Platform: PC
ESRB: E 10
Number of Players: 1
Publisher: Her Interactive
Release Date: September 2009
Official Website

When I was offered the chance to review a game set in a luxurious resort, of course I jumped out of my seat to do so. Resorting to danger is the second installment of the Nancy Drew Dossier series (the first being Lights, Camera, Curses), the more casual of the Nancy Drew franchises.

In Resorting to Danger, players play as the quick witted Nancy Drew as she attempts to expose and stop a bomber at a posh resort on the coast, while playing the role of “spa gopher” so as to not alarm the well to do clientele. This setting does prove to be a great way to introduce some very distinct personalities. However, being the gopher is not without its drawbacks, in the process of investigation, she has to perform menial tasks (which do actually contribute to the entertainment value of the game) such as cleaning the hair salon, making tea, and watching after a mischievous fluffy dog.

The mystery itself kept me guessing until the end, though I was sure I knew whom the bomber was on more than one occasion. When do we not in a whodunit like this? With the storyline being the driving force behind the whole game, being unpredictable is a good trait to have. The game itself is a story driven hidden object “plus” – the plus being matching found objects to one another in order to help her complete her tasks and further her investigation. Multiple mini games also appear within the story similarly to Lights, Camera, Curses for the purpose of unlocking doors, disarming the bombs, and such. Lastly, the game is sprinkled with conversation memory quizzes. Not only is remembering the conversations between Nancy and some of the key characters important for getting the most out of the game, but also to gain points by answering questions and choosing which rooms to go to correctly.

The sights and sounds of Resorting to Danger are as appealing as Lights, Camera, Curses but with an appropriate color palette to a high end resort & spa – brighter and more lush with great enhanced lighting and detail (generally speaking – there are some darker and dingier locations, like the basement). The seeking and finding is petty accessible, without being too simple. The music, sound cues, and character voices all serve to enrich the experience.

As a sequel, Resorting to Danger does improve on the original in the way that it seems to take out things that needlessly take time, like walking between locations. Everything seems to flow together a little more smoothly, and I enjoyed meeting these characters quite a bit more; they are quirky and easy to somehow personally relate to, making the game that much more immersive. It also added a couple of elements to challenge the memory, more alternate endings and an “arcade mode” to up the replayability factor.

Add to all this a strong, likeable, witty, intelligent female lead character and this game is great for girls of all ages. It’s worth picking up for a good time that is easy to play for a few minutes or a few hours at a time, challenging, fun, and entertaining.

Thanks for reading!
Dawn

Review copy provided by Her Interactive and did not affect the outcome of this review.

Win yourself a copy of Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger this weekend (April 2, 3, & 4) on GamingAngels.com! Simply leave a comment here telling us what you like most about going to a spa – or what you would like most – or your favorite spa! Winners will be announced Sunday after 7 pm pacific. You’ve got until then to post away!
Good luck!!

For kids and parents: Wonder Rotunda is an adventure website that mimics the World’s Fairs of past and exposes children to the wonders of our world, including African wildlife, the human body, business, American government, nutrition, film making, classical music, and space exploration. It allows them to explore areas that interest them, earn badges and accomplishments, and encourages them to believe they can make a difference in the world, without parents having to worry about advertising or chat. Foster dreams and self esteem with a membership to Wonder Rotunda. Costs are $12 a month or $45 a year
Check it out here.

For Tweens and Teens: Earlier this year, Legacy introduced three games based on the iconic high school movies, Clueless, Mean Girls, and Pretty in Pink. Though these games are appropriate for adults as well, the subject matter and game play make them especially suitable for tweens and teens, giving them the opportunity to play their way through high school in the style of different generation’s sagas. Clueless offers fashion and style sense exploring the vastness of the teenage fashion looks of the ‘90s. Mean Girls offers mission based adventures with match three puzzles scattered throughout, allowing players to choose personality traits and act in the way of meanness or niceness. Pretty in Pink is a hidden object game in which players explore different relationships and play their story out to one of three possible endings. All three games are pretty true to the movies they represent and give a great entertainment value.
Available as a download from: Legacy Interactive for $10 each
Clueless Review
Mean Girls Review

For Everyone: In case this one somehow slipped through the cracks for your favorite gamer, it should be tops on the list! Quite possibly my favorite game of the year, PopCap‘s Plants vs. Zombies offers a chance for everyone, naughty or nice, to defend their brains against the onslaught of hungry zombies by harvesting the power of the sun and propagating the perfect plant platoon in the day, night, front lawn, the pool in the back, on the roof, and in the fog. Welcome the tower defense genre to the casual games space. This game is crazy hilarious fun no one should have to go without – it’s the holidays!
Appropriate for: Tweens through Adults. Parents use their own discretion with children.
Available From: PopCap Games
Plants vs. Zombies Review

For those who appreciate hidden object games, The second installment of Her Interactive’s Nancy Drew Dossier series, Resorting to Danger is a great choice. In this new Hidden Object Mystery game, players help the young, clever detective in her attempts to find the culprit behind bombings at the Redondo Resort. The additions made to this chapter in the Dossier saga improve upon the already positive original. Resorting to Danger offers a unique perspective on the hidden object genre and is riddled with mini puzzles that spice up the mystery.
Appropriate for: Tweens through Adults.
Download or Box Game Available From : Her Interactive

For the puzzle fans: the must have game is PopCap’s newest hit, Zuma’s Revenge. This sequel to the beloved Zuma truly takes the ball shooting color matching action to the next level in a crazy fun way. Zuma’s Revenge gives the puzzle gamer new ways to blast their way through level after level by firing colored balls to try to demolish the chain of colors, and opens their eyes to boss battling, tournament style play, and scoring challenges, all with a laid back, tropical backdrop. Give the gift of this lovable frog and all of his crazy (and comical) shenanigans.
Appropriate for: Tweens through Adults.
Download Available from: PopCap.com
Zuma’s Revenge Review

