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Nancy Drew, The Silent Spy Somehow, there are thirty-one Nancy Drew videogames. This one is about global bioterrorism.  I have never read a Nancy Drew novel, so I don’t know what happens in them. But every Nancy Drew videogame begins the exact same way: Nancy receives a letter inviting her to investigate something, which sets up the plot and the theme of the game. Like maybe there’s a bullshit ghost in a house, or someone has been vandalizing a theater, and so Nancy Drew gets hired to sort that out by doing a bunch of word-searches or a Towers of Hanoi or some other adventure cliche. This game also begins with a letter:  If that seems interesting or ridiculous enough to you, then I hope you’ll stick around for a game which involves armed mercenaries, incomprehensible Deus Ex plot twists, and a puzzle where you have to match the patterns on a kilt. Enjoy! Updates Part 1: Arrival Part 2: Bridget Part 3: Moira Part 4: Carson Part 5: Ambrosia Part 5: Spy Stuff Part 6: Zoe Part 7: Nan C Denton Part 8: Padding Part 9: Samantha Part 10: Bullshit corn in the bible fucked around with this message at 06:17 on Dec 2, 2014 |
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Oct 28, 2014 17:21
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Part 1: Arrival So Nancy has been hired by the British Government to investigate her dead mother, who was killed on a mission in Scotland. MI-5 has also included a ticket to Glasgow, and a photograph:  This is Kate, Nancy’s mother, who – and I want to emphasize this – has suddenly been retconned in this game into a super-spy for the British government. Anyway, this begins the first of several flashback sequences, in which Nancy recalls her childhood before her mother was was murdered by terrorists. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqIj2hig0ao  Kate’s piano playing is interrupted by a phone call.  Drew residence, Kate speaking. ...You know this line isn’t secure. Moira, stop – I’ll call you. Now we’re in Scotland. Where, in a frankly confusing animation, Nancy’s suitcase is stolen.  It would be a lot easier to show what happened in third person, but Her Interactive are very careful about never showing exactly what their protagonist looks like. Her father, who gets some dialog later, also never appears on screen, and only ever interacts with Nancy over the phone.  Hey! My suitcase!  That guy’s a thief! I really, really thought I was going to get that guy. Sorry. Thanks for trying. I’m Alec. Nancy. That’s a nice offer, but why would you want to do that? It doesn’t look like you work here. I’m in the business of finding people who don’t want to be found. Well, I won’t turn down help. So, you’re a private eye? I’m more of a skiptracer. When someone goes off the grid, I get a call and track them down. They skip, I trace. I had some very important things that belonged to my mom in that suitcase. I really need them back. Go check into your hotel, I will find your suitcase.Nancy seems very trusting of strangers considering she was called here by the British Secret Service, but whatever. She never calls the police or even tells the railroad company, she just trusts this guy and goes straight to her hotel room. Suddenly, a phone call:  Nancy’s phone can be used to call other characters and take photos, both of which are needed to solve puzzles throughout the game – although, frankly, this game is very light on the puzzles and very heavy on the weird out-of-place spy drama.  : There is a case file in your room. Read it. Memorize it. That’s your playbook, it’ll keep you alive. I’ve got a bit of housekeeping to do, get settled. I’ll call you when I’m ready.So, this is our first real task: find the case file in Nancy’s hotel room.    If you don’t feel like reading that, suffice to say that Nancy Drew, teen detective, must work with MI-5 to stop mysterious terrorists from destroying Glasgow. That’s what they went with for this game’s plot. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
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Oct 28, 2014 17:22
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Last time, we discovered that Nancy Drew was not, in fact, hired by MI-5. But that’s ok, because MI-5 found out about it, and now she is working for MI-5 in order to discover why she was brought to Scotland by REVENANT under the false pretense of working for MI-5. I think. They also gave us a very generous stipend of exactly 21 euro, because austerity has hit the spy game pretty hard in England. There’s someone at the door.  This is Bridget. She’s Scottish. That’s her main character trait for the moment. Do I know you? You do now. I’m Bridget. I’ll be outside, there’s something very important I need to tell you.She leaves. We follow.  Teach me your ways! I’m sorry but, I’m sort of in the middle of something pretty important... I’m a little overbooked.This is true, so Nancy leaves to find her spy contact and learn more about Revenant. Or, rather, she sticks around to chat about Scotland, because Bridget is Scottish. Maybe Nancy just knows by this point that no matter what crime she’s investigating, at some point she’ll have to solve a puzzle about bagpipes. You say that now, but I can tell we’re going to be friends. Or enemies. Either way, get used to this face right here. Do you work, or go to school, or... what do you do? You think I’m from Glasgow! That’s glorious! I’m actually from Watten. It’s always been a dream of mine to live in the city, and I’m sorta checking it out to see if it’s for me. Can you tell me a little about Scotland? Just a bit then? Well it’s old, and it’s cold, and I like it all the same. I got a book about it – I could get it for ya. It’s only up in my room. Finally, she’s gone. But we’re going to need that book later on, so we need to kill time until she gets back. There’s a newspaper on the table, which has some more information about Revenant:  But the real point of this screen is the deli. Did you see the Help Wanted sign? Did you realize what it meant?  Times are tough, and many spies are having to take a second job to support their espionage. There’s no shame in that. Plus, there’s a souvenir shop right in the train station!  