After reading some of the reviews for Cing’s DS adventure game, I was a little hesitant about picking it up. I love adventure games, but the puzzles were cited as being a pain in the ass. So, I did the next best thing. I put it on my GameFly Game Q.
Having finished it, I’ve to come to the realization that reviewers have no idea what makes a game good. This was a great adventure game, and I easily recommend trying it. It is very short (it only took me 5 hours to beat), but for the low price of $15 at GameStop, you make out on the deal.
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I won’t divulge any of the story, only because that’s the main reason for playing adventure games, and I won’t be the bad guy and spoil it for you. Just know the story and localization are very good, and you’ll enjoy it while it lasts.
Also, Cing uses the DS in ways I’ve never seen before. In the game, your character actually has a DS system, dubbed the DTS. She uses it in the game to solve many of the puzzles, but for you to solve them, you need to manipulate your own DS. It was fantastic to see some of the puzzles turn into something physical, and I really wish the adventure was longer, only to see what they could have come up with next.
After seeing all these crazy and unique gameplay ideas, I started to realize that many DS developers have stopped using the machine in innovative ways. It seems they have gone back to their old ways, giving us generic 3D and 2D games with no interesting ways to show off the system. The top screen is always a map, the touch screen is only used for selecting menu options, and the microphone is all but wasted.
After playing Trace Memory, I long for the old days. The brief period after the launch and before that second holiday season had many games showing off the DS in wholly unique ways. Nintendogs, Meteos, and Pac-Pix all packed a punch, but it seems as though the ideas have dried up since then.
But all is not lost. Cing has decided to bestow upon us another adventure game, in the form of Hotel Dusk. The art style looks amazing, and there seems to be a lot of mature content in it. Everyone should be excited for this game. If you are not, then I have no choice but to kill you.
And we all know, the more adventure games there are, the better. Even though we haven’t had any new genres in a while, this one is the most in need of a rebirth. You can check out the trailer for Hotel Dusk below.
Hurrah for Cing! Hotel Dusk is less than two weeks away at this point, and the posibility of a new DS game made with the spirit of experimentation you mentioned has me pretty psyched. It even seems to have some very positive first reviews, if EGM is to be believed, so maybee it will garner more of a following than Trace Memory did.
Yeah, I’ll die if this game doesn’t get big sales. I want adventure games, and I want experimentation. Hotel Dusk has both. It also looks really fucking cool, especially when talking to people. I may ask for this game for my birthday, which is near the end of the month. Cing FTW!