The Professor and Luke are up to their wacky hijinks again!
Do: Unravel a mystery while solving close to 150 different logic puzzles.
Type: Puzzle/Adventure
Platform: Nintendo DS
Price: $29.99
Meat: As the sequel to last year’s puzzle/adventure game for the DS, Professor Layton & The Curious Village, Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box comes with some high expectations. You are tasked with guiding the titular Professor and his plucky assistant Luke through a rather substantial tale of murder, theft and intrigue as they attempt to find the Elysian Box, an artifact that kills any who dare open it. This is done by solving upwards of 130 different logic puzzles scattered throughout the tale. Some puzzles are random while some are integral to moving the story forward. Add to that a much larger variety of minigames and you are looking at a game that takes about 12 hours to playthrough with plenty of extra goodies to keep you coming back for more.
Perks: The art design and music are a slice of whimsy and exotic flair in a world of games filled with too much gritty darkness. While the subject matter in Professor Layton & The Diabolical Box can be quite grim, there is always a sense of innocence about the proceedings. The puzzles in Diabolical Box are integrated into their surroundings much better than they were in the first game, with at least a hint of context given for each offering. Animated cutscenes are sprinkled liberally through the game and are a delight to watch. There has also been an improvement in the localization of the text clues for the word puzzles over the first game, which is a huge plus.
Screams: For a stronger resolution to the core plot. The game spends a lot of time weaving together several plot threads but then seems to rush the ending. The finale is still satisfying but the twists do seem to come out of nowhere and are resolved far too quickly for my taste.
Verdict: Buy. This is the middle game in a trilogy but the story is very self-contained with most of the allusions to the events of the first Layton game summed up nicely.
– It’s the week of Mother Nature’s WRATH!
– I’m at a loss for words. I vaguely remember hearing about this game before today, but it just hit me how terrible a SAW game could be. Also how awesome it could be.
– Yes, people are getting very excited about this one, as are we. We should have a review for this one up shortly after it comes out.
– I haven’t heard anything about this one. Brock, can you fill me in?
– Another one I know nothing about. Where are these games coming from?
– EDITOR’S CHOICE. If I pick up anything on day one, it will be Borderlands. I am very excited about this game.
– Okay, so maybe there will be two day-one purchases.
– After Lost and Damned, I’m a little GTA’ed out. Not sure if I’m picking up the newest episode. But this disc is interesting — you don’t need the full GTA IV game to play the expansions.
– I thought I had heard somewhere that Alpha Protocol was delayed, but Amazon is showing that it’s shipping this month.
– This is getting some good buzz. I still need to play Dead Space!
– This is being released with two Wii Motion Plus adapters. This is how it should have originally shipped.
– This is called a Haunted House Simulator. You can’t go wrong with that!
– No Whammies! (I wonder if 
– Save your money and play the real thing!
– Oooh, tempting
– Who brought the rain?
– This is going to be a crazy good week for PS3 owners.
– My pick for Box-art of the Month.
– Nat mentioned this game earlier.
