It sounds like Hotel Duak: Again for me, so I think I'd like it regardless
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| DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West http://uuddlrlrba.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=5497 |
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| Author: | Nubnos [ Fri Nov 05, 2010 7:06 pm ] |
| Post subject: | DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
Title: Last Window: The Secret of Cape West Genre: Puzzle/Mystery Developer: Cing Publisher: Nintendo Ratings: PEGI - 12 Formats: DS Exclusive Synopsis: You play as Kyle Hyde, ex-NYPD officer, and disappointing salesman for the Red Crown company. Fired from his sales job, he returns to his apartment only to find that it's been sold, and he's being evicted. After confronting his overly-cagey landlady about why he's being evicted, he goes to his apartment to find a mysterious note, instructing him to find the Scarlet Star, supposedly lost in Cape West 25 years ago, when the apartment block was a notable hotel. Desperate to regain his job, he calls his former boss, who tells him that he is indeed fired, and not to bother him again. At the mention of the mysterious note, he tells Kyle to ignore it and burn the paper, as he should never receive client orders directly. After finding out from a fellow tenant that the 4th floor of Cape West was never converted from when it was a hotel, Kyle decides to go for a look around, hoping to find some clues about the Scarlet Star. Ever the master of subtlety, he inadvertently sets off an alarm, alerting the landlady, who instructs Kyle to not come back up to the 4th floor, and that he would not be warned again. Some time then passes from this incident, and Kyle receives a phone call from Rachel, a former colleague from Red Crowns more clandestine detective branch. It turns out that Hotel Cape West was sold to Kyles current landlady 13 years ago, after a murder on the 4th floor. Several gears then click into place in Kyle's head, as the 4th floor was never converted to apartments, and has been sealed away behind the fire door. Around the same time, the curious Rex Foster then arrives, asking a number of questions about the current tenants, and appears to know more than he is letting on... Kyle is then given his second chance by his boss, and while waiting for his first assignment, he can't quite bring himself to drop the strange note, and carries on investigating the Scarlet Star. He then embarks on a journey of discovery that will uncover not only secrets about Cape West, but his family, his fellow tenants, and himself... Last Window is the third in the series of games featuring Kyle Hyde by Cing, bringing yet more of Kyle's past to light, and continuing on their strong puzzle mystery game stable. Last Window itself is presented as an "mystery novel that you can influence the story", and is very much true to that. Completed chapters of the story can be revisited, with subtle changes occurring when the player takes either less time to complete a task, or asks more than expected during dialogues. The first thing that you notice when playing it is the rotoscoped art style (think about the video for "Take on Me" by A-Ha), which fits in quite nicely with the film noir-esque style that the story is presented in. With the game being set in 1980, the retro feel of rotoscoped artwork, coupled with the soft jazz sounds, create something quite different to be lost in on train journeys. Gameplay is very much a different beast from the presentation, with a lot of trial-and-error being needed to even complete the simplest of tasks. Once you're given a task to do, you're pretty much locked into stumbling around for a while, trying to piece together what you need to do from practically zero positive instructions, more eventually finding your way after narrowing down what you can't do. Even then, when you find what you need to do some of the puzzles and tasks are a little clumsy in their solutions, with tasks requiring multitouch-like approaches, made all the more difficult by the DS' resistive touchscreen being incapable of actual multitouch. But once you get past some of the more tricky puzzles, you're then left finding your way through more uncertainty to get to the next puzzle. Once you do actually manage to find your way through a chapter, you're then given a little pop-quiz about what has happened during that part of the story. This is where the true beauty of the DS is hideously let down. The DS, in my opinion, is designed with sporadic gameplay in mind. Get on the train, whip out the DS, play a bit and put it down. If you get too many of the questions wrong, you're then given a Game Over screen, and sent back to just before the quiz, with a chance to review your notes, and try it again. Not made any notes? Well, then you're shit out of luck, and back to trial-and-error. Tricky gameplay aside, something that does work rather well is the navigation system, back from the previous games, where the top screen works as a first person perspective, with the touchscreen doing the lions share of the work, active as movement tool, puzzle solver, and everything apart from making the tea (although, there is an in-game vending machine as part of the storyline). This works amazingly well, while navigating around the place, you need to keep a very close eye on the top screen (which is actually on the left, as the DS is held book-style) for twinkles, and things either under, on-top, or inside things in the top-down view on the touchscreen. As with a lot of pick-up-and-play titles on the