Souvenirs are one of the things in the game you can spend your money on, but it’s pretty much just a waste of money. You do get an achievement if you buy them all, but the reason we’re in the train station is to buy a rail pass. Nancy has made many cookies, and can afford to splurge!  It is incredibly annoying to run out of money, which is why I decided to just go ahead and grind out enough to pay for all the things we’ll be paying for in the near future. And, thankfully, Bridget is back with her book. A basic rule of playing adventure games is to steal every document you can, because there will always, always be a puzzle on it later.  So, what do you do? Huh. Huh, what? I... don’t really know. I guess I’m something of a detective. Freelance. That’s the coolest! Do you have a gun? No, I don’t. A badge? Nope. A trilby? Sorry. Hmm. You should at least have a proper trench and trilby if you’re going to be in the detective game. How did you end up being a detective? I guess I just have trouble leaving questions unanswered. Unless you’re talking to me. Touché! I’ll let you go.Bridget was completely useless in finding Moira, Nancy’s contact, but fortunately we already met someone who’s good at finding people. Why did you come alone? Don’t you have family? Friends? Surely you have a boyfriend. I do. Then why do you travel so lonely? This isn’t exactly a vacation. I need you to find someone for me. I aim to please. A reporter named Moira Chisholm. Word is no one knows where to find her. That seems right in your wheelhouse. If I knew what a wheelhouse is I’d agree. I think it’s in a boat. Or it’s a baseball thing? Useless. But, yes, I’m on it.Nancy’s spy mission has been surprisingly uneventful so far. But, suddenly, there’s a phone call. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Hiw1CNXVc   You will find an envelope in locker 49. Take it to the Ten Raven pub in Gifnock. If you do... you will be rewarded. Here’s a hint: Harrier checking in. Challenge code for agent – CMYK 0110. The Colony Operation has been terminated! Wouldn’t you like to know more? ...Was that mom?Next time: Revenant strikes, in a mild way. Stay tuned!
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Oct 29, 2014 13:14
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CharlieFoxtrot posted:Chippy boxes are a Scottish thing, right? Are there going to be any of those in this game? No, but there is a Scottish food puzzle later on, and it is very, very silly. I'm glad people seem to be enjoying the thread. And, as it happens, a brand new Nancy Drew came out just a few weeks ago. Behold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK-PMY1wf-0 
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Oct 29, 2014 20:37
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Nancy has just received a call asking her to deliver a letter to Gifnock. We’ve read that Revenant, the terrifying non-lethal terrorist force that threatens the world, operates by controlling ordinary people, so Nancy does the obvious thing.   I’m going to pretend this is for a wedding. What else could it be for? You’ve passed. You deserve praise. And a reward.Good job, Nancy Drew. Listen. I’m doing everything I can to stay under the radar. I’ll call in when I can but you won’t be able to reach me. Revenant has pulled out but the remaining operatives are still following me. Pay attention to where I’m calling from. There’s a pattern. Figure it out and find me! I’ve left a trail. Card is for Cathedral, the rest is for back home. Figure it out! Why do they keep sending me these old recordings of Mom?Meanwhile, Alec has been looking for Moira.  She hit me. Did you provoke her? Just a little. Why’s she so important? She wrote an article I thought was pretty interesting. About hitting strangers no doubt. She’s out in Bearsden. You can take the train out there.Something I hadn’t noticed before is that the train to Bearsden is out of order until Alec tells you to go there. Sadly, Nancy Drew has not yet mastered the art of the Replacement Bus Service. Have you heard of Revenant?I thought you were undercover Nancy, come on. Like – the fancy word for ghost? Yeah. Right No, it weren’t a ghost, it was proper like. It was kitted out in one of them tuxes and was snacking on a canapé. Revenant is supposedly a terrorist group. You’ve never heard of them? Nope, so hardly terrifying. They’re more of an obscurist group. Nothing, you’ve heard nothing about this group? No. Seems trustworthy. Have you been sending me messages? No – and the way you say that makes me think these aren’t your standard messages. If anyone is threatening you, I need to know. Right now. Why? Because. Common courtesy. I don’t find that particularly reassuring. I need to know. Are you really who you say you are? Why? That means “no.” It does.Nancy Drew is the worst goddamn spy. But I’m a friend, and I did save your life back there. Doesn’t that buy me a bit of good will? Agreeing to find my suitcase was nice, I’d hardly call that saving my life. I was perfectly happy in my routine. Taking jobs, making money. Crumpets. Everything that could be good was good. Then I met you, went out of my way to keep you present tense, and yet the sass. You want to know about me? Tell me about you. Until you’re ready to do that, leave me alone. I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s going on. Alright, I’ll tell you about myself if I can get some answers in return.The worst spy. Thank you. Then why are you here? I want to learn about my mother. She left home one day. I don’t know why. My dad begged her not to go and she didn’t listen. She died here. I don’t think it was an accident. Now, my turn. Is someone paying you to keep an eye on me? That’s enough. That was fun.Whatever. Let’s go meet Moira, who has our first assignment as a secret agent. See if you can guess in advance what it’s going to be.    