Customer Reviews
First One and Still a Favorite 
2008-07-22
So far I have only tried two Nancy Drew games and Danger By Design was the best one that I played. It was really enjoyable. It was especially different since Nancy didn't have her cellphone with her and had to use regular phones in Paris with a calling card. I highly recommend this game to any Nancy Drew fan or for those just starting out with Nancy Drew games.
best yet 2008-06-30
My children think that this is the best one of the Nancy Drew games yet.
Not the best, but still fun 
2008-04-29
I gave this game 4 stars simply for the fact that it is in my favorite location: Paris, France. The setting is great, and the characters are interesting. The music is rather monotanous, but not bad. The puzzles I found fascinating and fun, not too hard but not too simple. If you are a die hard ND fan than I would definitely recommend buying this game. It is a good game, overall. One of my main 'beefs' with it was the ending--or lack thereof. It seemed rather juvenile and a little on the stupid side. I am sorry to be harsh, but that's the truth of it! :)
~Laura
Doesn't Stack up to Others 
2008-01-16
I am a HUGE fan of the Nancy Drew game series and have played about 6 or 7 of them already. Danger by Design was one of my least favorites. Although the scenery is nice and it shows alot of Paris, there is little to do at all of the locations and the tasks seem to get repetitive. After talking to the characters a few times they had little to say and there was not alot of interaction with them. There were much much less puzzles and clues to gather as there are in other ND games. Most of the game time is spent doing silly tasks like baking cookies and fixing a copy machine. And when there was a real puzzle to do it was very difficult to solve and the solutions were not something someone would have logically come up with. The plot was choppy and there were two angles to the story that had absolutely nothing to do with one another. I finished the entire game in one afternoon and the ending was lame, no excitement at all. This might me a better game for a much younger group because the tasks are easy and there are no real scary parts as there are in many of the ND games. Overall I give this game a 3 because it still had some good aspects and I love the ND series. This one goes in with the category of Kapu Cave, not horrible, but not the best.
Good, But Not Great... 2007-11-23
I have played all of the Nancy Drew games, and was expecting great things from this game. I really did enjoy it, but it was somewhat different from the other games. You play Nancy (of course) who goes to Paris to assist a nutty fashion designer. Here is my take of the game.
Story: The story was interesting. It came across as being slightly far-fetched, but most ND stories are. That is part of what makes them so much fun. The story was developed well, and all of the characters were very engaging if a bit weird.
Puzzles: None of the puzzles in this game were all that difficult. I did have trouble with one, but I never had to consult a walk through or anything like that. Most of them were just common sense and were a moderate level of difficulty.
Graphics: The graphics were very realistic and enjoyable. I especially enjoyed exploring the catacombs and swimming underwater.
Ending: VERY far-fetched. So far-fetched that it was a little painful actually. Not the best ending that I think they could have come up with.
Overall: This game is well worth the money if you can get past the ending and the fact that the puzzles are not all that difficult. If you are new to the ND games, I wouldn't start with this one. Start with games 2-13 and I think you will be better off. This game is probably better left to experienced ND gamers who are loyal enough to forgive any flaws!! Like me... Hope I helped!
Not as fun as most of the ND games 2007-10-24
In Nancy Drew: Danger By Design, you'll take Nancy undercover in a prestigious fashion design studio in Paris. The lead designer, Minette, hasn't quite been herself lately. She hides behind a white mask and often throws tantrums, even firing several employees. Mysterious threats arrive at the old windmill studio and other troubles lurk in the underbelly of the City of Light. Can you help Minette release her latest clothing line on time? Or will your sleuthing abroad meet an unfashionable end?
Fun! 2007-10-15
This was the first Nancy Drew computer game I ever bought. I was originally looking for Everquest, when this one popped out at me. I hadn't known before that Nancy Drew was a computer game. So, I ditched Everquest and brought this home. Boy, am I glad that I did! It gave me thirteen hours of fun! The plot was a bit eccentric, as were the charcters, but that's easy to overlook.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I enjoyed the errands you were given. It made it feel like you really were an undercover detective. After all, Minette thinks you're an intern. Do you really think she's going to ask you to run around town and ask people questions? No! Plus, the errands give you a chance to meet all of the suspects.
