The Game:
Prof. Layton and his young apprentice, Luke, are traveling to the small town to investigate the curious happenings surrounding the death of Baron Reinhold and work on a quest to discover what this "Golden Apple" is all about. The Golden Apple is something that the Baron referred to in his will and the family wants this 'treasure' discovered. Hence, why there are so many members of his family present at the manor eagerly awaiting the results of your investigation. Greedy buggers. As you move along, you uncover other mysteries to solve and you may even come across some gadget-type items which you can put together to create something new altogether. Another side quest has you gathering scraps of a painting that once hung in one of the homes of St. Mystere. What the result of that will be is unknown to me at present, but I am looking forward to finding out what it is and what it will lead me to. You will also be able to read Prof. Layton's notes as he goes along on this investigation. If, at any point, you wish to simply stop playing, you can save anywhere and anytime you please. Except for while you are in a puzzle, but you can quit that without penalty. The only time you are penalized is when you answer one incorrectly.

The Good:
There is plenty to like in Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The art is exquisite. It seriously looks like this game was crafted by Hayao Miyazaki himself. The music fits this old world town of St. Mystere perfectly. The actors selected to do the voice overs in the game do an especially remarkable job. Easily among the best I've had the pleasure of experiencing in a video game. Oh, and the video quality for the cutscenes is imply jaw dropping. How they managed to compress that quality of video/audio onto the DS cartridge and have so many scenes is beyond my technological knowledge.

Now that I've covered all the pretty and shiny stuff, it's time to get dirty with the gameplay. As you may be aware, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is filled to the brim with puzzles as St. Mystere's recently deceased patriarch, Baron Reinhold, was a huge creator/lover of puzzles. Everyone in the town has a puzzle for you and each is loosely tied to the story. There are also plenty of puzzles hidden within various things from the face of a clock to some flowers in a distant garden. Some are pretty simple while others will really make you scratch your head.

Among my favorites so far (because it was surprisingly dark) is one with a set of matches which looks like a dog. You job is to move only two matches to make it look like it was run over by a car. The image shown after solving it correctly is pretty funny in that sick and twisted way. All you'll need to have to solve these puzzles is some creative thinking, a touch of math and simple knowledge. These puzzles, and this is where the "edutainment" kicks in, will at least help you to sharpen your mind. On a side note, and it's a rather big one, the more puzzles you solve, the more areas of the town you will be able to explore be it doors to buildings that finally come open or simply being able to go to other districts, if you will. Now, if you answer incorrectly, you will be penalized and the available points that you can earn from the puzzle will decrease by a small amount. In the end, the puzzles make for an extremely enjoyable experience with a strong sense of accomplishment when you get it correct.

If you finish the game and want more, there is always the weekly downloadable puzzle. Amazingly, a puzzle was already available to download on this past Friday when I got the game. What do I think of it? Well I have not given it a good try yet, but it certainly seemed challenging enough.

All this combined really draws you into the game and makes you feel like you are a part of the action.

The Bad: The only thing that worries me about the game is that some younger kids may want to play this. The problem with that is some of these puzzles may be too difficult for them to solve. Which, in that case, they might just want to ask their parents and spend some quality time with them solving puzzles together.

Other than that, to be perfectly honest, I have no real complaints about this game.

The Final Roundup: As you can tell from reading this review, I have almost nothing but positive things to say about Professor Layton and the Curious Village. The story, look, gameplay, sound and animated clips all come together to form one of the most highly enjoyable, memorable and cohesive gaming experiences that I have had in a while. It doesn't hurt that the game is pleasantly unique in so many ways. I eagerly await the domestic release of the next two entries.

The Verdict: BUY IT! If you have DS, you owe it to yourself to purchase this game. However, if you are not a fan of puzzles or don't want want to work your brain in a game, you may want to borrow it from a friend before you make up your mind. ...but trust me, this game most certainly deserves a look. Plus, you might just be able to sharpen your mind while playing the game.

Having said that, go do yourself a favor and buy this game. You most likely will not regret it. Enjoy!