Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

This is a great DS gem. It is personally my favorite DS game, and the most edutaining game I've ever played!

The story is terrific. You play as Professor Layton, a master puzzle solver, and his young apprentice, named Luke. They are both called to investigate a curious village (hence the title), and eventually get sucked into a huge complex story. I had to play through it twice to understand it fully! I'm not going to spoil anything here, however.

The gameplay is simple. To navigate, just tap the shoe in the bottom right (or left, I can't remember) and pick a way to move. All the citizens in St. Mystere (the town), are obsessed with puzzles, and usually ask Layton and Luke for help. Completing a puzzle rewards you with Picarats (sort of the currency) and sometimes a little widget used in mini-games. Luckily, if you get stuck in a puzzle (and trust me, you will), there are many hint coins scattered around town. You just tap to find them, and you can use up to 3 in each puzzle.

The puzzles are fantastic and very challenging. I'll admit, I had to cheat once or twice on the later puzzles. Almost every puzzle utilizes the touch screen, and this works great. Whether you're sliding a raft across a river, or selecting pitchers of juice, it works great. Some types of puzzles, such as the Too Many Queens, will appear a few times throughout the game, obviously getting tougher and tougher each time.

That's pretty much all there is to Professor Layton and the Curious Village. It is definitely the best DS game money can buy in my own opinion. Puzzle nerds, get this. Even if you're not a puzzle nerd, anyone can enjoy this. A sequel, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, is in the works, and will be out on August 24th.

I've given this a great score and a Joey's Choice Award, both no-brainers. So stop reading this and go join Layton and Luke on their quests!

Pros:
Very Edutaining
Fantastic Story
Touch Screen Controls

Cons:
Hard Puzzles!

Overall - 9.8/10