PSP Roundup

Hot Brain

I don't like getting hung up on originality, since it's never been the games industry's strongest suit. Even so, there are moments when you want to slap some faces and scream "Couldn't you at least try to disguise your larcenous ways?"

Case in point: the current explosion of mental exercise games. I suppose you could call it "brain training". Oh, wait, someone already did. The woolly concept this time around is that the cleverer you get, the hotter your brain becomes. Hmm. To help achieve this painful sounding goal, you play through the expected rounds of logic puzzles, observation tests and mathematical hatred.

Judged solely as a collection of such textbook tasks Hot Brain is passable enough, but it pales alongside the original Brain Training. Not only is the DS infinitely better suited to this sort of thing, with its stylus and fold open book-style presentation, but there's just a greater sense of cohesion and structure to Dr Kawashima's unlikely hit. Hot Brain, by comparison, reveals its true nature as a hurried me-too title filled with uninspired challenges.

The only real highlight is the presentation, with lots of great CGI animation and a ker-azy doctor character voiced by Anchorman star, Fred Willard. But even he's not as funny as you'd expect. Of course, as it's already been reduced to less than a tenner by some retailers, the only thing you have to lose is your precious time.

5/10