Curse of Blackmoor Manor

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Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor

Developer(s) Her Interactive
Publisher(s) DreamCatcher
Platform(s) PC
Release date September 28, 2004
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single player
Rating(s) ESRB: Everyone (E)

Curse of Blackmoor Manor is the eleventh computer game, released in 2004, in the popular Nancy Drew computer game series created by Her Interactive. The game puts the player in Nancy Drew's shoes, where they must solve the mystery. The game features 3D graphical environments, interviewing suspects and solving many challenges and puzzles. The game is often abbreviated by fans as CUR or CBM. The game is based on the book The Bluebeard Room. It has received the highest PSV rating out of all of the games to date in the series, due to several violent occurrences.

In June 2007, Her Interactive released a DVD version of this game.

Contents

[edit] Plot Summary

Nancy Drew, famous teenage girl detective, has been asked to discover what strange illness is plaguing young bride Linda Penvellyn. She has taken to hiding behind a curtain in bed all day long, snapping orders and acting erratic. Linda's mother knows Carson Drew, Nancy's father, and wants to find a cure. She sends Nancy to the mysterious Castle of Blackmoor, rising from the depths of a murky British bog in the middle of a desolate area.

Upon her arrival, spooky things start happening right away - Nancy hears strange whispers and sees a huge pair of glowing red eyes staring at her through the night. Her fears are assuaged by the no-nonsense Mrs. Drake, who brings her to her room. Nancy tries to talk to Linda, but she refuses to come out, lamenting with words that make no sense to the girl detective. Instead, Nancy meets up with another character - Jane Penvellyn. She is Linda's stepdaughter, and loves the supernatural world. She also has many games and puzzles in a hope chest in her room, and is excited that Nancy has to be her new playmate.

As Nancy explores the mansion, she also encounters Ethel Bosinny, an elusive woman who is Jane's tutor, and Nigel Mookerjee, who is working on a Penvellyn family history. It isn't long before Nancy's inquisitive nature kicks in, and she discovers an old computer belonging to Jane's grandfather. He has equipped it with a strange "find-the-ghost" game, making Nancy dash about the mansion looking for glowing ghost cutouts when she enters the computer's password. She soon solves the puzzle and learns of a secret passageway in the Manor's East Hall. She discovers that the passage is a fun-filled slide that swoops down into the Great Hall.

As the characters slowly begin to reveal motives as to their own dark secrets, Nancy talks to Linda. When she mentions that she found a secret passageway, Linda warns Nancy that "she'll be cursed, too!" Nancy pressures Linda into revealing that the bedridden woman found a secret passage of her own by playing around with a gargoyle in the hallway. Using the clue of a Penvellyn family crest, she opens the passage in question and discovers a strange curse etched above a door. It mentions that whoever reads it will become the fabled "Beast of Blackmoor." By looking into the creature's history and snooping, Nancy discovers that Linda thinks she is turning into a werewolf. This may seem silly, but Linda has developed a huge appetite for raw steaks - and her arms are mysteriously hairy!

Nancy delves deeper into the Penvellyn family history, and finds rumor of a great treasure protected by the family. With the help of Jane and Loulou the Parrot, the girl detective ends up deep in the basement's hidden forge, which is the location of the treasure. In order to unlock its secrets, Nancy must "reunite the elements four" of air, water, earth, and fire. Using an old journal containing the words of Penvellyns past and some of her famous intuition, Nancy is able to do just that. In doing so, she forges a unique key that releases the fabled treasure - a meteor that may be the Philosopher's Stone - and summons the culprit...

The end is resolved in the familiar way of Nancy writing home and tying up all loose ends of the case, explaining the culprit's motives and how they got away with it all. Then, as usual, a sneak peek into her next adventure is revealed.

[edit] Characters

Linda Penvellyn - A newlywed woman, who is now hiding behind bed curtains in fear. She refuses to communicate or see anyone, with the exception of a few occasional words. She believes that she is turning into a werewolf due to a curse in a secret passageway.

