Professor Layton and Pandora's Box Review [DS]

07 Sep 2009 at 13:30:54 by Tim McDonald
Systems used to review this title: (DS)

Did anyone expect the original Layton game, Professor Layton & the Curious Village, to do as well as it did? It certainly deserved to – the brilliant blend of puzzles, characters, story, and humour made it a little gem – but even with the growing casual market on that system, I can't say I expected it to be more than a cult hit. I was very, very happy to be proven wrong when it consistently placed high in the DS sales charts.

Professor Layton and Pandora's Box (or Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box if you're in the States, because as the first Harry Potter taught us, whoever names things reckons that mythological references will go over your head) is a follow-up in very much the same vein.

After solving the mysteries of St. Mystere, the titular curious village from the first game, Layton and his apprentice Luke are off on another puzzling adventure. A letter alerts the prof that his mentor, Dr Schrader, is on the verge of uncovering the secrets of the Elysian Box - an artefact said to kill anyone who opens it - and that he plans on opening it soon. Layton and Luke rush to Schrader's apartment only to find the doctor dead, and the box missing. It's up to Layton to recover the box and solve its mysteries once and for all, which by the end involves strange coincidences, hidden towns, and... vampires?

Pleasingly, this leads the duo to multiple locations throughout the course of the game. The first game was, barring one or two puzzles, set entirely in St. Mystere. Here, a fair bit of the early game is set on the Molentary Express (a train based on the Orient Express) which is a tad repetitive, but the rest is set in different locations along the train's path. While pacing wasn't a complaint I had with the original, the variety in the locations and the fact that earlier ones aren't accessible later certainly helps you feel as though you're actually progressing.

Any puzzles missed in those earlier locations, of course, are still accessible through Granny Riddleton's shack. As with the first game, the mysterious old lady sets up her shack in a variety of locations, granting access to all of the puzzles you've permanently missed. Riddleton isn't the only returning character from Curious Village, but (excluding Layton and Luke) she's one of a very small number who can be mentioned without inviting spoilers.

Puzzles are consistently enjoyable, with a perfect mix between simple (but sufficiently hard that they make you feel clever) and aneurysm-burstingly difficult. Few are genuine roadblocks, although the text for a couple is phrased in peculiar ways. In one case, this makes the puzzle seem a lot harder than it is; in the other, it's the opposite. As this is a puzzle game and problems frequently involve how you look at the text it's hard to tell whether it's deliberate or not, but it's bloody annoying either way, and it's only really a problem in these puzzles as they're a tad ambiguous. Still, whenever you're stuck there's always another to bang your head against and there's a vast range, from riddles through maths, logic, block sliding, and far more. The love that most characters have for puzzles isn't explained and isn't tied into the plot like it was in the first game, but it never feels strange.

Even with the minor annoyances, Layton is a very difficult game to get angry at. It's just charming. I hate that word, but that's exactly what it is. It's inoffensive. Luke is annoying, certainly, but his relationship with Layton is amusing. The story that unfolds is surprisingly beautiful, despite an ending twist that's even more outlandish than the mysteries that precede it. The game isn't likely to offend anyone; it's quirky and clichéd and contains a fantastic sense of adventure.

If you've played the first, then there's one thing you've probably taken away from this review: the game is very similar to its predecessor. This is a very accurate perception, as the game is indeed extremely similar to its predecessor. It's a great mystery with some good animation and charming (there's that word again) voice acting and dialogue, combined with puzzles that mix in surprisingly well with the action rather than feeling like incongruous and arbitrary stopping points.

That said, there are differences, with the most notable in the trunk which acts as Layton's inventory. Curious Village had a portrait that could be assembled like a jigsaw, gizmos that could be put together to form a robot dog, and bits of furniture could be placed in either Luke or Layton's rooms in an attempt to make the pair happier. All of these acted as meta-puzzles which unlocked various other bits and pieces in the game. In Pandora's Box, there are pieces of a camera to be assembled, a tea set that can be used to brew different blends (which can be given to thirsty characters), and best of all a fat hamster who needs to lose weight through your creating the most effective obstacle course you can - in what quickly becomes a very confined space. As with Curious Village, when completed, all three of these add various elements to the gameplay. None are essential, but all are recommended. The tea brewing minigame in particular is home to some of the best dialogue the series has seen yet, particularly when you brew something undrinkable.

If you're new to the series, the first may be a better place to start as there are a few continued themes and recurring characters who will make little sense without it. If you played the first, though, then these will simply make you smile, like just about everything else in this lovely little game.

It's not going to set the world on fire and it's not going to thrill you with explosions and car chases, but then, not everything has to. What it will do is give your brain a workout and leave you smiling, and sometimes, that's all you want.

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