Published: Friday, 6th February, 2009 12:00pm

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

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Nintendo DS

IT used to be that the game everyone recommended as the first one to get when you bought a DS was Brain Training. Well forget that now. Professor Layton and the Curious Village is charming, addictive, and will give your brain far more of a work out than Dr Kawashima ever could.

The villagers of St. Mystere speak to each other in riddles. Literally. When puzzle expert Professor Layton and his apprentice Luke are called in to help investigate the hidden treasure of the recently deceased Baron Reinhold they must move about the town, working through the puzzles to find the truth.

For a puzzler game there is a surprisingly strong storyline running through the Curious Village, with challenges including everything from standard logic problems to match moving riddles.

The puzzles are occasionally fiendish but generally just hard enough to ensure a real feeling of accomplishment when you're able to crack them - with the availability of hint coins meaning you never quite get to the point of throwing your DS across the room.

The game is populated with a host of funny characters and animated with a lot of charm. The main quest, random additional puzzles which come from collecting objects and painting pictures along the way, and downloadable content make for a game perfect to while away hours at a time.

Five out of Five

* Professor Layton and the Curious Village is out now on the Nintendo DS.