You don’t know anything about Scottish food. I’ll give you simple names. Get me the oatmeal parfait, turnips and potatoes, haddock, and a bit of fudge if you would.Moira will only talk to us about espionage if we buy her that food. You know what that means: The deli has all the food we need, so soon it’s back to turn in Moira’s ridiculous fetch quest. Alright, I got what you wanted. Now please – I need to talk to you about my mother. Her name was Kate Drew. Nancy! I had no idea! I would never have – please, come in! You knew my mother, Kate Drew? Quite well. We wrote for the same newspaper. I knew you too. What? There’s a photo. Go on, take a look. Believe it or not, I was once your favorite person in the world. You’ll notice the lack of teacups. That’s because you broke every single cup. You’d make eye contact, grin that vicious little grin you had, and SMASH! Then you’d laugh like it was the funniest thing in the whole world. I must have been a nightmare. Yeah, you were. Sorry? You have no idea how good it is to see you.You might have noticed that this conversation has nothing to do with the British Secret Service. Well, fear not:   What’s – Shh. There’s a safe behind the breaker. Look under the teapot. Follow what you find to the safehouse. Safehouse? What’s going on? If it’s starting again – no one can know you’re here.** Door Opens ** Ah, gentlemen, you must be here to abduct me. Oh come, is that really necces –** Door Slams ** She’s gone. corn in the bible fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Oct 30, 2014 |
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Oct 30, 2014 16:19
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CharlieFoxtrot posted:The writing in this game is great. It's mostly a regular point-and-click. There's codes and inventory puzzles, but as you've seen there's a hell of a lot more dialog than anything else. Which is fine, because as should be obvious the writing is their speciality
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Oct 30, 2014 20:20
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Moira was kidnapped, and soon Nancy is going to ransack her house like any good adventure game protagonist. But first, she’s got a caller on the line: You’re in Scotland!It’s Carson, Nancy’s dad. So I guess Nancy didn’t bother telling anyone that she was going to Scotland? Like Nancy, he has no official appearance. He’s also a lawyer, but that doesn’t really matter in this game. You don’t have my permission to be in Scotland. Come home, right now. Your permission? I think I’m a little too old for that.Yes, all you people talking about highschool hijinks were way off. Nancy is about 20 at this point, and appears to solve Scooby-Doo ghost cases for a living. She still lives with her dad, though, so I’m sure many people reading this will find her quite relatable. What you’re too old for, is running headfirst into a dangerous situation and leaving the rest of us to clean up after you. What is with you right now? Calm down.Yeah, why are you upset about your daughter running off to work with the people who got your wife killed? Grow up, Carson! Nancy, you don’t get it. I am not angry at you, I am scared. Please, just come home. Why are you being so difficult? Nancy, if I help you I’m pushing you right to whoever has lured you there. I can handle myself. Your mother said the same thing. Can I have Mom’s notes. No. It might be helpful. I bet it would be extremely helpful, but no. You really can’t. They’re gone. I shredded them. You what?! Remember when you picked the lock on that filing cabinet? Which one? I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, to my knowledge it was just the one… I knew you were looking for her notes, so I shredded everything. How could you do that? I thought it might prevent you from doing what you’re doing right now. Talk to you later!We also need to call Nancy’s boyfriend, because otherwise he won’t give us a key puzzle solution we need later on.  Hey, Nancy. What’s going on? Your dad wanted me to book a flight to Scotland. What’s going on? Your dad seemed really upset. He is. He thinks I’m in danger. And he’s just NOW noticing this? He seems to think that it’s different this time. He might be right. I had my bag stolen at the train station. Oh no! Did you lose anything valuable? This poem I had, it was my mom’s. It was her favorite poem, Jabberwocky. That poem is confusing. I prefer haiku. Easier to understand. I see what you did! Well, at least you can replace it. No, that’s the thing, I can’t. My mom had marked it up in this strange way. She color coded it in the book. I always thought it was a code. But my dad was really weird about all of her things. So I was only ever able to make a copy. The original is still there? I think so. I need you to get the original copy of the Jabberwocky poem. Original meaning… The color version my mom had, I need you to scan it and send it here. Shouldn’t you ask your dad? He’ll say no. Ned, I need you to break into my house and get that poem. …Alright. I’m sorry, Ned. No need to apologize. You’ve certainly made my life weirder, but you’ve also made it much better. If all you ask in return is a little burglary now and again, it’s a fair trade. But I don’t think the “Nancy said it’s cool” approach will be all that effective in a court of law. …Hey, if your dad catches me, do you think he’ll still be my lawyer?That was a hell of a lot of dialog. But now, a real puzzle. “Under the teapot”:  We also steal some wires:  And a book called Clan Tartans of Scotland. There’s a safe where we hid from the kidnappers, and each switch adds or subtracts a certain amount, they have to add up to 164.  I hate puzzles like this, because they’re tedious, but whatever. Inside is a key, which goes to the safehouse, and also a folder of letters.   There’s also a box, which can’t be opened.  The safehouse is in Loch Lomond, so let’s go there. On the train, Nancy passes out and we get another flashback. Don’t worry, eventually there will be more spy stuff, I promise.   Come in Nancy. Big sad news coming down the pike. Breaker breaker, smokey niner? Do you even have any idea how selfish you’re being right now? Nancy, is everything okay? Bess, something’s going on. It’s bad. Sneak down and listen. K. No, you’re not doing this! You made me a promise! This is more important. What do you want me to tell Nancy, huh? That her mom doesn’t care enough about her to stay? Just leave then, run off to Scotland! Oh, grow up, Carson.The train finally arrives.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Hiw1CNXVc   Not a very impressive safehouse.  One of the letters mentioned the Acts of Union and a television. They were passed in May, 1707.    See you next time!
