Nancy Drew Stay Tuned for Danger
Her Interactive	Ages 10 and up

Rating Scale 5 = great,    1 = poor

Educational Value 4.0

Kid Appeal 5.0

Ease of Use 4.0

System Requirements

PC / Mac Price Survey

Product Support

There is very little software available for post-Barbie aged girls, and what exists is, for the most part, as shallow and insubstantial as a "Teen" magazine. The Nancy Drew mystery series (also see Secrets Can Kill) is a major exception. These titles challenge girls to be bold, clever and persistent -- much like the heroine herself.

Stay Tuned for Danger is an intricate masterpiece, filled with clues, twists, dead ends and pay dirt. It most definitely is not for the easily discouraged. Even when the mystery's solution is apparent, it must be earned, a difficult task for the most seasoned sleuth. But then, the fun is in the discovery, and it is not meant to be rushed!

In her latest adventure, soap opera actress Mattie Jensen enlists Nancy's help. Her costar and personal leading man, Rick Arlen, is being threatened by an elusive enemy. The situation begins with intimidating notes, then escalates to poisoned candy and an accident on the set. Rick is seemingly nonchalant, but the danger is obviously real. The perpetrator must be found and stopped!

Educational Value

As with Secrets Can Kill, this program challenges the user to become an investigator, to look everywhere for clues, and then return to look again. It illustrates the need to carefully consider all evidence and sometimes reject the obvious. To question everything and to accept nothing without due consideration. It strengthens problem solving and critical thinking skills -- skills that promote creativity, innovation and independence.

Kid Appeal

Our teen testers became immediately immersed in this program. Although it frustrated them at times, they faithfully persisted in their efforts. Some reported giving up with a fruitless game and starting a new one, using information learned from prior errors, taking paths not taken, and achieving more success the second time around.

Players interview and interact with animated 3D characters, a change from the program's predecessor, Secrets Can Kill, which featured real-life characters in video clips. Although our testers grimaced with distaste when they first encountered the new characters, they soon accepted them, and reported that they ultimately preferred them.

Ease of Use / Install

Stay Tuned for Danger installs easily on Windows 98. The program requires DirectX 7.0 and will install the component if it is not already present. It also performs a quick check for system requirements and generates a report to ensure compatibility.

Program navigation is relatively simple. The magnifying glass cursor changes to blue when movement is available, and red when an item can be looked at more closely or kept for future use. An interactive map of New York City allows the user to move between venues via taxi trips.

Three levels of difficulty make this program challenging for adults as well as teens. Our testers unanimously found the Junior Detective (level 1) to be more than adequately challenging.

Best for... / Bottom-Line

Fun and adventure abound in this second Nancy Drew mystery from Her Interactive. Users should be prepared to invest some time and brain power -- this puzzle is not easily solved.

See SuperKids' comparisons with other girls software titles, and the Buyers Guide for current market prices of this PC-only program.

PC: Windows 95/98, 166 MHz or faster cpu, 130 MB hard drive space, 16 MB RAM, 16-bit color grapics video card, 8x or faster CD-ROM, 16-bit Windows compatible sound card.

Reviewed on:

Pentium166 with 48MB and 12XCD

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