After playing Hotel Dusk: Room 215, I immediatly searched for a similar
game for the Nintendo DS. This one was the first to come up, as it was
made by the same team, so I was really anxious to get it. As soon as I
found it in a store I bought it, went home and played for the rest of
the day. And well.. that unfortunately was it, the rest of the day.
01 - STORY|
The story is excelent (I love paranormal stuff) and it follows Ashley
Mizuki who is a 13 year old girl that has been living with her aunt for
the past few years because her parents have been dead since she was a
baby. Or are they? This question pops up because, on her birthday,
Ashley receives a package from her father accompanied by an electronic
device named DTS (Dual Trade System). In the letter, her father tells
her to meet him in Blood Edward Island, where her parents worked ans
scientists. After arriving at the island, Ashley's aunt disappears and
Ashley finds her way into the Blood Edward Mansion to meet up with her
father. In the way she meets up with a ghost of a little boy that calls
himself "D". D has no memory of his life and asks to tag along with
Ashley for the sake of finding out more about his past. And... more I
will not tell.9/10
02 - GAMEPLAY|
The gameplay is very good. You use the control keys or the stylus on
the screen to move Ashley around from a 'sky'-perspective. When you go
into a 'key' zone you can investigate a new scene (appears in the upper
screen) to find clues or items that are scattered around Blood Edward
Island, or to interact with other stuff. Then you have the puzzles wich
are very entertaining and use the stylus and microphone a lot, wich is
awesome! Also, you can take pictures of the various scenes and combine
two pictures into one with the DTS and find new clues, etc! This is
very well done.9/10
03 - SOUND|
The music was not of epic proportions but it fitted the ambient and
style of the game really well. Sound effects were good but maybe a bit
repetitive on some parts, but nothing big to point out.8/10
04 - GRAPHICS|
This game mixes 2D and 3D graphics into one. When you control Ashley
you'll be doing it in a 3D environment. When you are investigating
different scenes you will be seeing 3D environments. But everything
works really, really well and it's a truly beauty to see.9/10
05 - LENGTH|
This is where it gets rough... I bough the game, and on the same day, I
finished it within 1 hour and 40 minutes. It is a very very small game
and that is a shame since it had great... everything else. Oh well,
still entertaining though.5/10
06 - REPLAY?|
Yes! You will be wanting to replay the game to see the different
endings (I only saw one yet though, I am playing a lot of other
stuff... One of these days I'll try to get the other ones).8/10
OVERALL: 7.5
It is a very pretty and well done game that fails specially on the
length subject. Everyting else is top-notch and if you like adventure
games (or liked Hotel Dusk) this is a game you must not miss even if
the length drives you away.
