Couple Gaming

I am always intrigued by DS games with non-mario-looking graphics, so when the 10-foot posters started going up for Professor Layton and the Curious Village, I was definitely intrigued.

Unfortunately, I then followed up the intrigue by checking out Nintendo.coms response to intrigued viewers.. where Nintendo failed miserably.  For whatever reason, they decided to use a brain-age-like puzzle for their web page to show people what the game was like.

So.. I’m here to tell you that if you were turned off by Nintendo.. Try Again!!

I’ve been addicted.. no.. Obsessed with Professor Layton for the last 2 weeks.  Yes, it is a puzzle game, and a little bit brain-age-ey.  However, the puzzles are redeemed by not only not being repetitive, but having a reason beyond “because it’s there” to solve it! The game is propelled by interesting characters, fabulous sub-plot mysteries, and even mini-movies to propel it!

You play as Professor Layton and his side-kick, invited into a city to find a Golden Apple for a client.  This city is full of characters that enjoy giving you puzzles.. and for every one you solve, you get a piece of a different puzzle or mystery.

The puzzles are a wide variety of common puzzles (the water jug puzzle from “Die Hard” is in there), as well as new ones (Anyone enjoy the Chocolate-text-message puzzle?).  They are written to appeal to a wealth of different thinking, from out-of-the-box to math nerds (like me), and are usually just fun to solve.  The puzzles can be amazingly difficult, and there is no “just tell me the answer” button.  There are “clue coins” to use on hints, which are found via a further click-randomly-to-find  game, but the hints are useless over half the time.

The mysteries are really solved for you if you solve so many puzzles, but for the most part, they are easy to solve before the plot catches up.

As a Couple Gaming choice, I vote a definite yes.  Sure, the greatest part of the game (the plot & mysteries) are single player, but many of the puzzles require a lot of thinking, and it is fun to get your spouse involved on the ones you’re stuck on.  Just don’t beat your spouse with the closest blunt object when they solve something you couldn’t;  assume they’re cheating.