Professor Layton and the Curious Village

You probably haven’t heard of this game right?

Well, I will tell you right from the get-go that this is a puzzle game and if you’re a different kind of gamer you will not enjoy it as much as I have. If you’re anyone else, I must inform you that this game has been a breakthrough in my DS library and is right up there next to Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass (awesome game as well). Many factors have made this a must-have for me including a mysterious plot, rich graphics, and intriguing puzzles.

The game’s beautifully done cartoony-style graphics (think Studio Ghibli) wouldn’t seem to integrate with the plot containing multiple suspicious activities, but somehow it all works out in a crisp, fluid storyline with some wonderful animations and limited voice acting. The enticing plot contains many mysteries including a family fortune resting on the winner of a scavenger hunt, an isolated village whose only exit is a drawbridge that has been locked, and strange kidnappings that have lead to rumors about a large, ominous tower resting inside the village itself, along with many more you discover on your way.

Although the presentation is nice, the game play and puzzles really made the shot for me. All control is done by touch screen as you walk the alleys of the town or attempt to solve a riddle. The actions are fluid and easy to use, making all parts of the game overall enjoyable. The characters are another thing to fall in love with. Professor Layton is someone that really gives you a reminder of Sherlock Holmes, and his animal loving, quick-witted assistant Luke, all though not very bright, adds a splash of commentary into the game (plus every great detective needs a dispensable assistant). The puzzles are definitely the best part. Some are logic, some normal puzzles, some riddles, and some that don’t even belong in any category! When you solve a puzzle, you are awarded “picarats” based on how hard it was, and trust me; those 50 picarat ones are very difficult!

I won’t go into every extra in the game, but I will tell you there are some cool side-quests to undertake as well as just trying to solve the over 125 puzzles. An added bonus is every week, the publishers will release a new puzzle that can be downloaded over Wi-Fi for an even longer extension of the game. The bottom line is this game gets a 8.7 from me and is definitely my favorite DS game of all time next to, as I mentioned before, Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass.