Day 97, Game 97 - Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask

When I upgraded to my new, beautiful Nintendo 3DS Xl a couple weeks back, I also got a pretty cool reward for doing so. You see, Nintendo, the company that loves its customers, started a promotion that if you register your new 3DS or XL on their Club Nintendo website, along with either Luigi's mansion of Pokemon Rumble Blast as well, you would receive a free download voucher for one of a handful of games from the eShop.

I'm not talking about the little titles, but rather full retail games, just in a  downloadable version. The game I selected, based on what games I already had and what games actually interested me, was Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask.

This weekend has been completely inundated with BioShock Infinite, but we did head over to the in-laws for dinner this afternoon, meaning it was portable handheld gaming time. Usually I bring along my Vita, but because I am no longer on my 3DS protest, I brought my XL instead. I played some more of Luigi's Mansion, which is getting better with every level I get to, but I also fired up Professor Layton for the first time.

I've played a Layton game before, and I really enjoyed it because of it's puzzles. Today, I rediscovered my love for the game's puzzles - and that's about it. Sure, it looks beautiful. The characters and charming and engaging. But honestly, I just couldn't get into the story at all. I tried and tried, and maybe it seemed drawn out and lengthy because it was the start of the game, but I found myself skipping through the text dialogue just to get to the game play.

In Layton, the puzzles pop up as you encounter characters in the game. The puzzles range in difficulty, but they are all challenging and force you to actually think, even the easiest ones. I got through several puzzles today in my play time, which were very satisfying. I wish I could tell you what the actual story was about, but I can't I think it might have something to do with a Miracle Mask ... but that's just a shot in the dark.

In short, I kind of just wish they would make a Professor Layton game of just puzzles. Market it as a daily brain trainer or something like that, and I would bite hard on that (since my Smart As... game didn't hold my interest as long as I hoped it would).

The Professor Layton games are wonderfully perfect for gaming on the go. Especially when you can't stop thinking about the BioShock Infinite storyline. Now THAT'S a puzzle!

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