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| The Entertainment Review |
| Genre: Puzzle Developer: Level-5 Publisher: Nintendo |
turn of the century Europe. The professor was a megahit in Japan and he is still attempting to gain popularity in the states. In this
sequel, “Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box,” the story continues the exploits of the main character and his trusty sidekick. Since
the game is a sequel offering a lot of the same stuff from the original, players can expect a similar experience, which means a lot more
of a good time.
Even though this is the second game in the series, it works much like a standalone experience. If players skipped out on the first
game, they won’t be lost going into this second release because the designers and writers do a great job of reintroducing players to the
characters in the game. The story is about a mysterious item called the Elysian Box that has killed one of the Professor’s colleagues
and sends him on a journey through multiple villages in Europe. The story is very riveting, even if some of the clues in the game
become obvious to the player far before Layton figures it out.
The thing about this series that players will like is the presentation of the game. The game is Japanese in development, but European
in art design and style with some anime here and there, which is unavoidable in a Japanese developed game. The full motion cut
scenes in the game are amazing and players will get to see plenty of them throughout the 12 hour adventure. This would explain why
the game has been turned into a feature film series in Japan.
The most disappointing part of the game is the fact that the presentation doesn’t make it all the way through the game. Since cartridge
space is limited, the team had to make some cuts somewhere in the game. Most of the story in “Professor Layton and the Diabolical
Box” is told through the traditional talking head cut scenes. Much of these scenes continue with great voiceovers, but it is awkward to
hear the audio cut out at times because dialogue was never recorded. This is yet another issue with cartridge space that haunts the
game.
A majority of the game consists of solving puzzles, which is what players would expect because of the fact that the previous title
consisted mainly of solving puzzles. Again players will wander around in a point and click interface and solve puzzles that catch the
interest of Professor Layton. The puzzles can appear as the Professor reminisces about an item or when he meets a new person on
his adventure. The world is full of a variety of puzzles and this time around the game offers roughly 150 new puzzles during the nearly
twelve hour adventure. The game gives players some replay value in the form of unlocking the puzzles outside of the main quest, but
this is mostly pointless because once the puzzle is solved, players will already know the answer. Also, many of the puzzles are multiple
choice, some offer only two options, so these are simply useless once the solution is figured out.
This time around the game adds a few new puzzles to the game. Early on in the game players will come into the possession of a chef’
s hamster. Throughout the quest players will earn items for the hamster, which turns out to be another puzzle. The challenge is to try to
get the hamster to exercise by placing items in his path to try and get the hamster to walk as many steps as possible. Again, like the
previous game, players are able to connect the game to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service to download new puzzles every week.
The variety of puzzles in the game is sure to offer players an adventure that never gets boring. While players will certainly encounter
several similar puzzle designs, the repeats don’t show up very often, and many times when they are repeated they are supplemental
challenges that don’t need to be solved to finish the quest.
Since this game works as a standalone that doesn’t stray from the original formula, if players did happen to skip over the first game,
this game won’t feel like a step backwards to go back and play the original game. The puzzles in “Professor Layton and the Diabolical
Box” are just as challenging as the first game and are completely different in design and subject matter, so players shouldn’t expect
any repeats.
However, like the original game, this game has a lot of the same design flaw of being able to cheat easily. Players have the ability to
solve the puzzle with mistakes and learn the solution, then reset the system and restart the game and solve the puzzle with the learned
knowledge without being penalized. Luckily players will be less likely to cheat this time around because of the enjoyment of the
storyline; it doesn’t matter much if the score is knocked down a little bit.
Though it sounds like “Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box” is essentially the same stuff as the original game, players will probably
have a lot more fun working their way through this new release. This game is very enjoyable and offers a laid back DS experience with
some challenging and clever puzzles to work through. The game has been growing more popular in the United States and will only get
more popular with each release.
sequel, “Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box,” the story continues the exploits of the main character and his trusty sidekick. Since
the game is a sequel offering a lot of the same stuff from the original, players can expect a similar experience, which means a lot more
of a good time.
Even though this is the second game in the series, it works much like a standalone experience. If players skipped out on the first
game, they won’t be lost going into this second release because the designers and writers do a great job of reintroducing players to the
characters in the game. The story is about a mysterious item called the Elysian Box that has killed one of the Professor’s colleagues
and sends him on a journey through multiple villages in Europe. The story is very riveting, even if some of the clues in the game
become obvious to the player far before Layton figures it out.
The thing about this series that players will like is the presentation of the game. The game is Japanese in development, but European
in art design and style with some anime here and there, which is unavoidable in a Japanese developed game. The full motion cut
scenes in the game are amazing and players will get to see plenty of them throughout the 12 hour adventure. This would explain why
the game has been turned into a feature film series in Japan.
The most disappointing part of the game is the fact that the presentation doesn’t make it all the way through the game. Since cartridge
space is limited, the team had to make some cuts somewhere in the game. Most of the story in “Professor Layton and the Diabolical
Box” is told through the traditional talking head cut scenes. Much of these scenes continue with great voiceovers, but it is awkward to
hear the audio cut out at times because dialogue was never recorded. This is yet another issue with cartridge space that haunts the
game.
A majority of the game consists of solving puzzles, which is what players would expect because of the fact that the previous title
consisted mainly of solving puzzles. Again players will wander around in a point and click interface and solve puzzles that catch the
interest of Professor Layton. The puzzles can appear as the Professor reminisces about an item or when he meets a new person on
his adventure. The world is full of a variety of puzzles and this time around the game offers roughly 150 new puzzles during the nearly
twelve hour adventure. The game gives players some replay value in the form of unlocking the puzzles outside of the main quest, but
this is mostly pointless because once the puzzle is solved, players will already know the answer. Also, many of the puzzles are multiple
choice, some offer only two options, so these are simply useless once the solution is figured out.
This time around the game adds a few new puzzles to the game. Early on in the game players will come into the possession of a chef’
s hamster. Throughout the quest players will earn items for the hamster, which turns out to be another puzzle. The challenge is to try to
get the hamster to exercise by placing items in his path to try and get the hamster to walk as many steps as possible. Again, like the
previous game, players are able to connect the game to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service to download new puzzles every week.
The variety of puzzles in the game is sure to offer players an adventure that never gets boring. While players will certainly encounter
several similar puzzle designs, the repeats don’t show up very often, and many times when they are repeated they are supplemental
challenges that don’t need to be solved to finish the quest.
Since this game works as a standalone that doesn’t stray from the original formula, if players did happen to skip over the first game,
this game won’t feel like a step backwards to go back and play the original game. The puzzles in “Professor Layton and the Diabolical
Box” are just as challenging as the first game and are completely different in design and subject matter, so players shouldn’t expect
any repeats.
However, like the original game, this game has a lot of the same design flaw of being able to cheat easily. Players have the ability to
solve the puzzle with mistakes and learn the solution, then reset the system and restart the game and solve the puzzle with the learned
knowledge without being penalized. Luckily players will be less likely to cheat this time around because of the enjoyment of the
storyline; it doesn’t matter much if the score is knocked down a little bit.
Though it sounds like “Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box” is essentially the same stuff as the original game, players will probably
have a lot more fun working their way through this new release. This game is very enjoyable and offers a laid back DS experience with
some challenging and clever puzzles to work through. The game has been growing more popular in the United States and will only get
more popular with each release.
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