Hotel Dusk (NDS)
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Cing
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: 01/22/2007
Point and click adventures are starting to make a comeback and make a name for itself on the DS. Trace Memory, also developed by Cing, is one obvious example and contains some neat puzzles, though it's a bit on the short side. A notable example would be Phoenix Wright, a series that I've gotten quite hooked on and seems to have garnered a lot of popularity, considering how difficult it was to get a copy of the first game before it got reprinted.
Let's see how this game stacks up.
Story
Hotel Dusk: Room 215 puts you in the shoes of Kyle Hyde, a former NYPD detective who takes up a job as a traveling salesman for the cleaning supplies company Red Crown. The job only serves as a cover for his search for his missing ex-partner, Bradley. His search takes him to a rundown hotel in California, the titular Hotel Dusk. And naturally he ends up in the Room 215 also mentioned in the title.
The game takes place over the course of one night, and during each of the chapters you help one of an array of characters staying in Hotel Dusk, each with their own stories and problems. There's Dunning Smith, the owner of Hotel Dusk with equal disdain for criminals and police and will eject anyone who acts even a little suspicious (especially Kyle). Melissa is an initially bratty girl staying with her inattentive father and who brings out Kyle's soft side. Louie is a pickpocket Kyle used to bust back in the Big Apple who now works at Hotel Dusk. Rosa is the boisterous maid and cook who takes in Mila and constantly nags Louie to do his job. Jeff Angel is a rebellious teen who came with Mila to Hotel Dusk, but abandoned her when he found out she couldn't speak. Martin Summer is a pompous novelist who isn't all he's cracked up to be. Helen Parker is a kindly elderly woman who wears an eyepatch (urge...to make pirate jokes...rising...). Iris is a pretty actress who appears to be hiding something. One character in particular who plays a pivotal role in the plot would be Mila, a young girl who was in a coma for 10 years and awoke with an inability to speak, missing memories, and a childlike mentality.
Their subplots are tied together quite adeptly, and they can all be linked to the main plot thread in some manner. Some aspects of the plot are left open-ended, but that leaves room for a sequel (or wild speculation, whichever the case may be). The character are well developed, and there is more to them than what is apparent from a surface glance. The story contains some neat twists, and the Bradley search is wrapped up in a way you wouldn't quite expect. I personally thought it was fitting and somewhat wistful, but some might feel cheated.
There is 70s slang intermingled throughout the dialogue, but it feels natural rather than dated. Kyle's dry wit and deadpan humor are fun to read through. It's worth it to examine every item for his commentary. Many times this will lead to a clue as to how to proceed, so you're really killing two birds with one stone. For laughs (or something), examine Dunning's tub, though it could leave you with some bad mental images. Don't say I didn't warn you.
Story: Unparalleled
Graphics
The cutscenes in the opening and ending consist of colored drawn animation, though the characters are sparsely colored (which resembles watercolor) or not colored at all. Overall they're beautifully done, but the 3-D rendered moving car is a bit jarring next to the drawings.
The in-game graphics consist of a first person 3-D view of your surroundings on one screen and the name of current location and an overview of where you're currently standing on the other. Dialogue scenes consist of Kyle on one screen and the person he's talking to on the other as black and white character portraits that gesture while making their point. The character portraits are expressive and flicker with movement even when the character isn't actually moving, which I thought was an interesting touch.
The art style is unique and fits the mood of the game well. The 3-D is a bit lackluster, but then again, the DS isn't exactly known for its prowess with handling 3-D. Nonetheless, they do the job, and many of the objects can be interacted with, which adds to the sense of exploration.
Graphics: Very Good
Sound
The soundtrack is fairly pleasant to listen to, is unobtrusive, and never grates at you even after long periods of time hearing it, but it's also not something that will be stuck in your head after you shut off the game. Some nice jazzy piano tunes are among the tracks, which fits and enhances the mood of the game. No music plays while you're trying to solve a puzzle, which is helpful for concentration. There is a piece that plays towards the end of the game that, combined with the echoing footsteps as you move through the area, gives the game an eerie feel and forebodes one of the most suspenseful sections of the game. Sound effects are nothing memorable, but they're realistic enough and do the job.
Sound: Good
Control and Gameplay
The game requires you to hold your DS like a book, which I managed just fine with, but some may find it cumbersome. When you start up the game, you'll be asked which handedness you are, and the game adjusts itself accordingly (you can change this anytime in the systems menu). Controls are entirely stylus-based, which is expected given that the game is a point-and-click adventure. You move by holding down your stylus on a spot ahead of your current location or by using the control pad. To advance dialogue, click on the orange lined arrow at the bottom right corner of the text box or press a button.
Icons of a door, a person, a magnifying glass, and a notebook line the bottom of the map screen. The first three icons will flash whenever there's a door to open (or knock on), a person to talk to, or if you're within vicinity of something that can be investigated, respectively. If you click on the magnifying glass when it flashes, you'll be taken to a closeup of the area. A bar on the bottom right allows you to rotate the view to see different parts of the scene better. You'll also have the option of taking notes, using an item, or going back to the previous screen. Moving the pointer over an object that can be examined will highlight it, and tapping it will yield a message on what it is. If the object can be further interacted with, the view will zoom in on it. When you find a puzzle, the screens will swirl into a closeup of the puzzle.
