Brain Age 2: More Training (DS)

The game that launched a new generation of gamers is back. Based on the theories of neuroscientist Dr. Kawashima, Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day contains all-new activities to challenge a player's gray matter.

The title is a series of trainings designed to give the brain a workout. The 17 new, engaging activities are all designed to help work the brain. Whether players are playing simple songs on a piano keyboard or monitoring the photo finish of a footrace, they'll love this new mental workout.

When starting a new game, players take a series of tests and get a score that shows how old their brain is. This number is called the "DS Brain Age." With daily training over weeks and months, players strive to improve their mental acuity and lower their "DS Brain Age." Progress is charted in graph form.

Players can keep up to four save files on one game card. Sharing a game allows players to engage in a picture-drawing quiz or other challenges with family and friends. Players also can use DS Download Play to send a demo to friends or compete with up to 16 players in one of four fun modes.

How to progress through the game: When starting a new game, players will be given a Brain Age Check that determines their DS Brain Age. Each day, players can compete for the high score in any activities that they have unlocked. They also can record the age of their brain once per day. The more players train, the more activities they will unlock. The title is designed to be played in small chunks over a long period of time.

Special powers/weapons/moves/features: Players who play wirelessly with friends or have multiple people playing on one game card can compare scores or rank other people's creative efforts. Solo players also can unlock a mode called Virus Buster, which is a new take on the Nintendo classic Dr. Mario (to relax the brain after the training).

Activities:

Rock, Paper, Scissors: Speak the symbol that beats the one on the screen, but be careful. Players may be asked to lose as well as win.

High Number: Locate the number with the highest numerical value and touch it with the stylus.

Serial Subtraction: Quickly subtract a small number from a larger one over and over again.

Number Memory: Memorize a set of 25 numbers and their locations, then write down as many as you can remember in two minutes.

Symbol Match: Examine the key to the left, then write the symbols that correspond to numbers as they appear.

Piano Player: Play notes on a keyboard as the cursor scrolls over the sheet music. Memory Sprint: Follow the progress of a runner as he competes in a frantic race, then write down the place in which he finished.

Math Recall: Math meets memory in this fun challenge. Solve a math problem, then remember the scribbled-out number and use it to solve the next problem.

Sign Finder: Fill in the mathematical symbol that correctly completes the equation.

Clock Spin: Examine clocks that are sideways, upside down or inverted, and write down the correct time.

Word Scramble: Unscramble the letters and write down the word they spell.

Word Blend: Listen to the overlapping words that come from the DS speakers, then write down the words on the Touch Screen.

Change Maker: Touch coins and bills with the stylus to make the correct change.

Block Count: Watch blocks that fall into columns, then write down the height of one of the columns.

Calendar Count: Solve problems based on the calendar, such as "What day was it three days before yesterday?"

Other modes include a picture-drawing challenge, a connect-the-dots exercise, and an acrostics activity. Brain Age 2 will also come with more than 100 new sudoku puzzles.