Our torrid affair started like so many others. I had gone to Wal-Mart to grab some food for my work week and decided to step into the electronics area. I will admit it, I was really out looking to get some action as a few people I chat with were getting their own kicks. I walked slowly through the 360 and PS3 aisle, feigning interest in those titles and then came the Nintendo DS display.
It's only been out for a day I said to myself as I hunted the tiny slots for the one who was to keep my busy all through the night and lead me down many unexpected paths, some even involving co-workers.
And there he was. The man of my dreams... But wait, something was wrong, he was a little more pricey than I expected but everyone else was having a good time with him and dammit I wanted a piece of the action to.
So I walked up to the counter, said I wanted Prof. Layton so the elderly man went and brought him to the counter and he rang up $5 cheaper! If only I'd have known that this was only the beginning...
As I opened Prof. Layton and saw what he was packing I became excited. A murder mystery and pretty graphics. I couldn't wait, my palms became sweaty and my breathing might have been slightly labored but it was a bit of a trek to get inside my house as there was a snow storm...
As I turned him on I was greeted with a very attractive cut scenes which included full voice work and it all ran smoothly, none of that still picture crap we've been getting lately.
My hand gripped the stylus with excitement as our first puzzle came up on the screen. I started to sweat though, I started thinking about what if I failed the first puzzle. What would happen? What if I wanted all of the little money like things that do nothing?
Well, it didn't matter because the puzzle was easy, and so were the next few. See, Prof. Layton wanted to seduce me with his very pretty cartoon visuals and while the Prof. himself looks a bit bland the rest of the cast and the world itself was very pleasing to the eyes. Everyone had a distinctive look and I must say Luke is a charming lad.
The voice work is limited though but we all can't be vocal I guess. It's actually a very good voice cast so I never cringed in pain. There also isn't any problems as everything comes out crisp and clear, which was a concern I had.
Even the musical score is splendid as it just fit the theme of a small mysterious town (think of Inverness, Scotland if you've ever been there). I actually enjoyed the music a lot as it had a nice classical feel to it and I would buy the soundtrack in a heart beat.
So I was tired from then on so I decided to take a break. It only lasted 10 minutes at most because the Prof. had stolen my heart. He also had my brain within the palm of his hands and he teased me over and over with puzzles.
They all weren't simple either, I spent a lot of time on some of them, thinking and rethinking, double checking everything. The puzzles ranged from visual ones where you need to spot a difference, mathematical, ones that require you to mess with jars of water and some were even slide puzzles.
I did run into a few times where it felt like I had done this puzzle type too recently but it never got old. The game offered me 120+ puzzles and then even more to be released weekly. I couldn't wait so I continued our journey.
The story had started simple enough. We were hired to go to this town to find a Golden Apple which would reveal the treasure of a now dead man who owned this entire town. Someone ends up dead, people start vanishing and a big strange plot happens. I'll admit by the end things were fitting into place so the twists weren't as surprising as one would have hoped but it was still entertaining.
I loved the fact that each character loved puzzles and would only help me if I solved a riddle they had. Each had their own style of puzzle as well but this wasn't the only way to find puzzles.
Some were hidden in the background, be it a jar or a sign. There were also hint coins which are used to buy hints for a puzzle (there are three hints to buy per puzzle, one coin per hint).
Besides that though we also had found pieces to something that we had to rebuild, then a torn up painting we had to put back together and all the while we got furniture and we fought over who wanted what.
Normally I'd say this game isn't for everyone. It wouldn't seem to be but I took it to work to finish up a few last puzzles and the next thing I knew the Prof. was in an orgy and he was sampled by everyone. People were annoyed the next day when I didn't bring him back with me because I wanted him all to myself.
The game does have a few shortcomings though. It's fairly short but the replay value of the puzzles do extend it. Yes, the puzzles never change but with 120+ I doubt you'll always remember the solutions. My only other problem is that to check the areas for hidden stuff you had to be spot on. This was a problem as my screen has a dead spot for some reason and ironically enough a puzzle was hidden on it. Some how I got it though.
Level 5 has done it once again and has created the first game in a very long time that I just couldn't put down. it pretty much consumed my soul and my co-workers who don't game ate it up. I recommend this game more so than any in the past year or so.
Story - 9/10
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 10/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 10/10
Replay Value - 9/10
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