Professor Layton and the Lost Future (DS)

Platform: Nintendo DS

Publisher: Nintendo

Classification: 7 (PEGI)

Professor Layton and his Sancho Panzar-esque apprentice, Luke are on another dangerous adventure that will take them on a roller coaster ride of perplexing puzzles that range from stupidly simple to devilishly difficult.

It all starts when the Professor and Luke attend a grand demonstration of Dr Stahngun’s time machine. Before they know it, things go wrong and both the Prime Minister and the Dr disappear. After this, strange things begin to happen that lead to a tale of time travel, crime, deceit and death.

There’s not much new in the way this latest chapter plays or feels, although each of the puzzles feels as fresh as a daisy. This makes it the perfect title for any Layton fans pining for more puzzles, or even the perfect starting block for any slow-pokes that have been left behind.

As with previous Professor Layton games, the puzzles are derivatives of world famous puzzles from years gone by, revamped, redressed and rethought to fit with the Professor Layton style. That said, none of them are rehashes of puzzles from the previous games of the series– they each feel as unique and as interesting as the puzzles did when The Curious Village hit European shelves 2 years ago.

The premise is a simple one; the storyline of detective exploration works as a hub to slowly introduce the players to the puzzles one by one. Each of the puzzles then unlock for players to play straight from the menu with extra puzzles becoming available upon completion.

So if you’re after a nicely presented collection of puzzles that will make you think, deliberate, and contemplate until your in a frenzy- add Professor Layton and the Lost Future to your Christmas list.

SCORE: 8 / 10