Given the truly staggering number of games released for the Nintendo DS since its launch some five years ago, you’d be forgiven for missing some of the true gems buried beneath the big name titles and the shovelware.  As an early 2007 release, the touch based Hotel Dusk: Room 215 was unfortunately overshadowed by new installments from franchises like Castlevania, as well as the untimely DS debuts of The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon. Though critically praised, it was ultimately one of the best overlooked games on the platform.

The descriptor “interactive novel” is aptly applied to Hotel Dusk; the opening sequence flows like a well-written mystery narrative. A limited-info flashback introduces the player to Kyle Hyde, an NYPD detective who turns in his badge after his partner Brian Bradley betrays him. Deeply scarred by Bradley’s treachery, Hyde chooses to leave his past behind and becomes a salesman for the Red Crown company in California. Three years later, an assignment leads him to Hotel Dusk, a rundown hotel near Los Angeles. When he learns that a recent guest checked in under his name, Hyde has no choice but to uncover the secrets of the hotel’s guests and the ties to his own past.

The story is told mostly through character dialogue, interspersed with flashbacks or Hyde’s own internal monologues. Revolving mainly around the twin ideas of error and redemption in the lives of the hotel guests, the storyline is a heavy one to be sure. Murder, kidnapping and blackmail are all fair game at Hotel Dusk. But more importantly, so are anxiety, regret and sorrow; they are the dominant emotions you’ll come across during conversations with the people down the hall. These people aren’t merely soulless NPCs, they’re characters with meaningful depth and feeling, something that comes across effortlessly whenever they converse with you. Through a combination of well-crafted dialogue that is unique for each character and the detailed brushwork used to give each guest detailed facial expressions, conversations feel genuine and create (at least in me) a fondness and familiarity towards them.

Along with the beautiful black and white caricatures, Hotel Dusk sports a water color environment complete with patches of white along the edges, as if the scene was painted on a canvas. During play the DS is held, appropriately enough, “book style”, with the touchscreen on the right or left (depending on your handedness).  The regular screen provides a 3D water colored view used for indentifying specific items in the environment, and the touch screen shows a top down map-style perspective. Movement is controlled either by dragging the stylus or using the directional pad. Aside from a few instances, the stylus is the only thing necessary for interaction.  

The gameplay itself strikes a good balance between talking to and questioning characters and item-based environmental puzzles, and only at the end does it become dialogue centered. Very rarely should you find yourself unsure of how to progress, since the game itself is very linear and often leads you from one instance to another, though there are some puzzles that require some extra though, or just common sense.  While there are no “boss battles” to speak of, there are several pivotal conversations where the game can actually end should you choose a dialogue option incorrectly, though the answer is usually easy to spot and you are given the option to retry the conversation if you fail.

To add to the atmosphere, the game boasts an impressive soundtrack, with a smattering of pieces that range from upbeat and intense to moody and sorrowful. Though you may not notice it in the background as you peruse the halls of the Dusk, the music adds an invisible and significant layer to the feel of the hotel. And should you progress far enough, you’ll be rewarded with access to a jukebox where every song can be listened to in its entirety.

If you have little or no interest in things like character development, heavy emphasis on dialogue or a complex, multilayered narrative, then chances are good that you will be turned off by Hotel Dusk. If you aren’t that person, and you’re willing took sink some time into a good game, then enjoy your stay. It’s worth it.

Sunday's Podcast got delayed for one reason or another. But we are planning to record tonight. I am still working on the site when I can, but with work, dentist and other doctors appointments time has been limited.

I am also still waiting on Bio info from my 3 cohorts *cough*.

But more updates and random stuff is coming soon.

If you are reading this you have found what I have been working on. We are not doing a full launch just yet. But I am getting the site ready for a "grand" opening. Lets call this a soft launch, as I am testing various things like my rss feeds, twitter integration, etc.

The plan is to record a new episode of the podcast this weekend. And I hope to fully roll out the site when that goes live. But for now I will keep plugging away at the site.

When the site goes live for "real" I will let everyone know. For now thanks for stopping in. If you have any questions or comments leave them here or e-mail us at ptg@pause-the-game.com

See you soon.

Now I have made no secret of the fact that I am a Sony fan. But even I was starting to wonder if they would ever make the price drop needed to push more units. Well that time has come starting tomorrow the new price is $299.

And by Sept. 1st the PS3 Slim will be in stores everywhere.

Really Sony it's about time. I have been on the PS3 bandwagon since day 1 and I don't regret paying the $600 price tag. But really the system was out of reach of most people.

Now if I could just have a word with you about getting God of War III out sooner ...

The adventurous souls here at PTG are going to brave the cursed waters of the Caribbean as we attempt to follow in the footsteps of the Dread Pirate Guybrush Threepwood. Come along with us if you dare. Arghh!!!!! ..... "wait he's not really a dread pirate you say?", "and the waters of the Caribbean aren't really cursed?" eh. Well come along with us anyway as PTG plays through The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. It's a classic, it looks incredible, it's funny, and most of all it's only $9.99 on Steam. I mean how can you pass up a deal like that?

Speaking of deals here's the deal with PTG Plays. Over the next several weeks we will be playing through and discussing The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition. If you want to join in with us pick it up from Steam and drop us a line on Twitter, Facebook, or just leave a comment in this post and be ready to play through Chapter 1 since that is what we are covering this week.

It speaks volumes to the quality and composition of a game, or anything really, when it's possible to indentify and isolate a small part of a multilayered body of work, and then mold that into something that maintains the same level of quality on its own. No easy task, to be sure. Especially when the piece of content being dissected is Half-Life. Not just the original Half-Life, a game globally praised and perpetually imitated because of the clean balance it struck between in-game storytelling and immersive first-person interactivity, but also the sequel, and the entire Half-Life formula for that matter.

Since its inception in 1998, the franchise has never drastically altered its standard formula. The controllable character, protagonist or otherwise, is placed in an environment where they must deal with the repercussions of events out of their control. Through a combination of exploration, physical puzzlery and the occasional combat situation, a story slowly unravels, culminating in a final climactic scene.

If you were to peel back some of the layers from that traditional Valve recipe, if you wanted to taper that experience into something that felt genuine but diverted from the norm, you might wind up with something that resembles Research and Development, a brilliant little slice of creativity available in a mod for Half-Life 2.

R+D starts out in typical Half-Life fashion, with a few hazy glimpses of something gone awry in a large scientific complex. But there's no deep story to be found, because the driving force behind the mod is its heavy emphasis on non-combative, puzzle-based progression. The puzzles themselves are usually confined to a room or two, and while that might seem like a hindrance, it keeps things from being overly complex while still being satisfying to solve, and a wide variety ensures that no two are the same. They range from using pheromones to guide an Antlion through a maze, to interacting with keypads and computers, to finding new uses for the good 'ol Gravity Gun.

One of the best things I can say about Research and Development is that it feels like some sort of wonderful offspring of Half-Life 2 and Portal, combining great presentation and pacing with genuinely fun original gameplay. Definitely not one to miss.

You can download Research and Development here