Konami unveil a new puzzle game for the 3DS

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has revealed a new puzzle-based adventure game set in the 19th Century Paris for the new Nintendo 3DS handheld system, provisionally entitled Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights.

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights centres on a treasure map that details a series of locations the player must visit as the game progresses. Doctor Lautrec, an archaeology professor, is a combative figure whose love of mysteries and history draw him to follow the many instructions the ancient map details. Lautrec is not a popular man at the University where he teaches, with his unorthodox attitudes also reflected in his less than moral ways of tackling puzzles. Thankfully, he is assisted by a young, eager student called Sophie who uses the adventure to learn from the master and to temper his… excesses.

As such, the player steers Lautrec through the game, using reasoning, logic and a keen eye to decipher riddles, solve object-related puzzles and work out the puzzle at the very heart of the map. Thanks to the power of the Nintendo 3DS, the game makes full use of the system’s added dimension to add 3D solutions to key puzzles, including the ability to scrutinize located objects from all directions, or zoom in to highlight a piece of scenery that matches something on the map. Similarly, the linking scenes are also viewed in stunning 3D, with the cartoon links brought to vivid life.

In total, Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights offers hours of puzzling and exploration, with a rich cast of supporting characters on hand to both assist and hinder Lautrec’s quest. As the Doctor and Sophie search for clues, rival Professors will attempt to sabotage his mission, while an elegant scholar is revealed to be a member of a notorious crime gang. And, even then, that’s just the start of the many perils that Lautrec and Sophie find themselves facing…

It doesn’t sound too unlike the Professor Layton games on the original DS and, as we all know, those games had a winning formula. If it is able to use the unique features of the 3DS well, Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights could be fantastic addition to the 3DS’ game library.