Step back to Christmas 2004, when the PlayStation Portable and the Nintendo DS were about to be released. Many analysts and video game publishers alike had already decided that the PSP's gorgeous widescreen display, coupled with its superior media playback facilities would win the day for Sony, and Nintendo would lose their crown of dominance of the handheld market which they've held since the days of the original monochrome Game Boy. We were worried. We needn't have been. Fast forward to 2007, and the DS has become a worldwide cultural phenomenon. More than just a games console, the DS has been at the vanguard of Nintendo's recent efforts to encourage females, parents and pensioners alike to play games.

Anyone who's played the original (and judging by the sales figures, that's quite a few of you) will be right at home with this sequel. Everything, from the clean interface, to the menu screens, to the graphs, to the included Sudoku bonus mode, is instantly familiar. In fact, it's virtually indistinguishable from the original game. We'd usually criticise a sequel on this basis, but this is part of the Touch Generations series after all- designed for the non-gamer and all that.

As expected, the sequel introduces a raft of new challenges that look set to genuinely give your brain a serious workout. Here's just a few:In 'Speedy Symbols', you're challenged to quickly use a reference chart to match a number with it's given symbol, and write down the appropriate symbol on the touch screen as quickly as possible. 'Memorise 5x5' looks set to be an even crueller sequel to the memorably difficult word memory game in the original- this time, you must memorise the location of 25 numbers hidden in a 25-space grid. 'Missing Symbols' offers a twist on the iconic 'Calculations X20' from the original, this time asking you to fill in the correct symbol into an already-completed equation.Some of the more interesting new challenges include a voice-controlled game or rock, paper and scissors, as well as 'Masterpiece Recital', a brand-new concept which tests players by showing a page of sheet music on one screen, and a piano on the other. The goal is to follow the music played on the musical stave and tap the correct piano key. There are a good few others, but we'll save them for the review.

Also new to the sequel are expanded multiplayer options. While it may not measure up to the generous single-card options of Big Brain Academy, this allows up to 15 people to compete in one of four challenges, including a memory challenge, word-scrambling game, and most intriguingly, a drawing test

More Brain Training has one more surprise up its sleeve: along with the return of the well-implemented Sudoku of the original, a second mini-game, entitled Germ Buster, makes an appearance. It's actually a touch-enabled version of Dr. Mario, and while its appearance in More Braining Training seems a little out of place, we'll gladly accept the freebie.

We're looking forward to giving our brains another workout from the 29th of June- its sure to be another smash hit, and based on what we know of the game, it looks to be more of the same, but perhaps slightly more compelling- which should make it a good purchase for fans of the first game.

Mark Cullinane
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