Professor Layton and the Curious Village

"Hang on I know this one. Pass me a piece of paper, I need to write this down."

If you are a fan of puzzle games then welcome to paradise. Professor Layton is in town and he needs your help, because despite being a Professor he can't do puzzles on his own.

Gameplay.
You are in the village of St Mystere. It's an odd little place where everyone is a raging puzzle addict. (I imagine at night you get people hanging around street corners selling elicit copies of puzzler monthly) There are puzzles everywhere. You even need to solve a puzzle to find the village in the first place. Overall 130 little mind benders stand between you and your ultimate goal. Discovering the treasure known as the golden apple.
The puzzles vary greatly in difficulty. Some are simplicity itself, some are frustratingly difficult. There is no real progression in the difficulty of the puzzles either. You may have two or three puzzles that cause you no problems. Then two that have you swearing, then one more really easy one. This is the only problem with the game, that and it is a little short.

Graphics
The Graphics are excellent. The animation is simple, bold and colorful, exactly what works well on the DS. The puzzles are easy to see, and the excellent touchscreen controls make it a simple task to get to grips with the challenges.

Sound
The sound has good and bad points. The voice acting is excellent. It's one of the best I've seen in a game (other developers take note. This is how it should be done) The other sound effects are not as good. The music is rather bland and unappealing. To be honest I struggle to see why it was included at all. But it's a minor flaw and really does not detract from the experience.

Longevity
This game as I have said before is rather short. However it has tremendous replay value. There is no way you will be able to memorize all the puzzles on the first play through. You will keep coming back for more.

Overall
A puzzlers dream. An excellent game you can dip into as and when. Perfect for lunch breaks, or when you have a spare five minutes. But even if you fancy a good long session then this game will still have something for you. I have heard some people complaining that whatever they do in this game someone gives them a puzzle. Yes they do, that's the whole point. 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/08

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