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Oct 31, 2014 17:08
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Nancy Drew now has access to her mother’s MI-5 safehouse. Unfortunately, the system is locked with a password, so it’s not very useful yet. There’s a book, which will come in handy later: I think the puzzle this goes to is solvable now, but we don’t need to do that yet. The only thing the computer will display is this message:  Ned still hasn’t sent us the poem, so we can’t solve this puzzle. But fortunately, Ewan gives Nancy a call, so the plot can continue. Nancy, come see me. I’ve put a card in your safe. Your password is your room number times the price of a serving of haggis in the deli outside the hotel. Why? Why not?There’s something else we need to get from Loch Lomond, though. And I can’t explain in words how loving terrible this is so I will just let these images explain it.       Also, Nancy steals a book about how to play bagpipes. The code to the safe in Nancy’s room is 3635.  Using it in the elevator takes us to the secret spy floor, which all British hotels have.  This is so stupid. Anyway, it’s time to meet Ewan face-to-face, which means a lot of exposition, as Ewan explains what the hell Revenant is trying to accomplish. Unfortunately, as you’ve seen, the writers seem to be pretty confused about it themselves.   My code name is Ewan. And before you ask, no, I did not choose it. Would have chosen something better. Shadow, Blizzard, some better word that doesn’t also sound like a name you’d give a horse. Is Cathedral a part of MI5? It is, and yet it is not. I understand. And yet, you do not. I love duplicity and yet… You hate it. What exactly do you do here? In the intelligence game, the dumb ones get manipulated. And the clever ones get buried. And the particularly clever ones? Well, they win of course. But that’s most likely not you… No offence, it’s not me either.Nancy “Delivers Letters for Terrorists” Drew has no time for this talk of manipulation. Let’s cut to the chase:  That is what Revenant wants. They don’t want to take over the world. They want to keep it.Nancy Drew is going to defeat the goddamn Illuminati with a cookie minigame. Who is Revenant? We do not know exactly. That’s just what we’re calling them. I’m seeing a pattern. That pattern is called chaos. In this game of cat and mouse, we thought we were the cat. But you’re the mouse. We’re the mouse. They’re the trap. What exactly was the Colony Operation? The idea was simple: manufacture a disaster. In this case it was the release of a virus designed not to kill, but to incapacitate. Pushing the city into a state of disaster. That’s stage one. As far as we understood, if the Glasgow cell carried out the first stage, Revenant would take over. Ok, what would they do next? They’d send in support, put the city back on its feet. And in the days that follow, seize all positions of authority under the guise of emergency action. Drive the stake into the ground, so to speak. And never give back what was taken. It seems like Revenant was obsessed with getting the formula correct. Why? The formula is important. Too deadly, obviously a problem. Revenant will not show up unless you hit the sweet spot. They’re interested in using this as a test run, not in racking up civilian casualties. Too easy to fight off, then it’s just a cold. You need to knock three quarters of the city under a pile of blankets, then you’re home free. What about the children, the elderly, people who are already sick? Ah, you know, I don’t want to think about that. Back to the formula. If the operator is running again, there is most likely a lab working on an approximation of the virus. Getting everything ready in place for when the proper formula is available. If anyone can find the original scientist, or the original formula, it’s a matter of time. If they find both? They’ll have it ready almost instantaneously.Glasgow had better hope no anonymous callers ask Nancy Drew to find this stuff. What does Revenant want? What is your role with Cathedral? I’m the watcher in the wires. I protect the status quo and, for the time being, you. What do you mean by “protect the status quo”? Society rides on a rail. Like a trolley. The rails are solid and modest and predictable. Those are your desk types. They get married, they have some kids, buy a house they can’t afford… and never again are they unpredictable. Or interesting. Or alive, even. But the catenary line, the third rail, that’s what drives the world forward! People that have a charge running through them, they move the world forward. Or… they try to destroy it. I make sure that won’t happen.  These are the worst spies in the goddamn world. corn in the bible fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Nov 3, 2014 |
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Nov 3, 2014 00:07
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Waffleman_ posted:Dude not only has a Hawaiian shirt with fire on it, it's pixel fire. What a goon. Early on in The Labyrinth of Lies it's established that the Hardy Boys are members of a secret teen detective division of the FBI.
