Professor Layton and the Curious Village was originally released for the Nintendo DS, I played it on an iPad. It's definitely old-school, 2D cartoon graphics with animated cut scenes. Random clicking required to find hidden puzzles and hint coins. No action sequences, one progresses by solving the over 100 puzzles which are of the brainteaser variety.

The plot has Professor Layton invited to St Mystere, a very curious village indeed, to find the Golden Apple mentioned in a late Baron's will. The curious villagers in the curious village will delay his progress towards finding the golden apple and the Barons' treasure with a stream of puzzles. The puzzles are puzzles, not integrated into the environment as puzzles in Myst are for example. A mysterious adversary will further complicate Professor Layton's progress. Professor Layton has a young sidekick called Luke who also gets to solve the puzzles.

Solving the puzzles will mean progress towards the end of the game. You don't need to solve all of the puzzles to reach the end. However you gain points (and other rewards) for solving the puzzles, more points if you solve the puzzles with fewer attempts. So besides finding the Golden Apple, you can also piece together a picture and furnish rooms for Professor Layton and Luke for instance.

All of that may seem negative. But in fact playing this game is a charming experience. Somehow the mix of elements melds well together into addictive winning gameplay. It is really quite cute fun!