Jane Penvellyn - A young deprived 12-year-old girl obsessed with monsters and strange supernatural creatures. She loves playing odd games such as Bul and Constellation Match-up, and is excited at Nancy's arrival, so that the two of them can play games.

Mrs. Leticia Drake - A strict woman who mainly roams the conservatory. While she may seem uptight, she has a powerful belief in the supernatural world. However, if she departs from the mansion, a clause in her father's will would give her half of the mansion's property.

Nigel Mookerjee - A strangely secretive and jumpy historian, determined to write a chronology of the Penvellyns. Unfortunately, his work is considered boring by most.

Ethel Bosinny - Jane's strict and somewhat unpleasant tutor. She is very odd, and engages in some mysterious rituals with Jane in the Great Hall at midnight.

Ned Nickerson - Nancy's boyfriend, Ned is an unseen character who is called for clues and hints.

Mrs. Petrov - Linda's mother, also an unseen character who can only be reached by cell phone. Worried and somewhat desperate for a solution to her daughter's illness.

Hugh Penvellyn - Jane's father. Unseen character, Hugh can be called using the telephone.

Loulou - An intelligent 80 year old parrot who gives hints and loves "yummy cakes".

[edit] The Penvellyn legacy

Main article: Penvellyn

The Penvellyn family dates back to feudal England, where patriarch Randolph was rumored to hold a great treasure. Disappointed with his son's performance on the battlefield (where Randolph was famous), the man instead entrusted the gift to his grandson after constructing Penvellyn Castle. Randolph designed an ingenious system of "moving rooms" and a giant forge that protected his treasure — a meteor believed to be the Philosopher's Stone. Each Penvellyn grandchild was then expected to find the mysterious stone by solving the moving rooms and discovering the family forge. Each child was to write an entry in an ancient journal describing their journey. They were then made to craft some sort of puzzle as a buffer, each generation shielding the meteor with more security and offering clues to future descendants. Other Penvellyns aided in the quest by encoding their unique crests with clues to the treasure's key. The Penvellyn puzzle creators and descendants are:

  • Randolph Penvellyn: The family patriarch; he created the massive "moving room" system and was the original owner of the Philosopher's Stone.
  • Milo Penvellyn: Grandson of Randolph; crafted the Jupiter column in the Great Hall and hid the missing thunderbolt behind a moving tile system above Jane's door.
  • Albert Penvellyn: Claiming to "lack his grandfather's ingenuity", he sealed the moving tiles and placed the key in the matching sound staircase; his entry in the journal gives Nancy a hint about how to bring the earth element to the forge.
  • Charles Penvellyn: Hoping to help other descendants, he wove the tapestry containing the free-verse poem in Jane's room; this poem told the order in which the tiles had to be arranged.
  • Elinor Penvellyn: Rumored to be a witch; sculpted the Mercury statue and gave him the wand necessary for both his column and the fire for the forge; loved gargoyles.
  • Corbin Penvellyn: Developed the "charmed chimes" that move the Mercury statue in the library; the chimes also moved Mercury's eyes; the notes had to be played exactly right to release the statue's grip on the wand; his crest also told how to open his grandmother's secret passageway.
  • Penelope Penvellyn: Loved a "go fish"-style game played by her mechanical companion Betty; she created the Venus statue and hid its missing arrow in her machine, to be given only to one who beat Betty in a game; her entry in the journal tells how to bring the air back to the forge.
  • Brigitte Penvellyn: Creator of many puzzles; made the Artemis column and placed its missing full moon tile in a box in her room; the compartment the box was in needed to be opened with a special telescope-like lens, which also offered a clue for getting the Venus arrow from her grandmother's machine.
  • Edward Penvellyn: An explorer; made the Saturn column and hid its missing clock in a secret slide; a target on the wall would have to be hit to release the clock and open the column.
  • John Charles Harold Penvellyn: Children's book author of Grenny and the Water Fairy and owner of Loulou; creator of the Mars column; his book which was actually a coded message that revealed the location of the armored head needed to complete his column; offered a clue about the water in the journal.
  • Alan Penvellyn: Enjoyed computers and technology; created a "find-the-ghost" game that hinted about Edward's secret passageway and the way to the Saturn column; his entry in the journal also gives a helpful shortcut through the moving rooms downstairs.
  • Jane Penvellyn: The newest Penvellyn grandchild; eventually, she too will make a puzzle to aid in the quest for the treasure; her friend Nancy Drew actually passed her ancestors' tests for her.

