DS puzzle fans are in for a treat again, as Professor Layton’s next adventure is just around the corner for us gamers in the UK.
When I first looked at the graphics of Professor Layton. I could not help but think ‘Tin Tin’. To me the professor looks like a shorter version of Tin Tin just with a hat, it also appears they have replaced Tin Tin’s dog with a small boy. Anyway that aside the Professor Layton games have been mighty successful for the DS. So we welcome the new game with open arms.
I say new… More like hand me down. The game has been out in Japan for about a year or so now. The first Professor Layton game came out for us here in the UK when Japan were just getting their mitts on Pandora’s Box. But having said that, its good we have the oppotunity to get the game…eventually.
The game starts with the Professor getting a letter from a dear friend, about Pandora’s box. This box when opened has a nasty habit of killing people. So the Professor and his companion go and pay his friend a visit, only to find him murdered, and the only clue they have is a blank train ticket, to start their quest to find out what this box is all about.
In true Professor Layton style there this is a mystery story chock full of puzzles. 150 puzzles to be exact. all ranging from maze type puzzles to number teasers. It looks as though there is enough to get all the cogs in your brain really whirring. Pah who needs brain training? The beauty though, is that the puzzles aren’t always to do with the main quest. They can be brought up by random villagers or just ques in the enviroment, which to me sounds pretty good but maybe could get a bit tedious? I don’t know, in all honesty I haven’t played the first game.
As well as the one off puzzles you find from people and around the map, you will get on going puzzles throughout the game. For example there is a camera you must put together, and you’re going to find components for it as you progress through the game. This is a great way of keeping the brain constantly thinking throughout the game in my opinion.
The other great thing about this game is that it isn’t secluded just to one village. In Pandora’s Box you are transported to all sorts of different villages and environments for you to explore. Meaning there will be a whole host of new and different characters and enviroments to encounter on your quest. Giving the gamer just that little bit more sence of freedom.
Even though the story seems a little morbid to start off with. I can tell you the Professor Layton Pandora’s box takes a light hearted spin on it, and gives puzzle junkies, just the fix they have been looking for.
Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box will be out this next Friday the 25th of September here in the UK for the Nintendo DS.
-Garv
