Last Window: The Secret of Cape West
| Last Window: The Secret of Cape West | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Cing |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Taisuke Kanasaki |
| Designer(s) | Rika Suzuki |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West, known in Japan as Last Window: Mayonaka no Yakusoku (ラストウィンドウ 真夜中の約束, lit. "Last Window: Midnight Promise"), is an adventure video game developed by the now-defunct Cing and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is the sequel to Hotel Dusk: Room 215, starring protagonist Kyle Hyde and placed one year after the events of its predecessor.[2] The game has visual and audio styles similar to that of the first game. In Last Window, Kyle Hyde is living in the Cape West Apartments, Los Angeles, in 1980. The story of this sequel is separate from the first game, even though it includes some connections to it.[3] Last Window was the last game developed by Cing before the company filed for bankruptcy on March 1, 2010.
Gameplay
The DS is held vertically, like a book. Last Window introduces an 'Ignore' feature which allows player to let go the lines of questioning they don't find useful. Ignoring too many lines of questioning, as well as not ignoring enough, may cause an early game over.
A new story-based feature is the in-game novel Last Window. Every time a chapter of the game is cleared, a new chapter in the Last Window book is made available. The contents of the book complements the game's story, and they can be influenced by the decisions the player makes.[3]
Plot
Los Angeles, 1955: A man has broken into a safe. A mysterious figure then enters the room, aims a gun at him, and fires. The victim collapses, dead. He drops a diamond which he removed from the safe, and a photograph of a man and a young boy lies next to it.
1967: A woman is slouched over a table, apparently dead, in a room in the Hotel Cape West. A man is seen leaving the room.
1980: Kyle Hyde speaks on the phone with Ed Vincent, his boss at Red Crown, who fires him. He travels to the Cape West Apartments, where he lives. Just before he enters the building, he notices a mysterious woman wearing a hat and sunglasses. Soon afterwards, he discovers that the Cape West Apartments are to be demolished at the end of the month, and all the tenants are vacating. As he opens his apartment door, he notices a letter that tells him to find out what secrets the apartments hold, and an object known as the "Scarlet Star." Thus begins Last Window: The Secret of Cape West.
Characters
Kyle Hyde: A 34-year-old former police officer of the NYPD, now salesman at Red Crown. The first scene shows Kyle waking up inside his car and calling Red Crown, only to be fired for negligence. He later discovers that he is to be evicted from the Cape West apartments, which are soon to be demolished. Later, he discovers a letter instructing him to find a mysterious object called the Scarlet Star, which was allegedly hidden inside his apartment building 25 years ago. As the story unfolds, Kyle begins to believe the building to be related to his father's death and he attempts to discover the truth before Cape West is demolished.
Margaret Patrice: Cape West's landlady. She lives at the first floor. Acts sophisticated and ladylike.
Marie Rivet: Somewhat sombre young woman who lives in Cape West alone, after her husband and older brother died in similars car accidents. Lives in room 206.
Frank Raver: A stubborn old man. His hobby is walking around the apartment building. Lives in room 302.
Tony Wolf: An unpopular musician. He's usually in financial problems and is constantly borrowing money from other tenants in Cape West. Considers Kyle Hyde a good friend. Lives in room 201(Performed by Ninezero)
Betty Meyer: A vivacious young woman living on the same floor as Kyle Hyde in room 203. Works in a jewelry store.
Charles Jeunet: A young exchange student from France. He is aiming to become a movie director. Hates it when people mispronounce his name. Lives in room 305.
Sidney Reagan: He owns Lucky's Cafe in Cape West's first floor. Had to raise his daughter Claire alone after divorcing his wife. Knows all of his customer's tastes.
Claire Reagan: Teenage daughter of Sidney Reagan. Very upbeat and friendly and also helps her father out with his Cafe. Also has a crush on Kyle Hyde, as much to Sidney's disapproval.
Dylan Fitchar: Maintenance man for Cape West and also collecting aficionado of butterflies, crystals, and other strange hobbies. Inhabits room 304.
Ed Vincent: Boss of Red Crown. Was an ex-LA detective and also an old good friend of Kyle Hyde's father. Is seen in the opening sequence losing his temper on Kyle Hyde and firing him from Red Crown. Currently 56 years old and also has his share of health problems.
Rachel: Works for Ed at Red Crown. She acts as a liaison to Kyle Hyde in the game through his pager signaling him to call them. Is very interested and affectionate to Hyde as well.
Mila Evans: A young girl Kyle Hyde encountered in the previous game 'Hotel Dusk: Room 215' a year ago. Is currently attending a fine arts school in Seattle Washington.
Rex Foster: Mysterious man who seems interested in Cape West Apartment and appears the next day after Kyle Hyde arrives there. Seems to know more than he says as well as doing investigative work on Cape West.
Will White: A man who recently moved to Cape West Apartments. Very gentlemanly in behavior but seems to look down on people. Lives in room 306.
Chris Hyde: Father of Kyle Hyde who lost his life in his last job as a safe cracker 25 years ago. Was planning to quit the crime gig to focus more on raising his family. His murder case has remained unsolved.
Jeanie Hyde: Mother of Kyle Hyde. Currently residing in New Jersey working as a Nurse and occasionally calls Hyde time to time to check up on him.
Reception
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Last Window: The Secret of Cape West has garnered a review score ratio of 80.33% at Game Rankings. No ranking has been given by Metacritic (and by most US review publications) because of the game not being released in this region.
Most major review sources gave it high marks, including IGN (7.5/10), Famitsu (31/40), and Edge (7/10), albeit lower marks than the first game in the series, Hotel Dusk: Room 215. The critical reception commonly references roughly the same strengths and weaknesses as its predecessor.
The game's storyline is praised : Simon Parkin of Eurogamer notes that "It's the kind of story rarely presented by videogames in 2010, and in this context the cliché turns into something fresh and unexpected". Matt Wales of IGN wrote "few games can match the quality of characterisation delivered through the excellent script". Graphics are also praised as adding to the atmosphere of the game. Henry Stockdale of Nintendo Life writes "Graphically, Last Window is as brilliant as its predecessor. The pencil-drawn character art mixed in with colour backgrounds gave the original game a unique feel and life and while this is still perfectly intact here every bit as good, not much has changed from before".
The main criticism revolves around the pace of the story at times: IGN's review points out that "as with much of Cing's output, these text-heavy exchanges will likely test the patience if you're not willing to invest in Last Window's intricately-woven narrative" whereas Eurogamer's remarks that "those of a less patient disposition will undoubtedly balk at Last Window's deliberate pace and text-heavy delivery".
References
- ↑ "Last Window UK release date confirmed".
- ↑ "The Last Window is a sequel to Hotel Dusk".
- 1 2 "Last Window (Hotel Dusk sequel) details...". Retrieved 2009-11-14.
- ↑ "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West". GameRankings. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
- ↑ "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West". Retrieved 2011-08-29.
- ↑ "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West Review". September 15, 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
- ↑ "Famitsu review scores". January 5, 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
- ↑ "Last Window: The Secret of Cape West UK Review". September 17, 2010. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
External links
- Official European website
- Official Japanese website
- UK Review from Cubed3's Adam Riley on 13 September 2010: 9/10
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