This is my 28th review and completed adventure in the Nancy Drew series.

First, I'd like to start by dividing my review into two factions.
1) The game itself
2) My personal detective work.

* PART 1 *

PLOT: Finally! My dreams of vacationing in the Aloha state are realized!  Aw, but Nancy Drew is on assignment to help an entomologist in her experiments deep within the forest.  The mystery of why the pineapple crops of the island is slowly dying is heavy on the inhabitants mind especially when a dangerous creature is said to come to life! The legendary K'ne ''kala!

INITIAL SCORE: 87

CHARACTERS:
The Hardy Boys: Other than seeing them on the beach initially, they weren't a solid piece of the adventure for me. I heard rumors that the boys were surfing, but did not see it actually happen, especially with Pua on the beach waxing her board the entire time! Yes, they had their own mystery going, but I found it unrewarding. [Company out to bad name another company.]

Big Island Mike: This ass really had me riled initially, because he had the audacity to stop me from going to see the entomologist. He runs the Immersion Excursion on the island, but I really didn't see that he was that active.

Dr. Quigley Kim: Maybe it was a good idea that Island Mike tried to prevent me from her, because this jerk really had me rethinking this whole adventure. She was only in this for the money and her tasks had me constantly feeling used. Her voice made me cringe too.

Dr. Malachi Craven: He was certainly hateful wasn't he? :)  As long as I had access to what was going on in the HiliHili Research Institute, I was fine with any attitude.

Pua Mapu: The daughter of Island Mike was actually the only appeal to the adventure although I wished I actually saw her surf. [It is a passion of mine.]

CUMUL SCORE: - 2 = 85

SCORE/GRAPHICS/SOUND EFFECTS:
I think HER captured the tone of the seashore quite effectively. The island ambience was quite invigorating, but I felt too confined in the supposed unlimited space that the stretch of land had initialized. Like any of the games, a lot of effort went to provide the gamer with eye candy.

CUMUL SCORE: + 1 = 86

PUZZLES/MINI-GAMES: I understand the educational value of bringing the identification of frass into the picture as sort of a scientific classification system, but that doesn't mean that's what I wanted to do for pleasure. :)  I found that most, if not all, of the games or Trading involved in the Immersion Excursion was absolutely an unnecessary timekill. It had nothing directly to do with the story at hand. HER didn't even reward you at the end of the adventure with a video trophy for going "above and beyond." One of the more wasteful sections of the game for me.

CUMUL SCORE: - 7 = 79

GENERAL IOTAS: Gees, that fishing and shell-collecting got aggravating fast!

CUMUL SCORE: - 2 = 77

ADVENTURE ENDING: Um, and who else could have been the culprits? I basically had these characters pegged at 75% from the start. I wasn't compelled to think otherwise.

CUMUL SCORE: - 3 = 74

* PART 2 *
I try to solve cases without any hints, walkthroughs, etc, even if it were to
take weeks! Well, it took me three days [8 hours] and I gave myself a
Detective Score Of : 72

My Strong Points: I jumped all over most of the clues and wasn't that distracted [although I kept dying in the greenhouse].

My Weak Points: The end game made no sense, but I managed to beat it in three tries thus letting the villain escape a couple times.

OVERALL GAME SCORE: 74 + 72/2 = 73 [ C - ]

BOTTOMLINE: I have no idea why this flat game was released. I did not enjoy myself at all, but the cave puzzles were pretty entertaining. HER really needs to invest more into worldly components with their gaming style, because these limitations aren't scalable [even by 2006 standards]. This franchise is slowly losing its grip. Honestly, I am only playing because I am loyal.

Thus far, on my list of the 28 completed ND games, KAPU CAVE ranks.... # 19 !!!!!

1) GHOST DOGS OF MOON LAKE * 90.5
2) GHOST OF THORNTON HALL * 87
3) WHITE WOLF ICICLE CREEK * 85
4) THE SHATTERED MEDALLION * 84.5
5) HAUNTING CASTLE MALLOY * 84
6) SECRET OF OLD CLOCK * 83
7) TREASURE ROYAL TOWER * 82.5
8) WARNINGS AT WAVERLY * 82.1
9) BLUEMOON CANYON * 82
10) HAUNTED CAROUSEL * 81
11) DANGER DECEPTION ISLAND * 80.5
12) MESSAGE HAUNTED MANSION * 79
13) THE CAPTIVE CURSE * 78.8
14) LEGEND OF CRYSTAL SKULL * 78.1
15) SHADOW AT WATER'S EDGE * 78
16) SECRET SHADOW RANCH * 74.5
17) SECRET OF SCARLET HAND * 74.3
18) PHANTOM OF VENICE * 73.2
19) CREATURE OF KAPU CAVE  * 73
20) THE SILENT SPY * 72.5
21) TRAIL OF THE TWISTER * 72.1
22) CURSE BLACKMOOR MANOR * 72
23) THE DEADLY DEVICE * 71
24) TOMB OF THE LOST QUEEN * 70
25) RANSOM SEVEN SHIPS * 69.5
26) ALIBI IN ASHES * 68
27) SECRETS CAN KILL [REMAST] * 67.5
28) LABYRINTH OF LIES * 67
This is my 28th review and completed adventure in the Nancy Drew series. First, I'd like to start by dividing my review into two factions. 1) The game itself
2) My personal detective work. * PART 1 *

