Gamertell

Title: Professor Layton & The Curious Village
Price:$29.99 or $34.99 (depends on the store)
System(s): Nintendo DS
Release Date: 2/10/08
Publisher (Developer):Nintendo (Level 5)
ESRB Rating: “E” for mild violence
Pros: Beautiful graphics, cute story, challenging, lots to do, a new puzzle each week
Cons: Some puzzles can be pretty difficult. Voice acting is annoying
Overall Score: 8/10

When playing Professor Layton, you feel one of two sensations. You will either feel extremely intelligent and ingenious, or you will feel like a total idiot. Each state is also temporary. After solving one puzzle you can feel like you are the most intelligent individual in a three block radius and everyone is blessed to bask in your intelligent aura, and then five minutes later another puzzle can make you wonder if perhaps you should have been held back a grade or two in school. It takes a really powerful game to make someone experience such highs and lows, and Professor Layton and The Curious Village is definitely powerful and profound title.

In Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Professor Layton and his assistant Luke have been summoned to the village of St. Mystere to solve an inheritance issue. Baron Augustus Reinhold, the most wealthy man in the village, has died and in his will stated that the person who could find the golden apple would get his fortune. His widow, Lady Dahlia, wrote to Professor Layton for his assistance, and now Professor Layton must solve puzzles to find the truth behind all of St. Mystere’s mysteries.

Of course this is done through solving brain teasers. These range from insanely difficult to ridiculously easy, and don’t seem to be in any particular order. For example #005 took me a good half hour and the help of the internet to solve, yet I managed to breeze through #006, #007 and #009. Even though many can be challenging, to the point where the game is no longer fun, the sense of accomplishment you get from solving one is a real ego booster. This is especially so when you find someone who had difficulty with a problem you found easy.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village also offers splendid use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Each week for a year, a new puzzle is released. The first one is, admittedly, incredibly easy. It is still a nice prospect though, and provides a good incentive to keep returning to the game even after the main storyline has been beaten.

I only had one qualm about Professor Layton and the Curious Village, and that is the voice acting. Professor Layton’s wasn’t too horrible, but every time I heard his assistant, Luke, or one of the random villagers speak, it made me want to cry out in pain. I can understand Nintendo perhaps wanting to add an air of dignity by making all of the characters British, but it just didn’t sound right. Luke’s voice acting in particular brought to mind the sound of nails on a chalkboard.

Overall I would definitely recommend Professor Layton and the Curious Village to puzzle fans and those who snap up every DS brain training title. I don’t think this is a game for people who love fast paced action titles though. Professor Layton requires a certain amount of patience and perseverance to be properly enjoyed, so keep that in mind before you pick up a copy.

Site [Professor Layton and the Curious Village]