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Nov 3, 2014 02:16
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There are three main features of the Cathedral base. Ewan has given us access to the information database, but most of it is locked up behind passwords. The other information is mostly just character profiles, and thus not very useful apart from one strange code.  If people want me to post all the character profiles, I can do that, but it should probably wait until we get all the passwords regardless. We can also dick around with Ewan’s servers, but we can’t do anything more with them yet.  And there’s a case of spy gadgets, similarly locked up tight.  Honestly, MI-5 is pretty underwhelming. Nancy makes a quick trip to Gifnock to grab the knife and screwdriver I forgot to have her grab the first time we were there, and then she gets another phone call. It’s time for a new test. Cut the lines on the trash compactor at the station. And you will be rewarded.Nancy Drew is the third catenary mousetrap who refuse to be manipulated.  Listen. The scientist is in hiding, the storehouse has been secured. The chemical agent is no longer a threat. I know you’re recording this. I know you can pass this to my family. They need to know why I left. You have to make sure they find out! What message?…whatever. let’s just go talk to Bridget again. Where were you? I wasn’t sure if you had a party or if you got murdered! Either way it would have been nice to be invited. I went to spend a little time at a cabin. Who just goes to a cabin by themselves… Shut up! Did you bring Alec? You know Alec? I know he’s not into me. But now I see why. Alec did not come with me. And how do you know about him anyway? I’m not here to judge. There’s nothing to judge! Let me check the docket… Hmm. May I refer you to the case of Tree vs. Nancy and Alec. Tree alleges k-i-s-s Enough! Even Bridget knows it! Nancy has another phone call. Hi, Nancy. So how’d… Am I on speaker phone? Yeah. Yes, Nancy, you are on speaker phone. …Oh. Mmm-hmm. I would like to remind… Shut up, Ned. Don’t talk to Ned that way. Actually, at this… juncture… that might be warranted. Thank you, Ned. You’re welcome! Shut up, Ned. I am upset with Ned because he let you talk him into something dangerous, and he wasn’t smart enough to stop you. Whoa, hold on. Nothing we say is going to stop Nancy… not this time. I understand why you don’t want to help her but that’ll make things more dangerous for Nancy. So – now you can tell me to shut up.Ned argues that Nancy Drew is so irresponsible and insane that she’s going to get herself killed unless everyone helps her. This is probably a fair assessment of what’s happening here. The poem is on the top shelf of the bedroom closet. Can you go get it and give me a moment with Nancy? Sure thing, Mr. Drew. Nancy, I don’t know what to do here, kiddo. I wish you would just come home. But I think you were right to go to Ned… Thanks. I’ll talk to you again soon.Nancy goes up to her room to wait for something interesting to happen. Then, somehow, she notices Bridget, who coincidentally has the room across the courtyard from Nancy’s, sweeping her room for bugs.  I know it looks like she’s just got a cell-phone out, but Nancy now instinctively knows that Bridget is a secret agent. This theoretically might surprise someone, I guess, so it’s sort of like a plot twist? Regardless, let’s go ask Ewan for something to help us spy on her. Do you have anything that can help me keep an eye on Bridget? Well… not as such. Unless. You’re not afraid of heights now, are you? Check this out. And, for good measure, Ewan gives us more ridiculous spy chat. Why was the attack centered on Glasgow? We wondered that as well. It took us too long, we had that special vanity that made us think our lives were more important than anyone else’s. And that blinded us to the obvious. It was Glasgow because someone here wanted to play a risky game. When Revenant sees someone they think could be pointed in a direction they find advantageous… They drop a trail of breadcrumbs. Is there anything you could tell me about Bridget? That girl upstairs? I ran her background on a hunch. Nothing. Try not to let her become collateral damage, she seems sweet.Then why did you tell us to break into her room loving hell you are the worst spy ever  Kate’s poem has arrived. By mail, for some reason. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B703YTHnxbY      This is Bridget’s room. If we let too much time pass while Nancy’s trespassing, it’s Game Over. Fortunately, the time limit is extremely lenient, so that that’s very unlikely.  Bridget… is a spy?!? What!? Impossible! But what could MacLorthen mean? That’s one of the Scottish clans mentioned in our kilt book, but how does that apply to espionage? Like this:  See you next time!
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Nov 5, 2014 19:15
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CharlieFoxtrot posted:That Ewan fellow might not be the most trustworthy sort. Unlike all the other characters, right?
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Nov 5, 2014 21:13
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Bridget’s phone is locked with a ridiculous puzzle lock. Fortunately, while the puzzle is ridiculous in context, it’s at least a fairly good puzzle – you have to decide in which order the colors should be added so they overlap properly. The range of possibilities means it’s almost impossible to brute-force, but still requires logical thought to figure out. So I don’t mind this bit.    Is she talking about a dead drop? If I work fast enough, I might be able to intercept the package.Clearly, Bridget is not to be trusted. But we have to talk to her anyway, so let’s go do that. I’ve been robbed! What? What happened? Someone broke into my room… What was taken? My money. Just your money? What kind of a question is that? Well, money’s – sorry, just trying to see how I can help. I just saw a group of men in suits headed toward your room. They looked like spies or something. What!She leaves, finally. It’s necessary to get her out of the way because the instructions for the dead drop are hidden around here, and we can’t get at it unless Bridget is out of the way.    I hate this puzzle. Unlike the Kilt puzzle from earlier, the basic pattern is very simple. The problem is that putting it into effect is boring and repetitive, and so it’s easy to slip up as you do the same maneuvers over and over again. Solving it doesn’t make you feel smart, it makes you feel relieved that you don’t have to do it again.  Bridget’s contact requires money, which we don’t have. They want it put into a blue bag, which we also don’t have. Fortunately, I know where to get one:  Prior to this point, the souvenir shop was sold out of bags, but now that we need one we can buy one. Unfortunately it costs money, which is a problem. We also need to buy the musical… thing… which is also suddenly in stock, because it’s needed for a separate puzzle. All of this, added up, comes to 72£.  Bridget’s standing right there, watching. For whatever reason, they didn’t bother to code in a check for when you drop the money off, so it doesn’t matter if she sees it. Want to hear a funny story? Sure Great. Give me your phone. Umm… C’mon. Give. Phone. Give me the phone. Come on! You know you’re curious as to why I want it! I am… but… Curiosity killed the cat! That’s not exactly helping your case. Aaaargh! Gimmie, please. I won’t do anything crazy.At this point, Nancy Drew knows, 100%, that Bridget is a spy. We broke into her hotel room and are in the middle of intercepting a shipment from her agency. As such, letting her mess with Nancy’s phone is probably a great idea.  So! “Dropped my phone into a sewer. This isn’t my phone, don’t write back.” Loophole! I was going to dump him soon anyway, but in person. Like you do. Thanks for your…Suddenly, Revenant calls Nancy’s phone while Bridget is messing with it, blowing her cover. You ARE a spy.No poo poo. I mean… shhh. No you’re not. But you are! Hooray. What are you really up to? You’ve been tracking me since I arrived. I bet your name isn’t even really Bridget. No. Your name isn’t Bridget. Who are you, really? Why were you asking me so many questions? Thank you! I am so sick of that accent. And I am so sick of you. She leaves. Even though we were standing next to it during that entire conversation, let’s go check the dead drop.  These glasses don’t do anything right now, but I promise you they’re going to be fantastic. Bridget’s still here, though she looks a little different. I guess she’s really named Zoe but I don’t give a gently caress. She’s also dropped the horrendously fake Scottish accent. This managed to surprise me, as I had assumed they had just hired a terrible actress.   Keep ‘em, by the way. I remote wiped the drive. You want to play spy? Enjoy the toy. Here’s the deal. You go forward like we never spoke. What are you going to do? Spy stuff. Let me get this straight, you’re an American? Yup. What are you doing here? Trying to pry as much information out of you before you end up dead. Is that a threat? You really think I’m going to be killed? I hope you aren’t. But you’re here to figure out what happened to Kate. She was killed by the same group who will kill you if you don’t leave. Now you know. Now you go.