[edit] Columns in the Great Hall

Each of the columns in the Great Hall has a depiction of a Greek god on it; they are also all missing something. When each of those "missing somethings" is placed on the appropriate column, it opens, revealing a knight that is able to move the pipes leading into the forge below. The pipes must all be turned to send oil into the forge, completing the earth element's requirement. These are the columns:

  1. Jupiter, God of the Sky: missing item was a thunderbolt hidden above the door to Jane's room; tiles had to be moved in the order of the woven poem in Jane's room to free the item.
  2. Saturn, God of Time: missing item was a small clock concealed in the secret slide passageway in the mansion; a target on the slide's wall had to be hit to free it.
  3. Mars, God of War: missing item was a helmet belonging to a knight; it was hidden in the fountain in the mansion's conservatory, and a frog-like game needed to be won to recover it.
  4. Venus, God of Love: missing item was a tip of Cupid's arrow; the game mechanism in the Great Hall needed to be beaten in a go-fish game to recover it.
  5. Mercury, God of Travelers: missing item was a fine wand held by a statue of the same god in the library; a secret organ that could move the statue needed to be played just so to get the stone to open and claim the wand.
  6. Artemis, Goddess of the Moon: missing item was a full moon shaped tile; a special magnifying glass had to be used on a holding box in Nancy's room to begin a Zodiac sign matching puzzle that freed it.

[edit] Ending

Nancy unlocks a door and sees the Meteorite. Suddenly, the culprit runs forward, saying, "Whatever you just found is mine!" They take the Meteorite, causing a trap to fall on them. After a few interrogating questions, the culprit then realizes they are quickly running out of air. If Nancy doesn't act quick, the culprit will suffocate. Nancy runs around the corner and gets the Aeolus statue to lift the trap. Then, everything is explained in the ending letter.

[edit] Second Chances

As with all Nancy Drew games, in this game there are many fatal accidents such as:

  • Waking Mrs. Drake up in the middle of the night.
  • Getting eaten by Mrs. Drake's carnivorous plant.
  • Feeding Loulou cakes with poisonous ingredients.
  • Blowing up while doing the alchemy puzzle.
  • Getting crushed in the moving rooms (devil squares).
  • Failing to run from the heavy box.

However, if the player makes a mistake, they may click on "Second Chance" at the main menu and it will take them back to the place before they made that mistake.

[edit] Cast

  • Nancy Drew, Loulou - Lani Minella
  • Mrs. Drake - Amy Broomhall
  • Jane Penvellyn - Conni Ellern
  • Linda Penvellyn - Jenn Ruzumna
  • Ethel Bosinny - Sarah Papineau
  • Nigel Mookerjee - Stephen Hando
  • Mrs. Petrov - Dora Lanier
  • Ned Nickerson - Scott Carty
  • Hugh Penvellyn, Tommy Tucker, Alan Penvellyn - Jonah von Spreecken
  • Paliki Vadas - Alyssa Keene
  • 1930s Radio Announcer - Max Holechek

[edit] Trivia


[edit] External links

Preceded by
The Secret of Shadow Ranch		 Nancy Drew Computer Games Succeeded by
Secret of the Old Clock
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