Last Window: The Secret of Cape West (DS): COMPLETED!
Obviously, I’m going to have to stick some spoilers in here, otherwise I’m not going to be able to say anything about the game. Because, oh boy, were there a few reveals in the latter half of Last Window. Like in the first game, hardly anyone was quite who they appeared to be, and everyone had at least one secret to hide.
The main “what?!” moment was when Dylan – as in, bumbling clumsy sticky-beak handyman Dylan – is revealed to not just be “a bit curious” or even “somewhat creepy”, but in fact is spying on behalf of Nile – the mysterious crime organisation that operates outside the law (and, as it happens, within the law itself). Sure, I thought there was something a bit odd with him, but he’s essentially the main bad guy!
Then there’s the full backstory of Mags and her involvement in the past events, leading to her almost killing Kyle and Tony (seriously – old woman got mad ninja knockout skillz) when Kyle’s just about to make the final breakthrough. Where the hell did she get “police-strength sleep spray” from? It’s never explained.
And Will White not being Will White? And Marie nearly jumping off the roof to her death? Drama!
Anyway, as in Hotel Dusk, the last few hours play is mostly about tying up the ends of each character’s story. Most of them have a past issue that needs resolving, or they need convincing to leave Cape West, and once that’s done Kyle moves onto the getting the final answers to all the remaining questions. In this game, that meant finding a hidden poker room, which revealed in a very Raiders of the Lost Ark way, a secret stash containing the very gem Kyle’s dad died stealing 25 years ago.
As with Last Window, there’s a lot of million-to-one chance coincidences. Some are explained, some are left as mere unlikely chances. This does make the story feel a little contrived, but thankfully – again, like the first title – the story is strong enough to carry it. It felt like a proper detective novel, played out with a stylus.
There weren’t many puzzles, and most were quite easy, but it made (as did Cing’s other works) great, and unusual, use of the DS too. In one part of the game you have to retrieve a key from a musical box. It’s inside a rotating drum in the box, and the DS itself acts as the box and lid. Open the DS, the music plays and the drum rotates. Close the DS and the music stops. To get the key out, you have to mostly close the DS when a gap in the drum lines up with the key, then press R to lever the key out a little, then squeeze the stylus inside the mostly-shut DS to “grab” the key and pull it free. Awkward, just like the actual task would be really. Brilliant!
At a little over 15 hours I’d finished the game. I’d say that was a pretty much perfect length to spread the story out without wishing for it to just wrap up quickly. My only complaint is that there aren’t any more Cing games to play, as they disbanded years ago. Shame.
8 Ball Pool – Money, Money, Money !!
Danger Boat – Distance
Finally thanks to the aircraft carrier I have managed to beat Monsters total distance & set a best distance of 2,617.
Truthfully without the aircraft carrier extra life there is no way I could have achieved that, so I fully expect my best distance to be beaten once the boys have unlocked the aircraft carrier.
Truthfully without the aircraft carrier extra life there is no way I could have achieved that, so I fully expect my best distance to be beaten once the boys have unlocked the aircraft carrier.
999: it’s like a novel
I've reached the end of the story, but I've not reached the end of the game. Let's rewind a bit.
999 (with a full subtitle of 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors) is an adventure game, with the core gameplay being based around exploration and puzzle solving to escape rooms. However, there's not a huge amount of exploration available to the player - instead, the main character (Junpei) explores the ship along with his new-found acquaintances, and the player is informed of this through reams of text. At times, this is almost like a non-interactive version of an interactive novel ... a novel, then.
What surprised me was how well the text is written. It could pass for a professional story, with appropriate descriptive language and varied vocabulary. There are a few occasions where the wording felt slightly off, but each character had their own voice and mannerisms, which led to an accomplished narration. It's sad that this should be a surprise, but there are precious few games with as much attention paid to their script.
So, having reached the end of the story, I've completed the game, surely? No. One of the limited interactive elements of the game is the choice of which doors to go through at three key points in the game. I ended the last game with Junpei being stabbed in the back, and have since restarted. Annoyingly, while I can skip through the text, I still need to solve the puzzles again in areas that I've been through before. But each playthrough should give more information about the characters, and I understand there are six potential endings. I'm not sure I'll collect them all, but the game is significantly quicker to play the second time around, so I'll see what else I find.
999 (with a full subtitle of 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors) is an adventure game, with the core gameplay being based around exploration and puzzle solving to escape rooms. However, there's not a huge amount of exploration available to the player - instead, the main character (Junpei) explores the ship along with his new-found acquaintances, and the player is informed of this through reams of text. At times, this is almost like a non-interactive version of an interactive novel ... a novel, then.
What surprised me was how well the text is written. It could pass for a professional story, with appropriate descriptive language and varied vocabulary. There are a few occasions where the wording felt slightly off, but each character had their own voice and mannerisms, which led to an accomplished narration. It's sad that this should be a surprise, but there are precious few games with as much attention paid to their script.
So, having reached the end of the story, I've completed the game, surely? No. One of the limited interactive elements of the game is the choice of which doors to go through at three key points in the game. I ended the last game with Junpei being stabbed in the back, and have since restarted. Annoyingly, while I can skip through the text, I still need to solve the puzzles again in areas that I've been through before. But each playthrough should give more information about the characters, and I understand there are six potential endings. I'm not sure I'll collect them all, but the game is significantly quicker to play the second time around, so I'll see what else I find.
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