Thank goodness this game has three game save slots . . .

User Rating: 9 | Professor Layton and the Curious Village DS
. . . though four would have been better. At one point we were rationing the children to one hour each on this cartridge each evening so that they all got a chance to play. By the time I got my hands on it I had already solved many of the puzzles for my daughters but to be honest, they helped me as well.

This is a great game. My favourite on the DS. It starts with a beautifully animated introduction sequence, the first of many, which introduces the professor and his assistant. The animation reminded me of Belleville Rendezvous and the appearance of the first puzzle straight afterwards is a complete surprise . Since it involves finding the village on a map it is wholly appropriate to the plot. Many of the later puzzles have no relevance to the story but are just an aspect of the curious predelictions of the titular village's inhabitants. But enough of them drive the plot forward to make their completion a rewarding and compulsive experience. The game end is charming and I look kforward to the next game in the series arriving in the UK in the Autumn.