A true gentleman leaves no puzzle unsolved!
Professor Layton games, if you are completely oblivious to this series and what it's about, is about a Professor (Layton) and his apprentice (Luke), who go on adventures and solve mysteries by uncovering items and solving puzzles. Each Professor Layton game has a few dozen more puzzles than its predecessor, this one in particular has 165 puzzles, plus an extra puzzle every week until the game has been out for exactly a year, so it's about 220 by fall of 2011. You solve puzzles to get picarats, which you can use to get bonus puzzles and bonus stuff (videos, songs, etc....) after beating the game.
As usual, there are ten big mysteries to unravel throughout the course of this adventure, some of them which will shock you beyond belief. There are also quite a few different mini-games meant to get you to go collect items and use your noggin even more than you're already putting forth. One of the mini-games involves making a path for a toy car to go along, and another involves making a bunch of ledges for a parrot to hop across to the other side with.
Graphics
Professor Layton & the Unwound Future features dozens of intense cut-scenes, all which are beautifully animated. The sceneries and landscapes look amazing, and even though the game takes a more basic approach to travelling (point 'n click), they really did a large number with the art-work in this game. The characters look especially great, and it's very neat to see the variety of moving objects against completely still objects on the small screen of the Nintendo DS.
The cut-scenes are, as I said, "beautifully animated" and scripted, and they really help tie the story together. For a game that has only a few hundred different backgrounds, Nintendo really put their best work into each and every one of those backgrounds.
Sound
Professor Layton games, being part of the Nintendo company's empire, have amazing sound-tracks, naturally. There are a few dozen tracks, some of which really help set the mood and help relax you as you do puzzles, and others that make you really emotional during some of the cut-scenes or some of the sadder conversations. The sound-track is beautifully orchestrated, and is definitely some of the best work that Nintendo has ever done.
The voice-acting is perfect. The characters sound great, and every line is spoken perfectly and helps make everything that's going on (again, mainly the sad parts) make you feel what the characters are feeling. They really did a great job with the cut-scene voice-acting, even if there are only a few dozen cut-scenes.
Story
The story is where this game really shines, besides the amazing puzzles. The Professor Layton games have always had very strong stories, but this one really brings together the most important cast members of the Professor Layton games and sends them on a very intriguing adventure where they will, of course, travel through time and unwind the mysteries of the past, present and future.
The story features Professor Layton and his apprentice, Luke, but also some other characters that have played very important roles in the past games like Flora and Don Paolo. There are also a lot of characters that you know and love from the older games that don't play as big of a role in the story, but they're still there and they're as funny as ever (Granny Riddleton being one).
The end is a real tear-jerker, and I myself was pretty sad at the end. There were plenty of great mysteries in the game, and just when you think it's completely obvious what the answer to the problem is, it's something even more in depth. Even the smartest person in the world would have trouble trying to decipher all of the mysteries in this game.
Longevity
No matter if you decide to rush through this game or take your time and try and find all of the hard-to-find puzzles, this game is bound to last you at least 17 hours on your first playthrough. I say "on your first playthrough" because it's an amazing game that's definitely worth playing multiple times after you've forgotten the answers to the puzzles. There are 12 chapters, as well as an epilogue, so it's a fairly short game if you don't take in all that this game has to offer. The mini-games are a fun addition, too, but the puzzles and story is where this game will keep you hooked.
Every week a new puzzle is released via Wi-Fi, so make sure you check back every week and get it - they're usually fairly tricky and will take you a good chunk of time to solve.
The Verdict
Pros:
• Brilliant story and great characters
• Emotional sound-track
• Beautiful locations and cut-scenes
• Tons of awesome puzzles
Cons:
• Somewhat short
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Story: 10
Multiplayer: N/A
Longevity: 10
Professor Layton is a point and click puzzle adventure that will intrigue you from the first second you start the game. This game is truly one of the most spectacular games that I have ever played in my entire life, and I'm sure if you played it, you would think it's amazing, too.
10/10