With a catchy style and interesting story, Professor Layton stands out amongst the myriad of puzzle-solving DS games.
Now, don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed brain-teasers. The Brain-Age variety gets a little old for me though, I like variety, not trying the same puzzle over and over (Except Sudoku, which I could do for hours and hours). So Professor Layton was a refreshing change from that, with puzzles that weren't so much about exercising your mind, but more about actually challenging you to think in different ways.
You play as Professor Layton, the noted archaeologist and renowned puzzle-solver, or as his assistant Luke (depending on the puzzle). You have been invited to the village of St. Mystere to investigate a mysterious will, only to have one of the family members murdered while you are out searching for the "grieving" widow's cat.
You encounter puzzles all the time. Whenever you talk to someone or click on certain objects it will lead you into a puzzle. The whole village is obsessed with puzzles, and they all want your help solving the ones that they have been troubled with, or else you think of a puzzle to challenge your counterpart whenever you see a certain item. (ie. when you click on a candle in a shop, Professor Layton remembers a puzzle involving candles and challenges Luke). Whether it is Luke or Layton who is challenged doesn't make any difference, except the slightly dorky little "You Solved It!" type of animation at the end of the puzzle. You can get hints by collecting "hint coins" which there are only a specific number of, so don't waste them!
Most of the puzzles start out pretty easy, but I was really surprised at how quickly I found myself stumped. I mean, I lived on brain puzzles when I was a kid, I'm a college graduate, and Algebra was my second favorite subject in high school, and I still found myself having to really think hard about a lot of the puzzles. Some of them are really easy, but also easy to over think, while others try to trick you with words. There are visual puzzles and mathematical puzzles, logic puzzles and common sense sort of puzzles. And even if you miss one, have no fear, for a little house in the center of the village collects all the puzzles that you skipped or missed, in case you want to go back.
I haven't played it long, I'm only just now in Chapter Four. But it's definitely reeling me in and keeping me interested, because every puzzle is different and challenging and even though the context for the puzzles is often a little contrived, and part of me wants to get on with the actual story already, another part of me just really enjoys being so challenged. It's definitely a new and different sort of puzzle game, and anyone who enjoys a good brain-teaser will enjoy it.