DS, Last Window is a little on the short side, once you get your head around how the puzzles are done, and get exceedingly lucky with stumbling your way around, then you're very much left with not a massive amount of game. Last Window is very much the kind of game that will appeal to the Hercules and the Janes of the gaming world, but I feel that the combination of the DS style of play, with a game that gives you pop quizzes doesn't work particularly well, and lets the game as a whole down a bit. But if you've got some time to kill, and a comfy couch with some soft jazz keeping it classy in the background, then it's a great game for that, as long as you finish the chapter if you need to stop, or at least make some notes... Scores Graphics: Some very classy rotoscoped artwork for the characters themselves, provided with some late 70's jazz gives a great thing indeed. While not exactly showcasing what can be done with the DS hardware, it does fit perfectly in with what the game is trying to do. A Gameplay: A big let down here. The DS really lends itself to sporadic play, and Last Window punishes you with the end of chapter pop quizzes if you've managed to forget any details in between game sessions. Very little instruction between puzzles, and some very tricky puzzles early on don't really give a sense of progression in the traditional sense. C Replay: Very lacking here. While the Last Window novel that the game is filling out will change according to what you did in your playthrough, there's not a massive amount of changes that happen, and with the only thing to go for is not opening the sealed case files, you're largely stuck with a one touch and drop. C- Overall: A great idea for a game, but handled rather poorly. Some very nice touches throughout, but overall let down heavily by too much trial and error for a game released onto what is seen by many as a casual "pick up and play" system. A lack of clear progression throughout, and, in my eyes, an attempt at padding the shortness out with a semi-influenced novel just really don't cut it for a game. Undoubtedly to be loved by puzzle-nuts worldwide (except in the US...), Last Window just doesn't have too much appeal for those outside the circle, and looking for something casual to play. C+ |
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| Author: | Cassichu [ Sat Nov 06, 2010 9:50 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
Thank you for the review. I think I'll 'aquire' it first and go from there. Dont want to waste money on a game if am not going to enjoy it. |
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| Author: | Nubnos [ Sat Nov 06, 2010 11:08 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
Hey, no problem. As not a massive puzzle gamer, it's something that doesn't really hold mass appeal for me, but for someone more into hunting puzzles down, it's more into that niche, not quite puzzle game, not quite deciphering ancient texts difficult |
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| Author: | thegamecubist [ Sat Nov 06, 2010 1:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
It sounds like Hotel Duak: Again for me, so I think I'd like it regardless
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| Author: | Nintendawg [ Sat Nov 06, 2010 7:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
thegamecubist wrote: It sounds like Hotel Duak: Again for me, so I think I'd like it regardless Same here, but they won't localize it here ;3; I absolutely loved hotel dusk, and I'm trying to hold out on 'acquiring' it for a little longer, just in case it gets ported. ... And yes, I know that cing went under after the EU version got released. So it's probably never coming here. |
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| Author: | Blokeymon [ Sat Nov 06, 2010 7:49 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
Dawg - its out over here, and I owe Cubist this game, so you want I pick you a copy up too, or at least price it up? |
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| Author: | Raiku [ Sun Nov 07, 2010 4:46 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
Blokeymon wrote: Dawg - its out over here, and I owe Cubist this game, so you want I pick you a copy up too, or at least price it up? get me one too |
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| Author: | Nintendawg [ Sun Nov 07, 2010 10:55 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
Blokeymon wrote: Dawg - its out over here, and I owe Cubist this game, so you want I pick you a copy up too, or at least price it up? Um.. sure. Not exactly sure if I can send you compensation for the game as of now. Would an I.O.U. suffice? :3 |
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| Author: | Raiku [ Mon Nov 15, 2010 12:54 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
looking around online. $60 for this game |
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| Author: | Blokeymon [ Mon Nov 15, 2010 8:47 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
Let me see how much I can get it for and I'll start throwing prices around. And it doesn't have to be cash - I'm pretty certain the missus will accept American candy in recompense. I know Zack wouldn't mind him some more Twinkies... 
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| Author: | Raiku [ Wed Nov 17, 2010 10:53 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: DS - Last Window: The Secret of Cape West |
i picture zack in 20 years like that guy in zombieland i got some godivas and coconut bars at work |
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