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Layton Brothers cracks one million worldwide downloads
iOS whodunit Layton Brothers: Mystery Room is up to one million downloads after it clued into western markets last month. The sleuthing spin-off, starring Professor Layton's detective son as he checks out 3D crime scenes and gives suspects the third degree, is a free download with two cases included; the remaining content is paid DLC totaling $5. We gave Layton Brothers the Portabliss treatment last week; although it's not a squeaky clean adaption, we liked its "bite-sized version of an enjoyable Layton mystery."
The 'Layton' is latent in Layton Brothers: Mystery Room
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. At first, Layton Brothers: Mystery Room comes across like a decaffeinated, oddly flavored cup of Professor Layton, shaken and stirred into something familiar, but not in an encouraging way. Gone are the prof and his boyish sidekick, in their place Layton's inspector son Alfendi and his tomboyish sidekick Lucy Baker. Framed as a murder mystery whodunnit, each of the game's cases is introduced with possible suspects, and Alfendi tells the player which suspects he thinks is the culprit – often with near absolute certainty, genius that he is. It's then up to players to scan the crime scene, question suspects, remove any remaining doubt and close the case. Gone is the odd mix of brainteaser puzzles and rustic exploration, now an odd mix of 3D crime scene investigation and more familiar 2D choice-based questioning. Beyond the characters' narrative ties and charming art, it's hard at first to suss out the "Layton" in this iOS adaptation. It doesn't help that the first two episodes – the only free episodes – are clumsy, and struggle to unearth a rhythm that comes easily to the DS and 3DS games. One minute I'm thoroughly checking out the crime scene, zooming in and out of the 3D environment à la Ace Attorney, the next I'm asking questions. Then suddenly it's back to the crime scene to re-click on clues I've already found. It's as jarring and unconvincing as Luke's accent but, unlike the whippersnapper's vocals, it does get better eventually.%Gallery-192555%
Layton Brothers out on iOS today
Professor Layton series developer Level-5 has launched Layton Brothers Mystery Room, a crime-solving "interactive mystery novella" for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Layton Brothers stars Inspector Alfendi Layton and his assistant Detective Constable Lucy Baker, who must work together to solve a series of grisly murders. Players will need to carefully examine crime scenes for clues in order to sniff out suspects and establish motives. Layton Brothers also seems to share the same quirky charm that defined the Professor Layton series; as part of the game's first case, you'll need to disassemble a deadly sandwich. Was the lettuce laced with poison? Or does the pickle have something to hide? Don't forget to interrogate the bread, if that's an option. The core Layton Brothers app is a free download that includes two cases to solve. Seven additional cases are available as in-app purchases.%Gallery-192555%
Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, and more Layton trailers than you can handle
Level-5 showed off its wide variety of Professor Layton material at TGS, releasing trailers for Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney (above) along with Professor Layton and the Legacy of Super Civilization A, Layton Brothers Mystery Room, and Professor Layton and the Century of the Seven Phantom Thieves.
Level-5 spins off 'Layton Brothers Mystery Room' for iPhone
If you were looking forward to the DS game Mystery Room ... you're now looking forward to an iOS game, starring Professor Layton's son. Level-5 has reworked the game into a mobile Professor Layton spinoff, and announced the new game at its Level-5 Vision conference. Just as it was before the shift, Layton Brothers Mystery Room is about conducting investigations of crime scenes by tapping on areas of interest with the touch screen. It seems a lot more grounded in reality than the main Layton games -- look, there's a dead body and everything.
