As slick as the interface might be though, puzzles are something of a mixed bag this time around. While the greater variety is much appreciated, Pandora"s Box casts aside any notion of a graceful difficulty curve, with too many puzzles bundled at either end of the difficulty spectrum. It"s bizarrely inconsistent, particularly given the grand job Level-5 did in the first game, but it"s hard to know whether to blame developer fatigue or the localisation process. You see, the game"s single biggest issue lies with vague puzzle instructions that simply don"t offer enough information to get the job done.

It"s odd, given Pandora"s Box"s otherwise exemplary translation for conversational cut-scenes, but occasionally makes the game head-scratching in entirely the wrong ways. Thankfully, it"s a rare occurrence and the majority of puzzles hit the right note - however, it"s hard to accept the occasional clanger in what"s now unarguably a flagship Nintendo franchise.

While the game"s puzzling core might be slightly wayward at times, there"s virtually no faulting the astronomical attention to detail lavished on this sequel. With beautiful hand-drawn environments - this time more adventurous than Curious Village"s pervasive brown hues - and a richly appealing anime-European aesthetic, it"s a stunningly cohesive visual experience. Toss in the atmospheric, if slight, soundtrack, deranged character design, stunning full-motion interludes and a largely sympathetic cast of voice actors and you"ve got a sumptuously evocative package.

In fact, if Nintendo gets one black mark here, it"s for the return of Lani Minella"s slack-jawed voice-manglement, derailing the experience every time she opens her mouth. Whether it"s Flora"s stilted delivery or Luke"s horrendous sub-Dick Van Dyke mockney abomination, even the ear-bleeding narration where Minella appears to be mimicking a Speak and Spell reading from a Babelfish translation, it"s a tortuous blip on an otherwise splendid offering.

Closing Comments

Major faults though are few and far between. Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box is another excellent entry in Nintendo’s burgeoning hybrid franchise, effortlessly straddling the demographic divide thanks to its beguiling mix of approachable puzzles, gentle adventure and triple-A production values. It’s a richer, sprightlier experience than before, despite doing little to tinker with an already winning formula. While its puzzle roster occasionally disappoints with inconsistency, making for a slightly less satisfying core compared to its predecessor, Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box still packs so much charm into its diminutive frame that all but the most blood-lusty trigger-fingers would be wise to give it a try.

From then on, this latest Layton adventure happily gallops on at an improbably-plotted breakneck pace. Leaping giddily between kidnappings, shadowy conspiracies, family secrets and mysterious twilight towns, the game"s a million miles away from Professor Layton and the Curious Village"s more leisurely meanderings. It"s jammed with dazzlingly preposterous scenarios that effortlessly add to the series" already intoxicating charm, firmly establishing the Professor and his troupe as bona fide Nintendo treasures.

Thankfully, that brisk yarn is perfectly matched by a breezily-streamlined point-and-click-style interface, making exploration across the game"s many quaint locales a seamless experience. Bar a few sensible tweaks, it"s the same as before with world interactions merely requiring a simple touch-screen tap, and movement reflected on an overhauled top-screen map. It"s testament to the overall slickness of the package that the series" two disparate elements - namely gentle exploration and brain-teasing puzzling - gel so effortlessly, despite what looks like an awkward marriage on paper.

Indeed, almost everyone you meet on your adventure has a puzzle to share, while objects around the environments frequently cough up more conundrums, alongside the usual collection of concealed coins to help you through the tricky bits. As before, coins buy you valuable hints, should you hit a mental dead-end, lowering your Picarat earnings in the process. Yes, it"s a mechanic that"s entirely open to abuse if you"re a cretinous cheat with an affinity for the save system and reset button but we"re hardly going to fault the game on your own amoral agenda.

In terms of puzzle content too, Pandora"s Box provides little deviation from the first game"s array of stylus-driven mini-games, maths problems and linguistic teasers - although, thankfully, Level-5 has calmed down on the abnormally high "trick question" collection from Curious Village. They"re all supported with flawless touch-screen controls, including excellent handwriting recognition, making for a joyfully tactile experience. Level-5 even adds a much welcome "memo" function to scribble down your mental meanderings at any point too - one of a number of subtle refinements to the formula.