Soundtrack/Voice Acting
As you know, there are very few games on the DS that have voice acting. To be honest, I think that's a good thing. The last thing you need is some dodgy voice acting to ruin a game. As for the soundtrack, it really keeps in time with the gameplay. When you're doing the puzzles, the sound is almost completely turned off depending on the situation to help you concentrate. Basically, the soundtrack is great and it's perfect for the game.
Graphics
Probably the main talking point for this game is the graphic style. The characters are in a black and white hand drawn style. This doesn't affect their expressions though. In fact it heightens their expressions to really give feeling behind the characters.
The backgrounds are in colour so the characters stand out even more .
General Review
The game is designed to be played like Brain Training, i.e. holding the DS sideways like a book. Whereas Brain Training is just weird, Hotel Dusk does it because it's designed to be like a book (i.e. reading through the pages).
In fact, Nintendo describes it as "an interactive novel" (though this doesn't really do the game justice). Like many visual-novels, this one gives you various choices that affect the storyline. However, unlike most visual-novels, it's possible to get a game over. It's quite hard to though, but let me put it this way: don't get on the characters nerves and try to stay inside the law. Another thing that makes it different to other visual-novels is the ability to walk around freely and save anywhere. The main difference though, is the inclusion of various puzzles throughout the game. A lot of the puzzles are quite straightforward, but some will have you running to the internet for the answers. I will give you a clue that might help though, if you're not sure how to do a puzzle, put the DS in sleep mode and think about it for a bit.
Overall 4.5
This game is brilliant. To be honest, I don't need to say any more. If you've not been a fan of visual-novels before, give this a try.
The combination of RPG elements, puzzle solving and classic visual-novel choice making make this a great game.
The only downside is that there's little replay value. There's a few extras to find on the replay, but there isn't any major additions.