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Nov 8, 2014 21:59
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SSNeoman posted:I missed the part in the James Bond films where 007 had to get hired as a part-time cookie maker. I guess it's one of those things Ian Flemming fluffed up to make the stories more exciting. That would have improved From Russia With Love, at least.
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Nov 9, 2014 00:37
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What is the deal with those glasses? Oh that’s a shame, just the basics. Can you examine these, and see what they’re for? Might take a bit. I’ll let you know when they’re done. You might want to ease up on the stealing. I’ll give them back! I’m just investigating. Sure… Avoid investigating any big ticket items during your visit. I really hate the embassy people.What else is going on?  That whole “being kidnapped” thing wasn’t such a big deal, huh. My father told me not to trust you. Something’s not adding up here. I’m not sorry that I lied. I’m sorry that I have to tell you the truth. Yeah, I can see that. Your mother came back to Scotland, because I begged her to. She told me for months. That Cathedral was like her family, but you and Carson were her family. She had a responsibility to you. She had made a promise to your father… and she meant it. But I begged. I told her I believed she was the only one who could help me stop the attack. That wasn’t the lie. What was? I promised her she’d have round the clock MI5 protection from wheels down to meeting you at baggage claim back home. She trusted me. There was no one watching her, was there? No. As surely as she saved untold lives, I took hers with that lie. I took her from you with that lie. Please forgive me. Better yet. Don’t forgive me. Get angry, and leave and go home. Hi. How was my mom involved with the Colony Operation? Your mum stopped it. How? Not much is known really. The operation needed three things. Someone to develop the agent. Someone to make it in quantity. And someone to distribute it in a way that would affect the entire city. Your mum broke that chain. I don’t know how. Do you have anything that will help me understand what my mom was doing here, and why she was involved in tracking such a dangerous group? At first it was a police matter – but your mother was studying them for Cathedral. She had a crazy theory. Which was?  Kate’s journal is very important because it gives us the final thing we need to advance our investigation of the safehouse. But it also brings back memories for Nancy…  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClluWhZlXaY Have a seat. No. Dad told me you’re leaving. Why? Nancy, it’s not like that. Are you coming back? I know you heard some stuff between me and your dad, but you’ve got the wrong idea kiddo. Then what’s the right idea? You’ll understand when you’re older. Why is that always all you say?! Trust me, If I could tell you everything I would. But for now, I just can’t. Now come and sit, let’s practice. I’m sorry, I just can’t.With Kate’s journal in hand, we can finally solve the fireplace puzzle in the safehouse.  The stones around the fireplace can be pressed inwards. You may remember that we got some information about this way back in part 4:  Truthfully we could have done the first part then, but, as you’ll see, opening the fireplace is pretty useless on its own. Stones must be pushed in order to spell out OBSERVANT. When this is done, the floor of the fireplace opens up and something rises out of it…  This is a very simple logic puzzle using the note from Kate’s journal. I won’t belittle your intelligence by explaining why the solution is this:  What is inside the second safe? Well, there’s another box, but it’s actually unlocked for once.  A bug! Can’t pass this up. This music player’s battery is sincerely dead, though. I need to find a cord to play this.Also included is this file:  And this:  Three bullshit lock puzzles in one day is just too many for Nancy Drew, so she goes home and plugs in her new MP3 player. Because that’s where the only USB charger in the world is.    Why is a raven like a writing desk? Ask the raven. Follow the raven to the archives. If the scientist is ever in danger, someone must tell him to run. The vaccinated will arrive while the rest of us are asleep. I wish I knew what you were talking about.Also, Ewan has finished fixing our new glasses!  Definitely not something the average person would have… Aye, I’m picking up on that. Listen, we’re friends with the Americans – but I don’t trust her. I’m going up a security level. That means extra security on the lift. Passcode. Voiceprint. And skeletal recognition. You won’t be able to get down here with anyone else.Well, Nancy Drew may not know what the glasses are for, but I do.  Her vision is augmented.
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Nov 12, 2014 23:12
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CharlieFoxtrot posted:She didn't ask for this. No. It's not setting up for some twist where she betrayed you or anything, she just sort of... stops being kidnapped. And goes home. And is in no danger for the rest of the game. 
