You’re Kyle Hyde – ex cop turned salesman in this neo-noir adventure game. Hyde is a man on a mission who has found himself staying in the Hotel Dusk, a trashed roadhouse with more stories and secrets than you could imagine. He’s got a knack for solving mysteries, as a veteran of the NYPD, as well as a penchant for bourbon and trench coats. The story is set in 1979, Kyle is looking for his partner, Brian Bradley who’s on the lam, but upon arriving to the hotel he realizes there are far too many coincidences in the Dusk that relate to his partners disappearance to disregard – Hyde jumps head first into the rabbit hole. He soon finds the Hotel Dusk holds some secrets that don’t want to be found; stories of a dead girl, rooms that grant wishes, and a man who stayed in the hotel six months earlier under Hydes’ own name. The plot thickens the residents share more than they let on, and the jaded ex-detective takes a step closer to the answers he’s been looking.
Hotel Dusks’ graphics are quite impressive for the small handheld, while not much competition versus the competition, the real key to the charm of the game is the visual representation. Characters are sketched with fluid animation in black and white, while the actual surroundings and environment are modeled in full 3D. This leads to a unique look not seen in most video games today; a blending of two mediums in a video game – and the results are pretty impressive. Each of the characters has a bevy of facial expressions which are pretty believable when matched with the novel-like dialogue, though that’s not to say that there aren’t a few awkward illustrations, one of which leaves our leading man looking much more like a feline than a detective.
The noir feel of the game is reminiscent of an earlier era, established mainly by Dramas involving crime, corruption, and just plain ol’ bad guys from the 1940’s (old timers: think The Big Heat, and you youngins’ can think of Sin City/Max Payne) While some games developed out of US have noticeable problems in dialogue (see: Zero Wing) the written word in this adventure is top-notch and reads very well. The characters are developed, albeit slow at first, but come into fruition early on – which is surprising for a game which hasn’t had a big push from the big N. While the dialogue can be wordy at times, it is all very well done and even with an eclectic gathering of characters such as this, there are some pretty funny moments sprinkled throughout the game play. Some of the dialogue can get tedious, especially if you’ve read through it before, as a few of the locals can go all out for a couple of minutes; so those of you who shy away from reading, this game may not be for you.
At its core, the game is dialogue driven; so you’ll have to pay attention to what people are saying. Puzzles are handled pretty straightforward – this isn’t Myst, so there won’t be any archaic rune solving puzzles – they’re common sense, though a few will have you scratching your head for a good while. One of the problems is that the Hotel, at least at first, may seem more non-linear than it is, and while you go in search of more action while you let your puzzle simmer for a while, you’ll find you will not pass you, and you definitely won’t be collecting any bills.
While the visual presentation is nice, and the dialogue damn near perfect, the audio could use a bit of work. The songs are a tad repetitive, and would most likely appeal to those who take elevators for the soundtrack rather than their speedy, and reliable, skyward transportation. Most of the songs sound like recycled midi files, though the tunes generally do sound like they could have come from the era of bell bottoms and Travolta – it seems as if the songs don’t belong in this adventure game.
Movement is controlled with the stylus and the DS itself is held like a book. You control your avatar, Kyle Hyde, by pointing on the map of the Dusk which is located on the right screen. You are also able to control most of the major function in the game at the lower portion of the screen, such as opening doors, picking up items, and selecting dialogue options. At first it is easy to get lost on screen, as the right screen is two-dimensional and the left is the 3D environment in which you can interact with. You will find yourself sometimes relying on the map screen more-so than the actual game-screen, and missing important items or pieces to a puzzle, which can be rather annoying at times, but is hardly a reason to not pick up this title.
As you journey onward with your super sleuth, you’ll gain a repertoire of items, which is where we hit our first speed bump. Some of the items you’ll find along the way will not be able to be obtained until the time is right, which can lead to some monotonous traveling to and fro throughout the hotel. Although it doesn’t happen too often, for some it might just be the fact that it happens at all – as most game studios have resolved this blight circa 1989. You’ll be wandering a bit during your stay in the Dusk, so unless you have a few hours to dedicate to the game before putting it down, Cing, the studio behind this noir adventure, has provided us with several ways of recording our status in the game, including a notebook, several floor plans of the hotel, and a chapter summary – which, well, summarizes each chapter and highlights the main points during each act.
While the game itself has a few faults in design it doesn’t hinder the game play enough to put it down. The story is well written and intriguing and almost plays out like a movie. Taking a cue from modern day drama, and the neo-noir film style, Hotel Dusk proves to be stylish, fun, and addicting. If you’re not a fan if reading, as stated before, this may not be for you, but even so – give it a chance, you’ll find a gem just waiting to be played. Hotel Dusk: Room 215 is one of the top games for the DS this year, and easily one of the best for the handheld to date.
"Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (DS)" is on sale January 22, 2007 and is rated T. Adventure.
