As far as interface changes go, the most notable thing so far is that your items now have cute little descriptions below the images. Also, there are five buttons for you to press rather than the four from the first game.
Anyway, in the front of the building we run into a fella named Tony Wolf. Apparently a starving musician type. Looks a tiny bit like Louie. Hyde asks him about the lady he passed by outside. Tony saw her, but knows nothing about her whatsoever. (Interface change: the dialogue options are a lot longer than in Hotel Dusk, but the choice boxes are the same size. Which means the text scrolls.
Tony and Hyde apparently have a history together-- mostly of Tony mooching of Hyde and occasionally taking a swing at him while smashed. Tony mentions he's gonna be leaving Cape West in the near future-- as is everyone else except Hyde, apparently.
We learn that "Mags" has mailed a letter to everyone except Hyde, and also that Tony peruses Hyde's mail. Place is getting sold, and everyone has to clear out.
Anyway, Tony and Hyde bump into Betty Meyer, Hyde's next door neighbor who sells trinkets and shit nearby. Tony makes an unsuccessful attempt to hit on her, then goes off into the night for god-knows-why.
The music in this game is every bit as good as in the first game. The menu theme is a remake of the menu theme from the original game (which I can't say I like as much as the original, but I'm sure it'll grow on me) and the walk-around theme is the same lovely smooth jazz type song that made up so much of the original game's soundtrack. And Tony's theme is hella good.
On our way up to the second floor, we run into Margaret Patrice, the complex's owner. We learn from her that Tony has yet again failed to cough up his rent. We learn that Hyde still needs to pay his $400 in rent as well (whoops). There's a good reason why Mags decided to sell the joint, but Hyde has no choice but to let it slide.
(PS-- the game unsubtly commands you to inquire and look around by having the words written over their respective UI portions in flashy red text in the early parts of the game. It's really out of place.)
Hyde writes down how much money he needs in his notebook, where you now have a rudimentary undo button and FOUR pencil sizes. How nice. Also in the notebook is his locker combo, which is necessary to solve the first incredibly stupid puzzle of the game. We open his locker and mail cascades out. We locate the eviction notice and move upstairs.
On the second floor we run into a dude with a hammer named Dylan Fitchar. Guy's a plumber, and Mags has been asking him to fix up the place pro bono.
Hyde opens his door to find an anonymous letter jammed in it. The message says to look for an item called the Scarlet Star (although it's typed with a weird typewriter of some sort-- the T's are all up a bit).
This being the eighties, Hyde now has an answering machine. The first message on it is from Rachel, advising Hyde not to do anything dumb. The second is from a mysterious man who asks Hyde to take an order which he's placed in the door.
Hyde can't get to sleep, so he has another one of those dumb pop quizzes from the first game. Unfortunately, the music isn't cool like in the first game, so I could care less.
(As an aside-- this game also features a novel called "Last Window", which if I'm not mistaken is written by Martin Summer from Hotel Dusk and is more or less a plot synopsis of each chapter in the form of an awful novel. Man, no wonder the dude was a one-hit wonder. His writing sucks.)
Anyway-- game is good so far. I really really do like it.