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Nov 13, 2014 00:13
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With her new vision, Nancy can see things that aren’t really there. She rides the elevator out of the basement, and then immediately tries to ride it back down again: Ewan has improved security around the base by adding in pathetically simple number puzzles! As you can see, though, there are two potential solutions to this puzzle. Let’s try pressing the numbers from smallest to largest.  Largest to smallest it is, then! The reason we needed to leave and come back is that Bridget can only break into MI-5 once we solve the puzzle in the elevator.    I’ll let you go.At this point we can take advantage of Bridget’s theft to steal spy gear from the base, but I forgot to. So we don’t. It’s time for a new test.Fantastic. Ewan has proven himself to be untrustworthy. Find a way to tap his computer. Deal with what you learn as you see fit. And you will be rewarded.Nancy Drew can’t turn down a call for help, but bugging Ewan’s computer would require going back into MI-5 again, and there’s more stuff we can do beforehand. Specifically, it is time to investigate Alec. There’s a note lying on the ground in the train station:  Since only one other person has ever even been inside the station, it obviously means Alec.   Why would you keep that note in a place anyone could find it? Why does the chair have a color lock on it? I guess Scottish culture is very different from our own. But now, Nancy Drew finally knows Alec is definitely a spy. This is different from those other times he told her that he was a spy, because this time we’re going to illegally wiretap his person:  Kate’s safehouse computer has a program that lets us listen in on Alec’s conversation. What is Alec up to? I did what you said – when are you going to keep your end of the bargain? Don’t give me that! She’s going to figure things out soon enough. She’s coming. Yeah, I got the bag. I’ll put it where you can find it. The dead drop location, yeah, the lockets. I get it. Just promise me you’re not going to hurt her. I want to talk to her now! I want to hear her voice! Alec Industries. Sorry, we’re not taking cases at the moment. But we’re still accepting your money.Very suspicious. But also very boring, so let’s go wiretap Ewan’s computer instead. Obviously, we can’t do it while he’s using his computer. So first we have to sabotage his servers.   Stop messing with that!Nancy Drew refuses to stop messing with that, and Ewan gets mad enough to head over and fix the server thermometer himself. But I failed to hide in time, so he caught me.   So I guess we can only assume that Ewan killed her? Anyway, what you’re really supposed to do is change the temperature and then hide in one of the server farm’s aisles so he doesn’t notice you. Ewan is unable to leave the server area until his computer is wiretapped, so there’s no time limit once you manage to evade him the first time.   These wires may seem identical, but Nancy Drew turns on her hacking augs and the problem becomes much simpler.   You’re a pleasant surprise. The men who are following me don’t know this is over! Lark lied! There was never any back up. I’m alone out here! I’m being followed by two black cars…Lark is Moira’s code name. The wiretap on Ewan’s computer is submitting some strange data:  The computer analyzes it, and…  Oh good.
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Nov 18, 2014 06:31
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SSNeoman posted:Ewan, what happens when a little child pushes the buttons in the wrong order? This is a public hotel, man! Any little kids who find their way into the elevator probably work for Mossad or something, considering that literally everyone we've met has been a spy. Maybe that's just what Scotland is like?
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Nov 18, 2014 16:14
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Wiretapping Ewan’s computer got us a scrambled image to reassemble. Thank Christ it’s not actually a sliding puzzle, you can swap any of the images freely to reassemble the photo. This is good, because tile puzzles are always, always terrible in adventure games. As far as I know, at no point in this game will we have to solve a 15 puzzle. G C E E B A D F a C I won’t be solving this puzzle until the next update, so why don’t you try to use the spy skills you’ve learned so far. Try to figure out what this sequence of letters is for, and what you do with them. Are you better at bullshit puzzles than Nancy Drew? But whatever you do, I hope you’re excited. Because, you see, today is all about Bridget. You might remember that, before Nancy decided to help a known terrorist organization wiretap the MI-5 mainframe, Bridget, who is really Zoe, also broke into MI-5 and stole some stuff from the spy-gear locker.  Nancy, who is not to be outdone, decides to give it a go herself.  But what top-notch security system has Ewan put his high-tech spy stuff behind?  Bejeweled. It’s… it’s just Bejeweled.  I used a walkthrough. There’s a lot of cool stuff in there. I bet it’d make our job a lot easier. But all we can take is this:  It’s a bug, in the shape of a bug. Even though Ewan said that Bridget stole all his bugs.  And look, it’s the missing code wheel from that puzzle box we found inside the puzzle safe inside the puzzle fireplace. I don’t know why Ewan had it, I don’t think it’s ever revealed why it would be there, and as far as I know there’s also no reason he wouldn’t just give it to Nancy Drew immediately. But now we can solve another puzzle! Hooray. Now, coincidentally, Bridget’s room has a vase with decorative fake insects that look like the bug we stole.  Perfect. Now, since this was taken directly from MI-5’s stash of gear, and Ewan said it was state-of-the-art technology, obviously to listen in on Bridget we have to travel to Kate’s safehouse. But guess what? Because we’ve been traveling around so much, we have now run out of train tickets. Which means we have to buy some more. Which means this:  Zoe here. “This is the game I am in.”Nancy, who has the unique ability to hear quotation marks over the phone, is suspicious. That’s a passphrase alright, but what is it for? The Drew girl blew my cover, but I’ll remain here at primary site until I no longer can. That little brat stole my glasses. Spent a great deal of time on Ewan watch. I’m going to work on an approach. At this point he can’t be oblivious to my presence. The Drew girl is as unaffiliated as she presented herself. My attempts to pry more information out of her have been more or less useless.Nancy’s plan of wandering around like an idiot and talking candidly to obvious spies is, indeed, completely inscrutable. At least we got a password, though as you’ll see there’s no reason Bridget would actually say it to anyone. To proceed, we have to visit Bridget’s room again, but this time with the glasses turned on.  Why would those fingerprints be glowing, that’s stupid. Did Bridget deliberately label the painting she hid things behind? If so, why? And why is the puzzle behind it such bullshit?  So these symbols show up somewhere else, and it’s in the Queen Mary book we found in Kate’s safehouse. You know, the one that was locked up and inaccessible until we got there? The one Bridget could in no way have had access to? For your convenience, here is the relevant page.  Click the symbols which correspond with the password we got from the bug, and the wall swings open.     Whoa, what? Bridget is… a spy?!?!? Impossible! So now we have to find seven things hidden throughout the room, complete with a Hidden Object Game “1/7 found” marker in the inventory. We need seven things to crack this code. Fewer than seven would not be acceptable!  Seven pieces!  Orchidaceous! I wonder if that will turn up anything in the archives.It does!  But more importantly, it also unlocks this:  I blame Kate for everything.
