Professor Layton and the Curious Village review

I've had it with Level-5. Professor Layton and the Curious Village is the latest disappointment from the loved Japanese developer. What I disliked so intensely about Layton is similar to what I disliked about Jeanne D'Arc. It wasn't so much the gameplay, though that was nothing too special. Layton had some good puzzles, and exploring the village and solving mysteries as a smug English detective and his swooning, bitchy gay sidekick was a blast, while it lasted. It was the retarded character designs and (in Layton alone) the horrid artwork that I really couldn't stand after a while.

It's a trifle, I know, but here's the thing: my time is valuable. Despite how decent the game was, it just seemed that the designers were just throwing some shit together to rush a game out onto the shelves. I'm not into it.

I borrowed the game from a married couple who, as far as videogames go, are fairly lay. Both of them had saved games wherein they solved all 130-odd puzzles over the course of many, many hours. I'm also told that they're both working on the sequel right now. So, if like my married friends, you don't mind hideous, horrible art and ridiculous character designs that make no sense, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is a game for you!

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