Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters (Nintendo DSi)

BRAIN AGE EXPRESS: ARTS & LETTERS is the second bite-sized Brain Age game to be made available exclusively as a download for the Nintendo DSi. Like its predecessors, the game is based on the brain-training exercises of Dr. Ryuta Kawashima (who also serves as the game's digital guide and narrator), but while Brain Age Express: Math contained challenges based on numbers and arithmetic, Arts & Letters focuses on language, letters, spelling, and art. Many of the puzzles will be familiar from Brain Age and Brain Age 2 for the Nintendo DS, such as reading text out loud, and rearranging scrambled letters to form words. Other exercises have been spiced up by the DSi's special abilities. In Photo Recall, for example, where players have to pick the correct photo from a group, they can incorporate photos that they've taken with the DSi camera and stored on the device.

Players familiar with any of the previous Brain Age games will experience a strong sense of déjà vu with Brain Age: Express, but while some of the exercises are exactly the same, the subtle enhancements offered by the new DSi hardware (a more accurate and responsive stylus; camera integration) make this a worthwhile download. This is a great compliment to Brain Age Express: Math that lets more artistically-inclined players flex that area of the brain, with exercises that focus on spelling, color, drawing, and creativity. At 800 Nintendo DSi points (about $8) the price is right, too.

Available on: Nintendo DSi
Not available online
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Nintendo
Released on: August 20, 2009
Price: 8
ESRB Rating: NR