The ending was slightly dissapointing. I wasn't happy with the explanation of Minette's mask. Overall, a nice, clean game with a bit of education. A nice tool for babysitters like me!
Good and Addicting 2007-09-29
JUst wanted to say that I bought this as a gift for my sister. She requested it because she loves these kind of games. It's like being an investigator, trying to figure out every little detail. She is 15 years old and got addicted. I dropped it off with her on a Thursday and by Saturday morning I had a message on my phone from her that said she had beat the game. She spent a lot of time and effort on it but now the fun is over. I say it's probably a great purchase but don't do it all in one sitting. Take your time and enjoy the game. I would also recommend the other games Nancy Drew has to offer. Thanks and happy purchasing!
good nancy drew game 2007-09-15
Good nancy drew game. Had much fun playing it. As usual, have your walkthrough ready. The story was good, just don't be excited for a cool reason Minette wears a mask.
Mystery? What mystery? 2007-08-03
Even at the age of 15, I am still a big Nancy Drew fan, both the games and the books. I bought this game with the desperate hope that it would live up to the expectations brought around by its unbelievably fantastic predesecor, Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon. "Blue Moon Canyon" had been my favorite ND game of all time, and I was hoping that they were only going to get better from here. *sigh* How wrong I was!
First of all... what mystery? Nancy flies all the way out to Paris to go undercover as a fashion designer's assistant, to... solve a robbery? Investigate a killing? NO! Find out why this lady that Nancy doesn't even know is acting so weird! If Minette's friends wanted to know why she was acting so strangely, they should've called a therepist, not a world-famous detective. I know that they did the same thing in Curse of Blackmoor Manor: Nancy goes abroad to find out why a lady is acting weird. However, in Blackmoor Manor, the woman's behavoir is a lot more wild and alarming, and this one was more on a personal level.
And the solution to the so-called 'mystery' was so lame and outlandish that it made me wonder for a few moments if I'd dreamed it. Because it did not seem possible that HerInteractive (the makers of the fantastic Blue Moon Canyon game) could dare to use something so trivial as the solution to the mystery that I slaved for hours on. I could've accomplished the same thing in 20 seconds by tackling her and ripping the mask off. But, no, I had to go through many many hours of solving puzzles, earning money, making cookies, scaring away rabid squirrels.
Hang with me, the rant's almost over. Just one more thing: the climax.
The climax, to me, is the most important part of a Nancy Drew game. It is the time where you are inches from solving the mystery and finishing the game, when... BAM! One of the suspects shows up, identifies themselves as the culprit, and then you (as Nancy) have to face one last challenge in order to stop them from 'getting away'. (This challenge is usually the hardest part of the game). Then, once you finish that, the game is over and you get to sit back and relax for the epilouge.
However, the climax in this game... how shall I put this politely... stunk.
First of all, what culprit? All you're trying to do is figure out why Minette is wearing a mask all the time and throwing potted plants at her assistants (who sometimes rightly deserve it.. *cough* naughty Heather *cough*). The only thing the climax consists of is standing in Minette's studio while the two of you start kick-boxing each other. You have a stamina bar for the first time in Nancy Drew history, and all you have to do is block her punches until her stamina bar drops all the way down and she falls asleep/faints/dies or whatever she does at the end. If I wanted to see two people beating each other up, I'd watch my cousin play Grand Theft Auto, and at least they wouldn't water down the fights like HerInteractive did. (Well, the game does say 10 and up) And then the mask falls off and I go, "What's this, a joke?"
Ok, now that I'm finished ranting and raving, I'll talk about the good things.
The puzzles, as always, were challenging and time-consuming (in a good way). There were some pretty cool sub-plots about death threats and something about World War Two. The graphics quality had reached an all-time high. The characters were fun and exciting, and there was, as always, those classic lines that make you crack up every time you hear them.
However, all in all, I'm afraid the good things don't outweight the bad. If you've got your heart set on finishing every game in the series, go for it. However, if someone just bought you the game for Christmas or something, I'd definitly shove it under the bed and spend your time better by playing Blue Moon Canyon (which is a very good game).
