The Professor Layton series may be done and dusted, but the spirit of Layton lives on in the 3DS’s Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.
Combining Layton’s puzzle solving and Phoenix Wright’s courtroom drama, it has seemingly gone down a treat with fans of both series. Fans of Layton in particular will no doubt be pleased to hear that the wondrous anime cut-scenes have made the jump, along with the helpful coin-based hint system.
Scores include 9s from Videogamer and GameCentral – with the latter calling it “Utterly charming from the first moment†– and also 8s from both GameSpot and Eurogamer.
gamesTM meanwhile thought it was worth a 7, noting that “the clash of styles is sometimes jarring and somewhat nonsensicalâ€. That was perhaps to be expected, even with Nintendo making the pipsqueak professor taller so that he doesn’t appear out of place when stood next to Wright.
Still not sold? There’s a demo puzzle to try out over on Nintendo’s site.
Also out this week: Deception IV: Blood Ties on PS3 and PS Vita. You may know this series as ‘Trapt’ and simply as ‘Deception’. Or maybe you’re unfamiliar with the series at all – the PlayStation 2’s Trapt was the only instalment in the long running series to make it to Europe.
Playing as the devil’s daughter, your survival rests on your ability to lay traps haphazardly in maze-like environments. With a bit of imagination and experimentation, all kinds of devious devices can be forged in order to rack up high-scoring combo kills.
The Escapist, Play magazine and God is a Geek all reckon it’s an interesting enough concept to be worth a look, with Play dishing out a respectful 78%.
Then we have realistic motorcross racer MXGP – The Official Motocross Videogame, out on PS3, Xbox 360, PS Vita and PC via pQube. A lack of reviews – or indeed any promotion at all – is slightly worrying. The fact that the developer’s previous two-wheeled racer – MUD: FIM Motocross World Championship – was a bit on the sloppy side doesn’t bode well either.
It might be an idea to save your money for Nordic Games’ new MX vs ATV title, which is being handled by veterans of THQ’s MX vs ATV games.
The PC crowd are currently being absorbed into the eagerly awaited Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Reviews are curiously thin on the ground considering it was released a few days ago – the current 82% Metacritic is formed of just six scores. GamesRadar are one of the more renown outlets to have given it the review treatment, where it bagged 4/5. They said it’s a hard game to apply a score to, but it still stands as a recommendation.
A handful of games aimed at the ankle biters round off the week’s retail offerings. After being released elsewhere in the world late last year, Invizimals: The Lost Kingdom and Invizimals: The Alliance arrive in the UK this week on PlayStation 3 and PS Vita respectively. PS Vita version of the augmented reality creature collector fared better out of the duo, with a Metacritic of 71% compared to The Lost Kingdom’s 55%.
Then there’s Activision’s Cut the Rope: Triple Treat on 3DS, which presumably the publisher hopes will have the same (undeserved) success as the console Angry Birds games.
Over on PSN, Fez is making a belated appearance on PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. Priced at £7.99, it has both cross-buy support and an additional 20% off for PS Plus subscribers.
That’s being joined by Arc System Works’ 2D brawler Chaos Code – priced £7.99 on PS3 – and the F2P PS Vita RPG Destiny of Spirits. Here’s the launch trailer:
This leaves us with Bioshock Infinite’s Burial At Sea Episode 2, which will set you back £11.99. Eurogamer reckons that it’s “Impressively crafted and polished†and “a fitting end to Irrational’s body of workâ€.
If you’re yet to experience the Bioshock series for yourself, all three games – and an assortment of DLC – are reduced on Xbox Live this week. One of the best games of 2013 for £6.59? You’d be wet behind the ears to miss that offer.
Next week: Dynasty Warriors 8 – Xtreme Legends (PS4, PS3, PS Vita) and The Elder Scrolls Online (PC).