Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Review for Nintendo DS

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box box art

System: DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Level-5	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Nintendo	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Aug.24, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Everyone	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

This game doesn't include some of the things Professor Layton and The Curious Village did, such as the jigsaw puzzle where you put together the missing pieces, or the room-furnishing feature. Instead, there's a hamster puzzle where you use certain items you find to tease him and make him run around; the poor guy is overweight, so he needs a good workout in order to be fit! This mini-game is undoubtedly cute, though I found it to be a little out of touch with the rest of the game, and it's also rather slow.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box screenshot

There's also a mini-game that has you gather all the parts of a camera and put them together. Finally, the Tea Set lets you experiment with ingredients you collect in order to brew delicious and unique tea blends. These blends will have a different outcome as far as mood and health is concerned. Other than that, if you open the professor's trunk, you'll find the same features: the journal, which reminds you were you were at in the story, the mysteries, which gives you the background about each object found, the puzzle index, which lets you have another take at them, and the save button.

One thing that makes Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box more valuable than the previous title is the extra amount of puzzles; it contains 150 of them, to be exact. On top of that, players will be able to download 33 other puzzles in the weeks following the game's release. This is a great plus if you have your DS/DSi hooked up to the Internet.

Some might think this kind of game is only for fans of the point-and-click genre; however, there's a lot more to this series than that. The puzzles are very engaging and perfectly solvable, the story flows with ease and keeps you interested throughout, and the controls on the DS are very smooth. I can't see why anyone would hate the game except for the fact that it makes you think. It's made for thinking minds with a nice amount of patience. If you're not scared of simple math problems, logic puzzles, riddles, and the likes, pick up this game and enjoy, because you're in for a treat!

By Maria Montoro
CCC Site Director

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

4.7

Graphics
The hand drawn game design is utterly pleasing and unique; if it wasn't for the lack of animations, the visuals would be just perfect.

4.5

Control
Tap and play… as simple as that. The use of the stylus to solve the different puzzles is very practical.

4.0

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The game has a quality soundtrack, though is not very varied. However, voice over work makes up for it. There's a lot of it, and it sounds great.

4.2

Play Value
If you're into mind-bending puzzle games, this is a good choice. There are over 150 puzzles and riddles within the game, and 33 more will become available via download. It'll take you a while to complete, and the story is entertaining. Just keep in mind there's not much replay value once you know the solutions.

4.5

Overall Rating - Must Buy
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box features a riveting new mystery and more than 150 new brain teasers, riddles, and logic puzzles to challenge and delight players.

Beyond the puzzles found in the game, players with a broadband Internet connection who connect their Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection will get access to downloadable bonus puzzles. A new puzzle will be available each week for 33 weeks after the game launches.

The new game includes a significantly greater amount of voice work and animated movie scenes compared to the original.