Professor Layton and the Unwound Future review (DS)

The Professor Layton games occupy a brilliant little niche in the puzzle game genre, delivering mind-churning challenge with whimsy, humor, and heart. The titular gentleman and his eager apprentice have returned once more to answer a call for assistance, following a path that leads onward through the mysteries of time. Built around a slew of great puzzles and moved along by intrigue and intellect, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is gratifying on many levels. Anyone who enjoys pitting their wits against brainteasers could enjoy this game, but something better occurs here than unraveling mazes and counting blocks. This is a delightful adventure that enchants the mind and blends its challenges, narrative, and world in a near-seamless weave.

The cry for help this time around is itself the source of a puzzle--the message comes from Layton's young companion Luke, from what appears to be 10 years in the future. Things have gone awry, and apparently only the present team of master and protege can set things right. Through a giant device in an old clock shop, the pair enters a gritty future version of London that's being held in the firm grip of a mafioso, portrayed as a shadowy figure in a dashing top hat. The Layton of the future has become some sort of criminal mastermind, researching time travel for his own nefarious ends. Matters are not always what they seem, and the tale of revenge and politics takes a number of insane twists and turns along the way. But even the story's absurd moments are great to watch unfold, and there's enough suspense, action, and real emotion to carry you through to the end.

You roam the city using your stylus and explore your current environment on the touch screen while the top screen displays a map along with your current objective. It can be easy to get distracted while wandering the city looking for new faces and new puzzles to conquer, so the objective reminder and locator on the top screen is a welcome feature. Layton keeps a journal that updates as you discover more information in case you need the refresher, as well as a puzzle index. If you miss discovering a puzzle, the game helpfully rounds these items up and stores them for tackling later. Buses and subway stations allow rapid transit between distant areas, minimizing the amount of time it takes to run around, which is handy if you don't want to go hunting for extra puzzles. But the game is played afoot, and each puzzle completed takes you one step closer to solving the many mysteries you encounter.

The fate of future London and the wacky ensemble cast of characters it houses depend on your mental acuity, and there's ample opportunity to stretch your synapses. Every conflict in the game is settled through a genteel battle of wits, no matter how hardened the thug or how desperate the situation. The puzzles themselves are a balanced mix of memory games, mazes, logic puzzles, visual tests, and more. Sometimes these are integrated into the nearby environment; other times they're posited by a character as an impromptu exam. Unlike previous games, the tests here are mostly unique with only a few repeated templates, so if you really hate sliding block puzzles, you don't have to worry about getting bogged down in multiple versions of the same thing. Successful completion of puzzles earns you picarats--points that you can trade for additional features when the game is finished. A memo tool lets you jot down notes and work through your thoughts or allows you to trace your way through some of the more complicated shapes you see. You can use multiple colors and vary line thickness to keep things visually organized when jotting memos, though for a few puzzles, it's inadequate. It's difficult to trace multiple looping, slender paths weaving over and under each other without making your notes look like you're working out some anger issues. If you just can't scribble out the solution, salvation gleams in the form of precious hint coins.