Features:

• 130 puzzles
• Touch Screen controls
• New puzzles are available weekly for download via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
• Fully voiced animated scenes

Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
In Professor Layton and the Curious Village, you'll tackle over 130 puzzles as you unravel the mysteries of the village. Puzzles range from mazes and riddles to logic and sliding puzzles. Touch Screen controls make working through puzzles fun for players of all skill levels, and new puzzles are available weekly for download via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Fully voiced animated scenes bring the story to life, while the eccentric villagers and the hand-drawn art provide a charm that appeals to gamers and non-gamers alike.

Rating : - let's be fair - a collection of reviews with my humble opinion added :)
so many times i read poor reviews and the negs listed are so strange - for instance, john thomas oaks gives this game a 2 star rating and then says, "I can see why so many people are raving about this game. The graphics are gorgeous, and if you are partial to brain games, it's a good choice. However, if you hate brain games (like me), the storyline and graphics will not save this game for you. I thought perhaps a story might make me enjoy the brain games, but no." well, if you don't like puzzle games, prehaps you should have read any on the product information on this game. it is clearly sold as a puzzle game. tulip (who also rates the game a 2 star game,) says, "I haven't seen anyone else mention the tedious dialogue that takes up so much time in this game. I don't care about the conversations between the characters. Perhaps there is a way to bypass them, and I just haven't figured it out yet. The puzzles are not enjoyable to me. It's like being back in third grade doing bogus math problems. Perhaps I am just more of a word person." i agree with her to some extent on the dialog, it was actually one of the negs i was going to point out. i don't dislike it all together BUT i do hate the way they make you contiuously tap your screen begging for more. the dialog box is a semi-generous three line box that often the villiager will not fill unless you tap several times, i.e. "Hump..." (tap) "I was just over there." (tap) "I didn't see anything strange." (tap) -- you get my point, i feel like - JUST SAY IT! a point i disagree with tulip on is the puzzles being too easy, they are not HARD, but they are fun and elusive enough to make you think (and sometimes way over think, grant it.) some of them are grade school math word problems but i found it fun to relive that old, work-it-out type of thought.
luke keppler, who rated 3 stars, mentioned another sorta-neg i was feeling, "The puzzles are unlocked sequentially by clicking through the linear story. It is marketed as some kind of detective/mystery/adventure game, but it's not. The story actually just plays by itself, and you answer the puzzles." it's kind of disapointing that your great brain skills don't ever (so far - i'll update if this changes) actually apply to the story. another 3 rater, miss mausie, mentions the same issue i have with the hint system - you have to buy the hints with coins you find, you can buy three hints per puzzle and often the first hint simply restates the puzzle adding no new or useful information. the second and third may help, but quite often you have to spend 3 coins and you get little to work with. i down loaded a hint guide - a list of the hints for each puzzle - the hints still suck and i only use it from time to time, but it beats getting mad about spending my coins and feelimg ripped off. miss mausie also mentions another strange twist and that is that while the puzzles vary in difficulty from easy to brain teaser they do so in a random way. there is no progression, it's just easy, hard, hard, easy, medium, easy... and so on.
ultimately if you liked brain age but wanted more of a story-video game feel, you'll like it. if you like action adventure and get bored easily, you will not. it might break new and exciting ground, but it is fun and light hearted and has enough edge to wake your brain up more than tv.
is it worth 30 dollars? maybe not - but i got mine on sale for 15 and i feel just fine about the purchase.