When a character says something particularly noteworthy, a yellow triangle pointing to him or her will appear. Tapping it will lead to new information, and questions that arise will be stored for later. A rectangle with a question mark will appear over Kyle for any questions he has. If there any questions you can ask the person, you'll be taken to a list of questions. You can also review the conversation that just took place as well.
You can also take notes in Kyle's notebook. This function proved useful when I had to keep track of many different things at once. It was particularly handy for the seven star stickers scattered throughout the hotel. If you input the total for all seven stickers into the vending machine (along with change), you get a prize to give to one of the characters in the hotel, which'll earn you brownie points with that person, but that's about it.
At the end of each chapter, you are quizzed on the characters and events of the chapter you just played through. It can serve as a nice refresher, but it also felt somewhat redundant. How you do on these quizzes doesn't impact anything. If you get a question wrong, Kyle will simply say something along the lines of ?No, that's not it?, followed by the correct answer.
There's also a couple of minigames, including a bowling minigame that involves throwing the ball with a swipe of the stylus. Some of the puzzles resemble brainteasers, such as the matchstick and coin puzzles. Sometimes you have to manipulate something in order to use it for something else, such as opening a paper clip to pick a lock. You also put together a rather simple jigsaw puzzle twice. Closing the DS is even integrated into some of the puzzles, which I found clever.
Overall, the control scheme works and the interface is intuitive enough, but moving can feel slow at times.
Control and Gameplay: Very Good
Replayability
There's only one ending, but there are a couple additional scenes that are shown if you avoid getting a Game Over the entire game. One scene in particular ties up a major plot thread, so it could be worth it to go through the game again to see it if you did not earn it the first time around. The vending machine will also dispense a different item for the second playthrough, but any playthroughs after that will only yield the same item. There is also a room you can unlock only on the second playthrough with an item to give to a certain character, but this only minorly affects the ending, nothing plot changing. The codes needed for some puzzles and the numbers on the star stickers are randomly generated, and you can make the text go faster, but those are about the only other changes.
Once you unlock those scenes, there's not much else to replay for, unless you just enjoy going through the plot again or happen to be a stickler for completion.
Replayability: Bad
Balance
The game contains very specific triggers, and you could spend hours combing the hotel trying to find the trigger to advance the plot. It's par for the nature of the game, but that doesn't make it any less annoying. During puzzles where you have to manipulate an item, the controls can get finicky, and it can be a bit of a struggle to get it to do what you want. The bowling minigame is particularly notorious for this, as the ball tends to veer off to the side a lot, causing you to miss the pins.
If you're too much of a jerk or get caught doing something you're not supposed to, you'll get kicked out of the hotel or go back to your room and mope until morning, resulting in a game over. So you have to be very careful with your responses to people, as if you rouse their ire (a red aura appears; a black one appears if you really tick them off), they will refuse to speak with you further, which will prevent you from progressing. Even one wrong answer can be enough for a game over. Fortunately, it's usually obvious which answer to pick (hint: the ones that don't make you sound like a blowhard). You do also have the option to save anywhere (though not while talking to someone or tackling a puzzle), which helps as well.
That being said, the game is challenging without becoming nigh impossible without a walkthrough, a line some other games have trouble toeing.
Balance: Good
Originality
The game is pretty stylistic, and there's not much like it on the DS (or even the PC, where point-and-clicks saw their prime). Where Phoenix Wright uses more brightly colored anime graphics, more overt humor, and feels more like a visual novel, Hotel Dusk uses darker graphics, tends to lean more on the serious side, and gives you more freedom to roam and interact with various items. Neither are better than the other, it's just a matter of preferences (though I like both). Some elements or characters may have been done before, but they're well implemented, and they feel fresh.
Originality: Great
Addictiveness
Oftentimes I found myself wanting to advance the plot to find out what happens next, so I'd sit there playing for hours. The game is pretty linear, but there's plenty of content, so you do get a bang for your buck. For reference, my completed file has an elapsed playtime of 22:42. Your mileage may vary, but this game will last you a while.
Addictiveness: Very Good
Appeal Factor
This game will appeal to anyone craving point-and-click adventures and likes a good mystery. Point-and-clicks are garnering more spotlight, but it's not exactly the most widespread genre. If you like more action-oriented games or get frustrated easily with puzzles, you may get bored quickly with this.
Appeal Factor: Very Good
Miscellaneous
The writing is tight overall, but there are some typos interspersed throughout the script, and at least a couple of lines are attributed to the wrong person. This indicates that another round of proofreading would have been beneficial. This does not adversely affect the coherency of the brilliant writing or quality of the gameplay, but it comes off as a bit unprofessional. The game also supports the rumble pack, which probably won't mean much to most people, but it's there. As I do not own a rumble pack, I was unable to test this feature.
Miscellaneous: Above Average
The Scores
Story: Unparalleled
Graphics: Very Good
Sound: Good
Control and Gameplay: Very Good
Replayability: Bad
Balance: Good
Originality: Great
Addictiveness: Very Good
Appeal Factor: Very Good
Miscellaneous: Above Average
FINAL SCORE: VERY GOOD GAME
Short Attention Span Summary: Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is a solid point-and-click with a strong story and well fleshed out characters. If reading lots of dialogue, solving puzzles, and examining every object in sight sounds boring, this probably isn't for you. Basically, once you've beaten this game, you've really seen everything there is to see. But it's quite the journey while it lasts.
Copyright to Aileen Coe of Diehard GameFAN, used with permission by Mercury Ice. If you are a guest viewing this, please take the time to register.
