"Curiously fun, but lacking in content."

There's probably a good chance you've never heard of Professor Layton and the Curious Village. It's another one of those quirky DS games that just kind of snuck onto store shelves and probably won't get much notice. Quirky DS game is also probably the best way to explain it. What Layton is, essentially, is a collection of puzzles and brainteasers for you to solve as you work your way through the game.

The game begins with Layton and his apprentice Luke finding their way to St. Mystere (the aforementioned Curious Village) as per a request of the recently deceased Baron Reinhold. When they get there, they find a village filled with puzzle loving citizens who attempt to pick their brains and test their logic at every turn. Shortly after arriving, a murder takes place and the game revolves around discovering the truth behind that murder as well as locating the ‘Golden Apple' that the late Baron hid somewhere in town. The game plays out with you controlling the good professor and investigating the town while the townsfolk constantly hurl puzzles at you before they give up any information. You also get three sub-puzzles to work on throughout the game (a painting, a ‘gizmo', and a room arrangement), and you'll get pieces to these puzzles as you solve the normal ones delivered by the townspeople. The story behind the game is actually surprisingly interesting if you get down to the meat of it. It's probably not going to blow your mind, but there's a bit more to it than you'd think at first. There are some inconsistencies (i.e. a main villain who has NO relation to anyone or anything), but what's there is probably enough to keep you solving puzzles. The only problem is that the story is given to you in very minute quantities, much like a leaky faucet. The gameplay to story ratio is way too shallow most of the time, until the last chapter when everything gets thrown at you in the span of an hour or so.

The meat of the game is the puzzles, of course. There difficulty curve is pretty good, and there are hints available to you for a price – you get a limited number of ‘hint coins' to use, and once you're out, that's it. Each puzzle has three hints, so you can run through your coins pretty quick if you're not careful. Luckily you can pick up extras in hidden places throughout the town, and if you're thrifty (and don't totally suck at puzzle solving), you'll find yourself with quite nice stash of these coins at the end. The puzzles themselves aren't that tough, but everyone once in a while you'll hit a tricky one. Most of the time, this is due to a vague objective though, and not genuine difficulty. The puzzles don't really become brain-scratchers until the final areas of the game and the majority of the puzzles can be solved through trial and error, but you will lose points off your overall score if you guess haphazardly, so it's worth trying to figure them out on your own.

Controlling the game, whether it be moving around town or trying to solve a puzzle is done through use of the touch screen. The controls are responsive as you'd expect, and hit detection is spot on. Everything is easy to read and navigate, which is important seeing as the game relies entirely on the touch screen. The graphics are simplistic, but what's there is nice. It's worth noting, however, that most of the townsfolk look ugly as sin. Maybe that's intentional, maybe it's not. The tunes in Layton are nothing to write home about, but they never get grating considering you'll be hearing them a lot, which is a plus. The animated cut scenes are rather enjoyable, however, and they're usually paired with some pretty quality voice acting. There aren't a ton of them, but when they do show up, it's a nice treat.

Layton certainly isn't a game for everyone. Before you go and try it, be aware that the majority of the game is, if fact puzzles. If that doesn't sound like your cup of tea, you'll probably want to pass. Even if it does sounds like the game for you, keep in mind that the amount of puzzles is limited. There are 120 main game puzzles, plus 15 you can unlock by completing certain tasks. You can also download a new puzzle every week via Wi-Fi, but when you add it all up, it really isn't much. Pro puzzle solvers will tear through the game in about 10 hours and there's really not much of a reason to revisit the game after you tackled all the puzzles. It's hard to know who to recommend this game to, as enjoying it seems to be a very case-by case basis. If you're a fan of brainteasers, you might not get much mileage with the game. If you're not…you're probably not going to have much fun. Give the game a try before you make a purchase.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/08

Game Release: Professor Layton and the Curious Village (US, 02/10/08)