Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day [DS]

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Is your brain older than it should be? Brain Age 2 offers you the chance to find out -- and partake in twenty-odd minigames intended to improve your mental agility. Holding the DS upright like a small book, you play games, answer questions, and, somehow, you get smarter.

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Precisely how (or, indeed, if) this happens is never explained, but that didn't matter for buyers of the first game, who at last count numbered an impressive nine million. Brain Age 2 doesn't mess with the original game's successful formula at all, bringing fans 17 all-new minigames and enough Sudoku problems to while away several round-the-world airplane flights. All in all, it's a comprehensive collection.

Brain Age 2 will have you racking your brains to memorize grids of numbers, unscramble anagrams, complete mathematical equations, tap out piano notes, play rock-paper-scissors, and make change. Some games are clear descendants of Brain Age favorites, but others are completely original -- and none stand out as weak links, for once. It's a consistently strong selection, and many can be played between up to 16 competitors, each with their own DS, from just one game cart.

While you're undergoing all this mental exercise, Brain Age's genial host Dr. Kawashima provides helpful hints, lets you know exactly which parts of your brain you're supposedly improving, and weighs in with commentary on your progress. Although just a handful of games are unlocked at first, you'll enable more quickly as you play. The idea is to play a few every day, and then check your brain age score for improvement.

Creditably, Brain Age 2 obviously doesn't feel the need to spice up the original game's staid presentation. When you're racing against the clock to solve math problems or decipher recordings of people saying different words simultaneously, the last thing you need is flashy graphics distracting you. Clear, bold, high-contrast visuals and simple sound may not catch the eye in screenshots, but Brain Age 2's simple graphic design is near-perfect.

Many Brain Age games require you to write letters or numbers with the stylus, and sadly here a flaw of its predecessor makes itself felt again -- it's just not all that good at interpreting these handwritten symbols. This is odd, because handwriting recognition is largely a solved problem on non-gaming platforms like tablet PCs and PDAs. We don't struggle with those, despite our drunken-spider-trail handwriting, but Brain Age doesn't cope well with even single capital letters. Not taking the time to improve it is a clear missed opportunity.

Whether or not you buy into the hype that playing this game will actually improve your brain, it's still one of the DS's most charming titles -- and it's got plenty of competition on that front. It's the perfect counter to the allegation that video games all rot your brain, and a tight, carefully designed experience to boot. Established fans will love it, while new players, regardless of their level of video game proficiency, will be hooked in no time. Rack up another success for the DS.