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Nov 22, 2014 05:49
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JamieTheD posted:This is very similar to the output of Alawar and Cateia, purveyors of Hidden Object Puzzle Adventures, and y'know what? I keep expecting to find a game by one of these companies that actually makes sense. I have so far failed terribly. There's certainly similarities, but Her Interactive actually predates the Hidden Object Game craze by a decade. I believe their first few games were oldschool FMV adventure games about dating vampires or some nonsense like that. There is a Nancy Drew HOG on Steam, and the title implies it was going to be a whole spinoff series, but it seems to have been a failure because they didn't make any more of them.
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Nov 22, 2014 16:49
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Remember this? Did you guess what it's for?   DID YOU GUESS IT WAS THIS?   DID YOU GUESS NANCY WOULD PLAY THE BAGPIPES TO OPEN A SAFE?  HOW DOES THIS EVEN OPEN THE SAFE?  WHAT IS HAPPENING  Mom definitely hid a code in Jabberwocky. By finding the letters Mom indicated, I'll be able to find the encrypted text. Type in caretakers at cabin computer for scientist's number. This must be the contact info for the scientist Mom placed into hiding.Of course it is.   And gently caress it, let's just call him. Why not?   They're going to come after me again, aren't they? Maybe. I don't know. Can you tell me why you're so important to them? You know what. Yeah. I'm not living in fear again. I have a family! Just stay calm. Explain how I can help. Help? Ha! You can't help. You'll be lucky to stay alive. You know who I am? I'm a biochemist who made the wrong friend.For some reason the assurances of crazy college-dropout Nancy Drew are not convincing. Fast forward a year and I'm over my head. These creeps are leveraging my family against me so I'll make this formula for them, and vaccines. Why did you say yes? Because I care about my family more than I care about a world of strangers! Revenent took my family, until I cooperated. Your mother put us into hiding. Why were they after you? What were they looking for? Because I understand the Colony virus. The process to tweak that bug until they were satisfied. I'm the only one who knows that... It's too late. I'm running. I'm not hiding that from them anymore. They want my work, they can have it. I'll leave it for them to find. you won't find me or anyone else at this number again.From now on, everything that happens is Nancy Drew's fault.
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Nov 27, 2014 01:36
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Also, there's currently a Nancy Drew sale on Steam. You cannot buy the most recent titles, but you can pick up the one in which Nancy Drew is framed for arson
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Nov 27, 2014 02:22
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A fun fact for you from the NANCY DREW GAMES WIKI about Bridget's real identity:quote:Samantha Quick is a mysterious character who occasionally is mentioned/heard of in HeR's games. She goes to a school for spies in Europe. The name may be a parody of 'Samantha Swift' who is an archeologist in another video game series by MumboJumbo.
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Nov 28, 2014 04:20
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So my computer has had a catastrophic error and is now deceased. It was probably a Revenant plot, considering it is annoying and nobody was harmed. The LP has been harmed though, since that also means I have lost the footage for the rest of the game -- and we were maybe two updates from the end, too...
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Dec 3, 2014 00:27
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I back up my documents and photos, just not my raw footage for screencaps of a Nancy Drew videogame. The saddest thing about this is you all won't get to see Nancy Drew defuse bombs with her knowledge of kilts. As a fun exercise, though, try to guess how the rest of the game would play out. Who was really working for Revenant?
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Dec 3, 2014 03:52
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SSNeoman posted:Ewan. It makes the least amount of sense so that's what it will be. Got it in one. It turns out Ewan brought Nancy to Scotland to find the information Kate his. Once Nancy finds it, Ewan steals it and leaves Nancy in a goddamn trash compactor to die. She breaks out, of course, and then solves kilt-themed sudoku puzzles to defuse the biobombs Ewan has somehow placed throughout Glasgow. Alec never gets his kidnapped sister back even though that was his entire character motivation. He even asks Nancy for help in finding her and she goes home instead. Best spy ever.
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Dec 3, 2014 23:45
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Glazius posted:Man, this is not an LP I would expect the LP curse to strike on. I feel for you. Well, not to worry; it just means I get to start on my exciting new LP sooner rather than later. As soon as I'm done grading these poor bastards' finals I'll get started on Hollow.  Hopefully, it'll be exciting.
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Dec 8, 2014 05:06
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Well, the LP is still dead (sorry, guys), but I thought I'd post to let you know that my new LP (of HOLLOW) is currently ongoing http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3688504 . Also, all Nancy Drew games on steam are currently 70% off http://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Her%20Interactive so please support Her Interactive so they can make more masterpieces
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Dec 29, 2014 03:37
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