So I just finished Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon for the 3DS, I had taken a break from it but got around to beating the last boss finally. I know this game has been out for awhile but I’d like to give a review of it for those who haven’t gotten a chance to play it yet, and to share my opinion with the people who have or haven’t.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 – Dark Moon drastically improves on the previous title and changes up a lot of the gameplay, while still holding true to the original title. Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon has a ton of puzzles through out the game, and rewards you for exploring the map more and solving mini puzzles. It’s a puzzle and adventure game with a great story that is aided by Professor E. Gadd quirky sense of humor. It took me around 12 hours to play through the game, however there is still a ton of replay value and a lot more exploring to be done, plus they have a great multiplayer that wasn’t just tacked on at the end.

Pros
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon puts a much heavier emphasize on puzzles this time around, and it makes for a much more challenging and rewarding experience when you finally figure out the puzzles. You are eased into the game perfectly and there is good pacing throughout the game, with it gradually getting harder with each stage. Also each mansion feels like a new experience, and there is little to no repetition throughout the game. It’s controls are greatly improved from the Gamecube, and are streamlined for the 3DS and drops all the gimmicks that was in the Gamcube version. Its mission based system make for greater portability and drop in and play style, and makes it much more approachable. It has creative and unique boss battle that are unique to the series and have no similarities between them.

Cons
The mission based system can sometimes be restrictive to exploration, its good and bad at the same time depending on your style of play.The game has an extremely good pace and eases you into the gameplay, however I wished it was harder to begin with or offered a more challenging mode. Although there are challenging puzzles throughout the game, it wasn’t till the last mansion were I felt any real challenge and actually died. I just wish there was an option for a more challenging mode, possibly after completing the game for the first time around, even though it was paced very well.

Verdict

Overall Lugi’s Mansion: Dark Moon is a must have for the 3DS and adds to the ever growing high quality of games in the 3DS library. It offers intuitive and challenging puzzles with great pacing and fantastic gameplay. It also takes full advantage of the 3D screen, and although it’s not necessary to play in 3D, it adds to the experience and makes the environment much more immersive. I recommend this game to people who enjoy puzzle solving and adventures, however give it a try if you think it sounded interesting, it has a wide audience appeal.   You can pick up a copy of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon at Amazon.