'Professor Layton' sequel offers puzzle lovers' bonanza

— -- If you like logic puzzles, brain twisters and conundrums, you'll love Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, a mystery game for the Nintendo DS.

Filled with more than 150 puzzles and 10 mysteries to solve, the game will get your reasoning juices flowing. Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box is a sequel to last year's award-winning Professor Layton and the Curious Village; but you need not have played the first game to enjoy this one.

Professor Layton is a British chap who is an expert at solving puzzles and mysteries. He is accompanied by his young apprentice, Luke, who also has a keen mind. In this game, the professor has received a disturbing note from his old friend and mentor, Dr. Andrew Schrader. Dr. Schrader mentions finding the mysterious Elysian Box, which is rumored to kill anyone who opens it. Rushing to Dr. Schrader's side, Professor Layton finds him lying lifeless on the floor. The Elysian Box is missing, and the only clue is a train ticket for the super posh Molentary Express.

Following the only clue they have, Professor Layton and Luke board the Molentary Express. In addition to the deluxe train, their travels take them to a variety of locations, including a quaint farming town and a phantom town that is not on any map. At each location, there are people to talk with and objects to find. Plus the puzzle-solving duo will encounter nine other mysteries in addition to the main Elysian Box mystery. One involves a young girl named Katia who boards the Molentary Express without her father, and another involves finding a fellow train passenger's beloved companion Tom.

What makes this puzzle game so much fun to play is that most of the puzzles fit nicely into the story. For example, when the train needs to switch tracks inside a tunnel, you must solve a puzzle about moving two trains between switching areas while keeping the cars in order. In another, you must open a lock by rearranging symbols so that they fit a set of rules. Other puzzles are presented by quirky characters; and, if you don't solve their puzzle, they won't tell you what they know. But not all puzzles are tied to moving the story forward; some you can skip with no consequence and visit them later.