Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day

Miscellaneous Edutainment

(Also known as "More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima: How Old Is Your Brain?") 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. [Nintendo]

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Miscellaneous Adventure Puzzle Edutainment General

(Also known as "Layton Kyouju no Fushigi na Machi" and "Professor Layton and the Mysterious Village") Marking Level 5's first foray onto the DS, Professor Layton is an old-fashioned point-and-click adventure which requires your use of skills such as reasoning, knowledge and creativity to solve various puzzles.

Picross DS

Miscellaneous Puzzle Logic

Like finding the underlining 'picture' in a 'crossword puzzle', the goal in Picross DS is to fill a grid with squares and crosses in order to 'paint' a picture. Numbers at the head of the puzzles' columns and rows signify how the grids need to be filled out, but it will take a sharp mind to figure out the solution - and some speedy fingers to defeat the competition. The game's main Picross Mode offers a staggering 300 puzzles available to play at your leisure. Ranging from the elementary five by five grids to highly complicated twenty by twenty grids, this mode can keep even the most hardened gamers happy. Those less certain of their skills can opt to receive clues to help finish puzzles, or get a head start with a roulette-style hint function that reveals one line of the puzzle. Bring your individual talents to the table with My Picross Mode, in which you can create your very own puzzles to share with your friends (locally, or via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection). Designing your own puzzles is simplicity itself thanks to the easy-to-use stylus and Touch Screen. For that extra personal flair, you can even design the image beneath the puzzle which is revealed upon completion. A variety of unlockable skins - with themes ranging from nature to sports or video game heroes – give you all the customisation tools you’ll need to make Picross DS fit your style. [Nintendo Europe]

Jam Sessions

Action Miscellaneous Rhythm Music

Jam Sessions is a music experience that transforms the Nintendo DS system into a portable guitar. Players literally strum the guitar via the Touch Screen and select chords with the +Control Pad. Now even the most "non-musical" person to become an instant rock star. The portability of the DS system makes Jam Sessions a concert-on-the-go, perfect for parties, commuting to school/work and other social gatherings. Jam Sessions appeals to a wide audience of music lovers and creative souls. [Ubisoft]