Information
Reviewed On: DS
Available On: DS
Players: 1
Rating: PG
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Level-5
Distributor: Nintendo
Release: 10 April 2008
In Short...
"Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a delight from start to finish, and a mind-teaser to boot. "
Professor Layton and the
Curious Village
It’s not often that a video game can claim to break you. This is exactly what happened as I nestled down with Professor Layton, naïve in my assumption that – given my awesomely large head and intellectual prowess – it would be a walk in the park. WRONG! Barely ten minutes had passed before I was scratching around for a pen and piece of paper. Hours later, I was well and truly hooked on what is possibly the most engaging game on the DS. Put it this way, I’ve got about 12 hours playing time clocked up, which is more than I devote to most next-gen shooting fests.
Yay! Puzzles!
Yay! Puzzles!
At first glance, you might be wondering why every man and his dog in this mysterious village wants you to solve puzzles, but as you investigate the situation it all starts to make sense. Not all the puzzles are difficult – but there are certainly some doozies in there. Some are trick questions and some of them you’ve probably heard before during a school quiz night or some such event.
The simple truth is that most of them wouldn’t work without the DS’s touch ability, which makes solving each puzzle a visceral event. You’ll be circling answers, tracing routes, manipulating weights, shifting wolves and sheep across a raft – and a heap of other fun and engaging actions throughout your time with this charming title.
With over a hundred puzzles, Professor Layton will definitely keep you busy, and there are even new puzzles available to download each week. Combine this aspect with the game’s wealth of colourful locations and even cartoon cut scenes and you start to wonder just how Level-5 managed to fit it all on that little cart.
It’s not a perfect game, though. There’s an inbuilt hint system, which requires you to use hidden coins that you can find by tapping various areas of the screen at each location – however, it is way too easy (and tempting) to simply load up the hints, solve the puzzle and then restart the DS without having lost your collection of hint coins.
That said, some of the puzzles are not that easy even with the hints, so there really is something for all brain levels here. As an example of what the DS should be used for, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a delight from start to finish.
By Dylan Burns
The Verdict
Graphics: A Like looking at a painting.Sound: B+ Sets the in-game tone very well.
Gameplay: A Though difficult at times, gameplay is always top class, however sometimes a little bit repetitive.
Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a delight from start to finish, and a mind-teaser to boot.