Algorithms Course: The Game
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is the second game in the Professor Layton series developed Level 5. It follows the archeologist and his protoge Luke on a mystery of the Elysian Box. The game plays much like the first one in the series with a great engaging plot and some quality puzzles to solve.
Professor Layton mentor has died after opening the Elysian Box, a box that is said to kill someone when anyone opens it, and he has sent Professor Layton a letter stating to continue his journey if he should die. The story has you chasing clues to solve this mystery and its very engaging. One of the things i did not like about the first game was the fact that everything happend in one place and i started to get tired. Here we get onto a train and visit numerous villages. These new locations are change the artsyle and really keeps the game interesting. The story is very engaging and continues to be all the way to the end. I also enjoyed the fact that they had more FMV's that really bring out the characters to life.
The gameplay is essentially you solving a bunch of puzzle either related to the story or a character trying to test your wits. Most of the puzzle are good with a good mix of easy/hard puzzles. If any of you have taken an Algorithms class in college this is essentially a game with those concepts (at one point i used Dijkstra's Theorem, to solve a puzzle). Other than the puzzles there are other side games such as fixing a camera which will then have you taking pictures where a photohunt minigame is available. There is also a hamster minigame which has you exercising a hamster. Both are fun things to do when you want to take a break. While i understand the idea of not changing a working formula i would have liked to see some innovation to the gameplay because this game plays out exactly like the first one with a new story (maybe having them walk more interactively rather than the whole one picture per scene).
The sound is great. The voice acting is brilliant giving the each character more depth to them. What really hit me this time around was the music. I really enjoyed the music (especially the music on the train).
Overall if you are thinking about this game, you know what you are getting. You are either into the game due to some quality puzzle solving or you enjoy the characters and want to see them in a new story (the franchise is huge in Japan, with movies coming our already). Overall the game is solid and doesn't make any changes to the formula giving quality puzzles and a great story.
