Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Follow-up game to 2008′s runaway hit Professor Layton and the Curious Village, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is a unique puzzle game for Nintendo DS and DSi that mixes an engrossing storyline and entertaining characters spread throughout a variety of environments, with addictive and varied stylus-driven puzzle play. Join the famous Professor Layton and his sidekick Luke as you take on more than 150 puzzles included with the game, and more available via download, as you challenge your senses and logic to eventually solve a puzzling mystery.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Description

In the world of Professor Layton, puzzles hide in every corner. When the professor’s mentor is mysteriously murdered, a cursed artifact called the Elysian Box appears to be behind it. With a ticket to the Molentary Express as their only lead, Professor Layton and Luke embark on an adventure that will test their wits and work their brains. Calling all brainteaser fans! With tons of in-game puzzles of different types and difficulties, there’s something for everyone from kids to adults. As Professor Layton, you’ll open doors with sliding puzzles, uncover clues with logic puzzles, and find answers by solving riddles. A cinematic experience! This large-scale sequel to Professor Layton and the Curious Village™ features three times the voiced dialogue and movies of its predecessor. The fully voiced movies, hand-drawn art style, and cast of eccentric characters bring the story to life and are sure to charm puzzle fans young and old.

Gameplay
As with other games in the Professor Layton series, gameplay in Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is linked to a richly illustrated storyline, in-game environments and non-player characters (NPCs). Diabolical Box takes this further than the original game, with more locations to explore, significantly more animated cutscenes and the deeper level of voice talent employed. As players move through the game with an aim towards solving the overarching mystery they will encounter characters who can forward their progress if they return the favor in advance by solving a puzzle. These brainteasers cover everything from mazes and riddles, to logic and sliding puzzles and everything in-between. There are no time limits on puzzles and ‘hint coins’ found and earned throughout the game can be used to purchase up to three hints per puzzle. The game cartridge contains 150 puzzles, but it is not necessary to solve every puzzle in order to finish the game. Those who do though and yearn for even more can access additional puzzles via a DS and/or DSi Wi-Fi connection. These will be released weekly for the first 33 weeks after game launch. In addition to standard brainteasing puzzle play the game also features a series of mini-games that although do not affect the outcome of the game directly, can help with players’ interactions with NPCs, and thus have an impact on progress through the game, as well as serve to vary gameplay.

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Reviews

A Nintendo DS Winner

I picked up Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box because the last game was so popular, but I hadn’t played it – it’s on order now, after playing the Diabolical Box!

The graphics, music and looks of the game are wonderful with mini movies and cut to’s that are of great quality.

The puzzles which are around every corner and nook are great – some are more difficult then others and for the most part I have solved the ones given – hint coins that are found throughout the game can come in very handy.

I found this to be a relaxing game compared to Henry Hatsworth which I have been playing but is frustrating to me – this game is a true downtime game to be enjoyed – great story line and wonderful characters and interesting puzzles that will baffle you at times, but won’t make you want to pull your hair out.

The characters are really cool – all of them so far that I have encountered are enchanting as is the game!

I can finally see what all of the fuss is about – the Professor Layton games are truly what the DS was made for!

Excellent game – great puzzles & compelling story link – will have you hooked!

After buying my DS I loaded up on puzzle games and mystery games – all okay but nothing special. Then I saw the advert for the first Layton game and from day one I was hooked; great puzzles and such a compelling story line that towards the end it became like one of those good books you cannot put down – I had to finish it. And I am by no means a regular DS user as I rarely have the time; but this I made time for!
After trying other similar games such as Holmes and Mystery Case files – I still found no comparison so eagerly waited for this – and it was well worth the wait!
It began with the promise of a great story and I really like the fact that it quickly leads into the play for those familiar with the game, but also provides brief instruction for those for whom this is new! If you are familiar with the first story it helps in terms of some character recognition, but it is by no means a necessity!
Once again great puzzles of various different levels of complexity! Some are real challenges, some can be solved quickly but all are really fun which is what helps set this apart. But it is the story into which the puzzles are woven that really makes this game worth it! Its interesting, you want to solve the mystery and the combination of an adventure and puzzles is the factor that makes this a must have / cannot put down game!
Another bonus is that as you progress you can unlock puzzles that can be played any time without going into the story – this feature was really lacking in games such as Holmes which were a one time deal – reach the end and then you are done – whereas this offers game play when you have solved the mystery!
I had to shop several stores before I found this sitting on the shelf as it sold out quickly after its initial release! I can see why! This series is my favorite for DS -I look forward to playing more and more of this and the rest of the Layton games in the future!

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box