Professor Layton and the Unwound Future - Nintendo DS

It wasn't broke, and thus they didn't fix it; If I had to describe this game in a single sentence, that would be it. For those unfamiliar with "Professor Layton", this is the third entry in a cute little stylus-only game series, where, like the popular "Nancy Drew" games, you solve an overarching mystery as you passively walk around town, poke at random things for clues, and talk to people.Unlike "Nancy Drew", however, there is zero challenge in where to go next, who to talk to, and how to progress. This is actually more similar to "The Island of Dr. Brain", for anyone who's actually heard of that. All real challenges in the game are presented as a series of varied brainteasers, such as sliding blocks, mazes, word puzzles, trick questions, and other things you might expect to see on the back of a cereal box. This may initially sound like a major turn-off for people who don't generally play puzzle games. Such was the case for me; I gravitate heavily towards more exciting genres such as platforming, racing, or action-adventure, so when I was gifted the first game in the series, "Curious Village", I wasn't expecting to like it all that much.Little did I know how hopelessly glued I would be to my DS for the next few days.While there were some rare cases where ambiguous wording had me crying foul, on the whole the puzzles in this series are quite good, and the third entry doesn't disappoint. There is a wide variety of puzzles to solve, and for people who can't --or don't want to--figure out certain types of puzzles, there is a generous hint system in which you trade "hint coins" for a series of hints that slowly nudge you in the right direction. New to this game is the addition of a fourth hint, the "Super Hint", which costs two coins and virtually gift-wraps the solution for you. Hint coins are scattered everywhere on the map, so unless you're really abusing the system, or never bother to poke anything with your stylus, you won't likely find yourself running out. Also new to this game's puzzles is an upgraded memo system that allows the use of different colors and pen widths.As is par at this point, there are three optional minigames accessible in the trunk; a "Mad Libs" style story book where you place stickers to create cohesive stories, delivery quests in which you place bungee cords to bounce a parrot to a goal, and a series of top-down maps in which you guide a toy car and collect items. They're all cute and welcome additions, and while the parrot one may test your patience, none of them are complete duds like "Diabolical Box's" tea minigame. In my humble opinion, the only good thing about that one was the hilarious failure dialogue.This game series is very addictive not only because it encourages the "just one more puzzle" mentality, but because of the presentation. There are few genres where presentation is of comparable importance to gameplay, and this is one of them. Like the last two games, the environments are presented as charming 2D paintings, the townspeople all have unique quirks, and all music is generated almost exclusively with some combination of piano, music box, violin, and...accordion. To Level-5's credit, they managed to make yet another default puzzle theme unobtrusive enough that you don't feel the burning need to mute your DS after you've been stuck sliding blocks around for thirty minutes straight.And then there's the story. While playing these games, I often question myself whether I care more about progressing the story so I can play puzzles, or breezing past the puzzles so I can see what happens next. "Unwound Future" follows the adventures of Layton and Luke, intrepid alliterative duo and blatant Sherlock/Watson homage, as they receive a cryptic letter signed by Luke himself, ten years in the future. As usual, following this one little lead brings our heroes into a much larger mystery, with many parallel oddities looming over it. What follows is an intentionally bizarre tale filled with plenty of plot twists, violations of common sense, deep soul-searching, and flagrant abuse of the number ten.Like every other aspect in this game, the story has a much higher degree of polish than in previous titles. There are plenty more fully animated cutscenes (think Ponyo), and plenty more fully voiced lines of dialogue. The writing is genuinely funny and often self-referential, and the plot is certainly engaging, though as usual, you'll need to willingly suspend your disbelief at some of the more nonsensical things that happen. This being the conclusion of a trilogy, some questions you might have had left over from the first two games get answered, and the stakes are also raised higher than usual.I can't say much more about what actually happens in the story for fear of spoiling it, but I must warn that they took the general tone of the past two stories and injected it with bovine growth hormones. Yes, that means it's funnier and more mysterious and more epic, but this also means it's darker. Significantly darker. Hoo boy. I'd actually suggest heeding the E10 rating on the package. The writers pulled this off in part by making this adventure very personal to our heroes themselves, and for the first time, you actually get a glimpse into Layton's backstory. The result of all this includes some surprisingly upsetting implications and a whole lot of emotion near the end.Now, I am aware that the majority of human beings worship fiction that yanks their heartstrings to the Seven Wonders of the World and doesn't bother to neatly replace them afterward. If you're one of those people, fear not; you'll love "Unwound Future". But if you're a freak of nature like me, who would rather be able to sleep peacefully after beating a game at 1AM on a work night, then don't say I didn't warn you. And I'm the person who fell over laughing at the end of "Titanic". True story.If this were an RPG or really almost any other genre, I wouldn't have even bothered warning you all about this. But to those who hadn't seen the trend in the first two games' stories, the idea that a cutesy and wacky puzzle game could be so emotionally impacting will come as a shock. Yes, the main character is a tea addict with no outdoor voice, an absurd top hat, and tiny black eyes that look like they belong on a teddy bear. Yes, you will empathize with him. No, I have no idea how they pulled that off.Angry ranting from my still-raw emotional wounds has now concluded. Despite my rage over it, it really is a well-done game in a well-done series, and I don't think it deserves less than five stars. If you're looking for a different kind of game experience, and can handle being forced to think to progress the story, then I'd definitely recommend it. Besides, I can't not recommend a game when I went out and bought the sequel shortly after beating it. Here's hoping for a Smash Bros. cameo.