PLOT: Finally! My dreams of vacationing in the Aloha state are realized! Aw, but Nancy Drew is on assignment to help an entomologist in her experiments deep within the forest. The mystery of why the pineapple crops of the island is slowly dying is heavy on the inhabitants mind especially when a dangerous creature is said to come to life! The legendary K'ne ''kala! INITIAL SCORE: 87

CHARACTERS:
The Hardy Boys: Other than seeing them on the beach initially, they weren't a solid piece of the adventure for me. I heard rumors that the boys were surfing, but did not see it actually happen, especially with Pua on the beach waxing her board the entire time! Yes, they had their own mystery going, but I found it unrewarding. [Company out to bad name another company. ]

Big Island Mike: This ass really had me riled initially, because he had the audacity to stop me from going to see the entomologist. He runs the Immersion Excursion on the island, but I really didn't see that he was that active. Dr. Quigley Kim: Maybe it was a good idea that Island Mike tried to prevent me from her, because this jerk really had me rethinking this whole adventure. She was only in this for the money and her tasks had me constantly feeling used. Her voice made me cringe too. Dr. Malachi Craven: He was certainly hateful wasn't he? :)  As long as I had access to what was going on in the HiliHili Research Institute, I was fine with any attitude. Pua Mapu: The daughter of Island Mike was actually the only appeal to the adventure although I wished I actually saw her surf. [It is a passion of mine. ]

CUMUL SCORE: - 2 = 85

SCORE/GRAPHICS/SOUND EFFECTS:
I think HER captured the tone of the seashore quite effectively. The island ambience was quite invigorating, but I felt too confined in the supposed unlimited space that the stretch of land had initialized. Like any of the games, a lot of effort went to provide the gamer with eye candy. CUMUL SCORE: + 1 = 86

PUZZLES/MINI-GAMES: I understand the educational value of bringing the identification of frass into the picture as sort of a scientific classification system, but that doesn't mean that's what I wanted to do for pleasure. :)  I found that most, if not all, of the games or Trading involved in the Immersion Excursion was absolutely an unnecessary timekill. It had nothing directly to do with the story at hand. HER didn't even reward you at the end of the adventure with a video trophy for going "above and beyond. " One of the more wasteful sections of the game for me. CUMUL SCORE: - 7 = 79

GENERAL IOTAS: Gees, that fishing and shell-collecting got aggravating fast! CUMUL SCORE: - 2 = 77

ADVENTURE ENDING: Um, and who else could have been the culprits? I basically had these characters pegged at 75% from the start. I wasn't compelled to think otherwise. CUMUL SCORE: - 3 = 74

* PART 2 *
I try to solve cases without any hints, walkthroughs, etc, even if it were to
take weeks! Well, it took me three days [8 hours] and I gave myself a
Detective Score Of : 72

My Strong Points: I jumped all over most of the clues and wasn't that distracted [although I kept dying in the greenhouse]. My Weak Points: The end game made no sense, but I managed to beat it in three tries thus letting the villain escape a couple times. OVERALL GAME SCORE: 74 + 72/2 = 73 [ C - ]

BOTTOMLINE: I have no idea why this flat game was released. I did not enjoy myself at all, but the cave puzzles were pretty entertaining. HER really needs to invest more into worldly components with their gaming style, because these limitations aren't scalable [even by 2006 standards]. This franchise is slowly losing its grip. Honestly, I am only playing because I am loyal. Thus far, on my list of the 28 completed ND games, KAPU CAVE ranks.... # 19!!!! ! 1) GHOST DOGS OF MOON LAKE * 90. 5
2) GHOST OF THORNTON HALL * 87
3) WHITE WOLF ICICLE CREEK * 85
4) THE SHATTERED MEDALLION * 84. 5
5) HAUNTING CASTLE MALLOY * 84
6) SECRET OF OLD CLOCK * 83
7) TREASURE ROYAL TOWER * 82. 5
8) WARNINGS AT WAVERLY * 82. 1
9) BLUEMOON CANYON * 82
10) HAUNTED CAROUSEL * 81
11) DANGER DECEPTION ISLAND * 80. 5
12) MESSAGE HAUNTED MANSION * 79
13) THE CAPTIVE CURSE * 78. 8
14) LEGEND OF CRYSTAL SKULL * 78. 1
15) SHADOW AT WATER'S EDGE * 78
16) SECRET SHADOW RANCH * 74. 5
17) SECRET OF SCARLET HAND * 74. 3
18) PHANTOM OF VENICE * 73. 2
19) CREATURE OF KAPU CAVE  * 73
20) THE SILENT SPY * 72. 5
21) TRAIL OF THE TWISTER * 72. 1
22) CURSE BLACKMOOR MANOR * 72
23) THE DEADLY DEVICE * 71
24) TOMB OF THE LOST QUEEN * 70
25) RANSOM SEVEN SHIPS * 69. 5
26) ALIBI IN ASHES * 68
27) SECRETS CAN KILL [REMAST] * 67. 5
28) LABYRINTH OF LIES * 67