Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village (Nintendo DS) Preview

When people first saw initial scans of Professor Layton their jaws collectively dropped open, because what was on offer looked like something from a Hayao Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli animated movie. The art style taken is definitely unique on the DS, with hand-drawn characters that are full of character and settings that are full of charm, but in a dated-looking way. Once more details started to pour forth about the adventure, though, people suddenly became rather confused. Level 5, you see, is not just bringing a run-of-the-mill point-and-click game to the DS, but mixing the usual narrative approach with gameplay that bears a striking resemblance to Nintendo's very own

Whilst other brain-related games have been quite stale in appearance, Nintendo's Dr. Kawashima effort included, thankfully Level 5's differing approach is extremely refreshing and gives Mysterious Village its own unique identity and allure. Other than the adventure mode, with its smatterings of speech / text boxes and incredible art, the puzzles themselves are treated in the manner we have already become accustomed to, with the main question or conundrum being shown on the top screen and the lower part of the DS being where you can solve everything by using the stylus. Upon completion, further puzzles can be accessed by simply moving on to one of the other locations dotted around the map that is on offer. And do not worry about there being a short supply of brain-taxing fun as there are 120 in the main game, a further fifteen extra ones, plus you can download (via Wi-Fi) more puzzles each week from the base of over two thousand puzzles found in the books!

To keep things rolling in the interest stakes for those not too keen on merely a prettier version of Brain Training, the village is full of very weird, yet highly intriguing characters that you can interact with in order to gain as much information as possible to help progress through the adventure, as well as simply being given insights into how some of the puzzles can be taken apart. And given the nature of the puzzles, these nuggets of information will likely prove vital, unlike the rudimentary ones found in the likes of Hotel Dusk and Touch Detective that adventure veterans could breeze through in record time.

As for the basis of the story, other than the obvious-but-vague village mystery, the game begins by portraying a tale of Allen Rhineford, a billionaire who recently passed away two months prior. Professor Layton and Luke become involved when various strange requests start pouring in with regards to where his money will be distributed. To add to the story, events take a turn for the peculiar and some unimaginable happenings take place that leave Layton with no choice but to rummage around and solve the unknown.

The creation of the game itself comes from Akihiro Hino's (president of Level 5) love of Tago-san's books when he was a child, wishing to work with the author on this new project. As well as mixing in classic puzzles from his previous works, though, Tago has agreed to contribute thirty brand new ones as well, exclusive to Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village, all of which are tailored to the specifications of the Nintendo DS. Finally, as in Hotel Dusk, players will be able to make use of a special memo pad, as well as other features, all accessed via the game's main menu system 'Layton's Briefcase'. You will be able to save at any time you wish, as well as use a special dictionary of riddles that stores any puzzles encountered