The latest entry in the Professor Layton series is pretty much the perfect portable game, assuming of course that you're into puzzle solving. It's fun and quick to pick up and play, with high production values and a ton of content. If you've played earlier entries in the series, then you won't be too surprised by this one - it follows a fairly similar formula. Professor Layton and Luke (his faithful assistant) travel to London in order to see a demonstration of a brand new invention: the Time Machine. Things go a little haywire with the demonstration, and then a few days later the Professor receives a letter in the mail from Luke - sent from 10 years in the future! This kicks off a whole adventure of puzzle solving, and things only get crazier from there.This game has 12 chapters, and a total of 165 puzzles - which should be enough to keep anyone busy for a while. There's a hint system available in case you get stuck, just like previous entries in the series. As you play through the game, you'll collect coins that can be used to purchase hints if you're having trouble with a puzzle. If you're REALLY stuck then you can buy a super hint - which is a new addition to the series and pretty much just tells you the answer to the puzzle. So don't worry too much about getting stuck and frustrated.Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is a lot of fun to look at. They did a fantastic job with the art style and animation, and there's even some decent voiceover work. If you're a fan of the Professor Layton series then you should pick this game up immediately. If you haven't played any of the previous entries and you're into puzzle game, then definitely give this one a shot. You don't need to know about any of the previous games in order to enjoy it, and it really is one of the more polished DS games available.

Although I was sent the European version, it still worked fine on my system. I noticed no difference, if there even was any, to anything. The game itself is fantastic, with everything fans have come to love about Layton since the beginning. The assorted and memorable cast, the wonderful animations and, of course, the puzzles. Be aware that this game is the third in the series, so I'd recommend playing The Curious Village and The Diabolical Box, as some characters are reoccurring throughout the series and some references and jokes might be missed. Even so, it does stand on it's own as a standalone story, though people who have followed the series from the beginning will be more satisfied with its conclusion. If you love the series, don't hesitate to pick this game up.

This game was so much fun! It is my first Professor Layton game, and now I am looking forward to playing more of them. It only cost me $16.55, probably because it has been available for a while by now, and yet it gave me many hours of entertainment and pleasure.The puzzles are great - - not too hard, not too easy, not boring or repetitive, and you can get "hint coins" to trade for hints, by clicking on things in the game. The plot is great. The acting is great. The music is great. A lot of effort apparently went in to creating this game and doing everything as perfectly as possible.My opinion? Go ahead and buy the game! I ordered another Professor Layton game within an hour after finishing this one. :)

The one Professor Layton game that you must never ever miss let it be for story or puzzles ! Its a must-have game for Layton fans and puzzle fans ! It's story is actually better than many movies !

Primero de todo, cuidado con esta edición, pues pese a ser europea está únicamente en inglés.En cuanto al juego, me ha dado la sensación de que los puzzles son menos variados, hay muchos que son extremadamente fáciles y algunos excesivamente complicados. Como novedad importante está que se puede comprar una cuarta pista que es bastante útil.La trama es algo más floja que en los dos títulos anteriores, pero sigue siendo buena.

I gave this Professor Layton a five star rating as I think it is brilliant, but then all of the Professor Layton trilogies are. The only problem with this one is I found it a bit confusing sometimes as to where they were. If you are told to go to a certain place you talk to the characters on the way, get to where you should be going and then return to wherever. On the way back I didn't talk to some of the characters which was wrong. You have to talk to them on your return journey becuase when you then try to find one of the mini games, if you haven't spoken to a certain person then you can't find or open the mini game. It gets a bit frustrating at times but I love Professor Layton and Luke so it doesn't stop me from playing. I do think the asking price for the whole trilogy is a bit expensive especially if you have two children who both want this game, that is approx Pounds 80 and to a small child giving them that present doesn't look like much. The game is for all ages,I am 56 and my sister is 59, and we both love them. I do hope they continue the trilogy ...... it would be a shame if they didn't.

Clairement, ce Layton ne me semble pas être le meilleur de la série. La faute à une intrigue qui fait trop appel au fantastique et aux rebondissements inattendus. En attendant, on prend quand même toujours beaucoup de plaisir à jouer. Les intrigues sont variées, et même moins répétitives que dans pas mal d'autres opus. Le charme de l'ambiance opère comme à l'habitude. Certains passages des cinématiques, mieux réparties le long de l'épisode, sont vraiment très sympathiques. Bref, un bon Layton mais pas dans sa meilleure forme. Un mot sur l'édition en anglais : je trouve que pouvoir profiter des voix des personnages en anglais ajoute beaucoup au côté vieille Angleterre du professeur et apporte du charme à l'ensemble. Un niveau correct d'anglais suffit et je n'ai été bloqué qu'une seule fois dans la compréhension d'une énigme.

Once again Professor Layton and Luke have managed to keep me playing well beyond reasonable limits. All of the Professor Layton games are the equivalent of a real page-turner of a novel. Now all I want to know is -- when can I play the next one?When Diablo first arrived on the gaming scene I spent a great deal too many hours hacking and slashing my way through the Diablo Universe. I was (and still am) addicted to the game. Professor Layton delivers the same kind of addicting gameplay. It seems strange to compare a role-playing game like Diablo to the serene and intellectual Layton but, in my admittedly odd corner of the cosmos, both games offer the same "just five more minutes" need to kill one more skeleton or solve one more puzzle.Rarely do sequels measure up to the original however the storyline in The Unwound Future is actually a bit more compelling than the previous Professor Layton offerings. The puzzles are a nice mix of easy to extremely difficult (for me anyway!). The three "bonus" games are enjoyable but the sticker books are, perhaps, the weakest link in the game. They seem to be geared to a much younger audience and, while I enjoy sharing my Professor Layton games with my seven-year-old granddaughter, it would have been nice to have a bit more of a challenge for myself -- even my granddaughter was surprised with how easy the three sticker books were.If you want to completely loose yourself in a game then this is the one to buy. The puzzle format allows for quick game-play on the bus or total immersion once you get home from a hard day at work and need to unwind. Highly recommended!