfying of the nine current Nancy Drew games from Her Interactive. Several new additions include bicycling (similar to the motorboat interface used in Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake) and kayaking, WWW access from Nancys trusty laptop and more. The puzzles were excellently integrated into the gaming environment, making use of the Pacific Northwests charms: building sand castles, kayaking sea caves, bicycling the winding coastal roads, exploring a lighthouse, and digging for clams on deserted beaches. Nancy must also help Katie restore her boat to working order. There are several fun activities not necessary to win the game, including fixing sandwiches with some not-so-tasty ingredients (jellyfish, Tabasco sauce, expired mayonnaise, baking soda), building sand castles, and educational games about whales.nAs usual, there are two levels of difficulty, Junior and Senior Detective, and there are plenty of hints and help scattered along the way for both levels, including calling the Hardy Boys for tips and clues. There are many educational elements in Deception Island, including informative webpages about nautical terms, wood identification, Morse code, various types of whales and more that are necessary to solve the mysteries. Graphics are gorgeous (including photo overlays during the biking scenes), character modeling is lifelike, music includes rousing sea chanteys and ominous strings reminiscent of Jaws, and voice acting is above average. Sound effects make you feel like you’re really standing on a lonely, windswept shore with only the breaking waves and cries of the gulls to keep you company. And you get to interact with a killer whale as well! Keep up the good work, Her Interactive! (Nancys next mystery is Secret of Shadow Ranch.)