My girls are big Nancy Drew fans. And a few years ago, we discovered that Her Interactive has been making computer games based on the book mysteries. The first few were rather primative, but since then, the graphics have just gotten better and better.
The games are so much fun that I, ah, ahem!...have been known to wait till certain younger people are in bed, and then I start a new game under my own name, and play it for hours. They are really, really fun, especially if you like Nancy, Ned, Bess and George. Oh, you get to call Hannah Gruen, too, for advice.
Chris Chan reviewed the new Agatha Christie Cd-rom game in the latest Gilbert magazine, and it sounds like it would be similar to the Nancy Drews.
EXCEPT THAT THE AGATHA CHRISTIE IS ONLY MADE FOR PC not MAC. Well, that ends my little daydream about trying this mystery out some time late at night. *Sigh*
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A lot of fans on the www.agathachristie.com forum have commented that ATTWN is very similar to the Nancy Drews. The fact that this is only a PC game annoys me too (I much prefer the Mac), but hopefully they will release a Mac version soon. This is supposed to be the first in a series of five Christie games. The next one will be out this fall, based on Murder on the Orient Express.
ReplyDeleteI will have to wait till they do the Mac version. But thanks for reviewing this, Chris, or I would not have known it even exists. Our library doesn't carry it. Yet. I should request it....when they get a Mac version, that is.
ReplyDeleteThe other difference is that this is rated "Teen" I believe the Nancy Drew's are "E" for Everyone. So there must be more intensity to the Christie.
My older daughter recently got "into" Agatha Christie because of my reading your reviews, Chris, and remembering my reading of her in my youth (ages ago). So we recently watched some old version of ATTWN, the only identifier I can think of is that the murderer was the old Irish Priest from either Going My Way or Bells of St. Mary's.
***SPOILERS***
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that your daughter is enjoying Agatha Christie. You must have seen the 1945 Rene Clair adaptation, starring Barry Fitzgerald (he was in Going My Way but not the sequel, Bells of St. Mary's). It's by far the best of all the films based on ATTWN.
ATTWN is rated Teen because of some intense elements (the death of Rogers is more gruesome than in the book or any of the movies, although there is almost no blood or gore anywhere) and adult themes (such as Miss Brent's maid committing suicide after becoming pregnant out of wedlock). It's pretty tame violence-wise compared to most of the games out there.
That's good to know, thanks Chris. It sounds like it would be ok for her when the Mac version comes out.
ReplyDeleteNancy and Chris, it is my solemn duty to inform you both that when Jesus said the one unforgiveable sin was a sin against the Holy Spirit, he forgot to mention that there is one more: revealing the end of a mystery story. Have fun on the "down" escalator.
ReplyDeleteDear Chestertonian,
ReplyDeleteI am fully aware of that, but thankfully for me the Second Vatican Council concluded after much debate that if one writes ***SPOILERS*** above one's writings that obliquely refer to the killer (or just about the career of an actor who was involved in the movie) that no sin against the Holy Spirit has occurred. Incidentally, I made no mention of the killer, just one of the actors involved in the movie. Nonetheless, Nancy, maybe we should edit this thread to prevent solution leakage.
Chis, I agree with you, you did not reveal the killer. I declare that no sin has been committed.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, this morning when I discussed this with my daughter, she said that she had actually seen the game at Wal-mart, and thought to herself, "How fun could it be? Everyone knows who-done-it" so she was happy when I told her that they changed the ending so you would still have fun with the game. Now, she awaits the Mac version with more gusto.
Ahem - what about the spoilers Nancy put in her review of the Superman movie on Flying Stars? Hmmm? ;)
ReplyDeleteI just heard back from the Moderator at the Agathachristie.com forum. I'm afraid that there are no plans at the moment to produce Mac versions of the games. Darn.
ReplyDeleteBummer. :-(
ReplyDeleteIm really glad somebody else posted this. My kids are already "plugged in", and I planned on getting these to at least make that time productive and somewhat literary.
ReplyDelete