At heart, Professor Layton And The Curious
Village is just a collection of classic
puzzles and brainteasers: rearrange matchsticks, get the wolves and sheep
across the river, and so forth. The game wraps its 120-plus puzzles in a
whimsical story about a detective and his sidekick who explore the village of
St. Mystere in search of a hidden treasure. But the story is just garnish: You
get to watch a mystery unfold, but you have no real opportunities to make a
difference.
What makes Professor
Layton shine is its genuine love for
puzzles. Where a lesser developer might have dumped these into a bargain Super
Puzzle Fun Time package with barely a menu
to tie them together, Professor Layton chooses its puzzles carefully, escalates through several of the same
type, and peppers the solutions with history and trivia. If you ask for hints,
the game gives you just enough guidance without handing over the solution: You
always have to brain your way through.