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For the Time Management Gamers: Try Sandlot Games’ newest Cake Mania game, Cake Mania: Main Street. This game continues on the journey through Sarah Evans’ life as she returns to her home town of Bakersfield with some of her friends to rejuvenate Main Street and bring things back to the way they once were, with happy people and fun attractions. This is a great time management game because it’s like getting four in one. There are four different types of shops to open and half of the profits go to sprucing up the town. Great characters and options make this one a fun time.
Appropriate for: Tweens through Adults – the images may be fun for kids, but the complexity can get to be a bit much for them.
Available from: Sandlot Games
Cake Mania: Main Street Review

For the Word Worms out there: PopCap’s Bookworm Adventures 2 is a great addition to anyone’s library. In Bookworm Adventures 2, Lex once again sets off on a word creating journey through the pages of some adventureful stories – this time with help! He gets to take companions that he has rescued with him that lend him their powers to strengthen him. weaken his enemies, or add more power ups to the words he (the player) creates. PopCap’s humerus adaptations of familiar characters from fairy tales and other types of stories pump up the entertainment value as well in this vocabulary building game – and there is even a dance-off!
Appropriate for: Spellers of all ages!
Available from: PopCap Games

For Online Gamers on your list, you might consider gifting a membership to Pogo.com’s premium service, Club Pogo. After 9 years of playing at Pogo.com, I was fortunate enough to be able to experience the greatness of Club Pogo. If the badge collection, double jackpots, and virtual pet aren’t enough, access to a multitude additional games and the absence of ads and intermissions is definitely worth the $5.99 a month. Club Pogo is a great way to give gamers opportunity to find some new favorites as well as play some of the best Pogo originals and downloadables from other top companies.
Appropriate for: Adults, mostly due to the censored and uncensored chat ability.
Available from: Pogo.com

Stocking Stuffers:

The first one is Sandlot Games’ Kuros. This is truly a beautiful game visually as it takes place in the world of Glyph among the metal, water, air, fire, and aether. At its core, it’s a hidden object adventure to restore elemental balance in the world of Kuros. Katya’s wit coupled with other captivating characters and variety of incorporated mini games provides the hidden object gamer with a plethora of new experiences. It’s a great way to escape into another realm for a little while and be entertained and challenged.
Appropriate for: Tweens through Adults of all ages.
Available from: Sandlot Games for just $6.99
Kuros Review

The second is Big Fish’s Drawn: The Painted Tower. This is another work of art, a beautiful piece of animation as reviewer lisalu put it. Drawn: The Painted Tower is an exciting adventure puzzle hidden object game in which players try to rescue the youngest daughter of a family with the curious power to draw things that would then come to life. The ease of play and flow of the story makes this one a great stocking stuffer that will give the casual gamer in your life something entertaining and lovely to look at this holiday season.

Her Interactive, has released the second title in the hit Nancy Drew Dossier series, Resorting to Danger nationwide. Follow Nancy Drew into the luxurious Redondo Spa as she attempts to thwart an all new ingenious criminal mind finding hidden clues and use their observation, deduction, and problem-solving skills to uncover culprits and schemes in an intriguing mystery.

“The response we have received from our fans to our new casual game series has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Megan Gaiser, president and CEO of Her Interactive. “The massive adoption of casual games by the mainstream audience – especially females – has really pushed the category in new directions, and our Nancy Drew Dossier series certainly caters to that audience through its gameplay accessibility, high production values and instant fun.”

In Resorting to Danger, players assume the role of Nancy Drew as she goes undercover as a general assistant to unearth clues, interview suspects and solve daunting puzzles in order to determine who is planting bombs at the spa. With six alternate endings, players can tackle Resorting to Danger again and again from different approaches and scenarios.

Resorting to Danger is available now at retailers nationwide and for download online at HerInteractive.com for a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Her Interactive today announced the second title in its hit Nancy Drew Dossier series, Resorting to Danger. Available for online download and retail purchase this August. Resorting to Danger follows the winning formula of its predecessor, Lights, Camera, Curses, by integrating easily accessible gameplay with a captivating mystery, making it suitable for even the most casual of gamers.

In Resorting to Danger, players again assume the role of Nancy Drew as she sets out to interview suspects and solve daunting puzzles in order to determine who is planting bombs at the Redondo Spa. The Redondo Spa is a sanctuary to the rich and famous and with clients’ retreats in jeopardy, Nancy goes undercover as a general assistant to unearth clues. With six alternate endings, players can tackle Resorting to Danger again and again from different approaches and scenarios.

Nancy Drew Dossier is a next-generation casual game series that combines a seek-and-find mechanic with a new level of compelling story-driven gameplay involving detective work, sophisticated interaction with clues and characters, brain-teasing puzzles, and arcade mini-games. Playing from the point of Nancy Drew, players find hidden clues and use their strengths of observation, deduction, and problem-solving to uncover culprits and schemes in a heavily story-driven plot.

As Megan Gaiser, president and CEO of Her Interactive, explains: “Our games have such resonance with women of all ages due to the sense of empowerment they feel from being as brilliant as Nancy Drew®. We believe the traits that define Nancy – gutsy, intelligent, independent – are imparted to players on a very subtle level and ultimately act to increase self-esteem and instill confidence. So with all the games that are ‘good for you’ like fitness games and brain games, we’re glad we can offer a game that’s good for the soul.”

Resorting to Danger will be available this August at retailers nationwide and for download online at HerInteractive.com