Hotel Dusk: Room 215

Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Developer(s)	Cing
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Taisuke Kanasaki
Composer(s)	Satoshi Okubo
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	NA January 22, 2007 JP January 25, 2007 AUS February 22, 2007 EU April 13, 2007
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: T OFLC: PG PEGI: 12+
Media/distribution	Nintendo DS Game Card

Hotel Dusk: Room 215, released in Japan as Wish Room: Angel's Memory (ウィッシュルーム　天使の記憶, Wisshu Rūmu Tenshi no Kioku), is a graphic adventure game for the Nintendo DS. Originally announced on October 5, 2005 as Wish Room, the game made its first public appearance on May 9, 2006 at that year's E3 convention. It was released in North America on January 22, 2007, before being released subsequently in other regions. The game supports the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak accessory. The game was later republished in 2008 as part of the Touch! Generations line of DS games. The game was developed by the now-defunct Cing.

Gameplay

Screenshot of gameplay showing both DS screens in their vertical format.

The player, as Kyle Hyde, moves around and interacts with the environment using the DS's touch screen and must solve a variety of puzzles using the handheld's various features including the touch screen, microphone, and closeable cover. The DS is held rotated 90 degrees from normal, like a book, with an option in the game to allow the player to switch which side the touchpad is on depending on which hand is dominant.

Throughout the game, the player must speak with the various hotel patrons and employees in order to uncover vital information. The player can show the characters items that Kyle has collected, or ask questions that have been brought to Kyle's attention. By asking the right questions, Kyle will uncover the information he needs. If he asks the wrong question, makes a wrong assumption, or shows the wrong item, he may confuse or anger the person. This is usually indicated by a darkening of the character in question. This can result in Kyle being forced to retreat to his room or, later in the game, getting kicked out of the hotel, leaving him unable to solve the mystery.

The game is filled with adventure-style puzzles, most of which involve using the touch screen to perform a simple task. Movement is made by leading an iconic representation of Kyle around a map of the hotel on the touch screen or d-pad while a first-person three dimensional view is shown on the other screen.

There is also a journal to write in, which is used by several other characters as well, though all critical in-game story notes are copied automatically. It gives three pages to write in, with a simple pencil/eraser system.

Synopsis

The main setting is the fictional Hotel Dusk, a small, somewhat rundown hotel located in the southwestern United States near Los Angeles, California during the year 1979. The protagonist is Kyle Hyde, a former member of the New York Police Department searching for his old partner, Brian Bradley. During his stay at the hotel, Kyle unravels a mystery shrouded in the hotel's past that may lead him to the answers he's looking for.

Plot

The plot of Hotel Dusk is based on atmospheres noir of the '70 and tells the story of ex-policeman Kyle Hyde: which the aim is to solve the mystery behind the murder of his team-mate Brian Bradley, a direct cause of his removal from New York City Police Department. Kyle, meanwhile, works as a vendor for the Red Crown, whose president is a friend of his father. Arrived at the Hotel Dusk for a delivery and for spending the night, will be handed over the keys to the room number 215, which, according to the owner of the hotel can cater to the needs of those who sleep. In addition, it is not so long ago, it seems that another score with his own name has accommodated them...

Development

Production took about a year and a half with 20 staff members involved. In an interview with Qj.net, Director Taisuke Kanasaki "explained that they wanted Hotel Dusk to have an unprecedented visual expression not found in any other game."

The game uses rotoscoping to animate its characters while a brushwork style illustrates the game's environments with half-finished backgrounds with 3-D objects strewn about. While not a first in gaming, rotoscoping is still rare in most games (with only a handful, namely the original Prince of Persia using the animation style).

Sequel

A sequel, titled Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, was released on January 14th, 2010 in Japan, and on September 17th, 2010 in Europe. It takes place in Los Angeles, California during 1980, a year after the events of Hotel Dusk. It is currently unknown if Last Window will ever be released in North America, due to developer Cing's subsequent bankruptcy.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	79.36%
Metacritic	78/100
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	B+
Famitsu	33/40
GamePro	4/5
GameSpot	8.2/10
GameSpy	4/5

Hotel Dusk: Room 215 has garnered a review score ratio of 79.36% at Game Rankings, and a 78/100 on Metacritic. Most major review sources gave it high marks, including IGN (7.9/10), GameSpot (8.2/10), Electronic Gaming Monthly (8.67/10), and 1UP.com (8/10). The positive critical reception commonly references the game's storyline and well-written character dialogue. Carolyn Gudmundson of Games Radar notes that the "...game is so well-written, and the dialogue is so natural, that it feels more like interacting with real people at times than following prompts in a game." GameSpot notes that "...the characters that populate the hotel aren't just half-written caricatures, strictly designed to move the plot forward. These people have layers to them--legitimate character depth that shines through with each passing conversation."

The game was also selected as one of Gaming Target's "52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2007". It was the 76th best-selling game in Japan in 2007, with 213,208 copies sold.

The reception was not universally positive, though. The Onion AV Club gave the game a D+ and pointed out that "while a mystery should keep you alert for clues and misstatements, Hotel Dusk slaps you in the forehead with every new piece of evidence, then patronizes you with reading-comprehension quizzes after every chapter". Echoing the AV Club's complaints about the stylus use in the game feeling strapped on, Netjak.com added, "The gimmick to gameplay ratio is almost off the charts for this one" and awarded the game with a 5.9.

See also

• Another Code: Two Memories

External links

• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 official site
• Wish Room: Tenshi no Kioku official Japanese site
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 at N-sider
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 at GameFAQs
• Hotel Dusk: Room 215 at IGN