Dr Kawashima's Brain Age: How Old Is Your Brain?

Is it me, or does this sound a bit like hard work?

The DS game that gives you a short mental workout every day, with the object of rejuvenating your brain, has arrived in Britain. Nintendo has sold millions of copies of these brain-enhancing games in Japan, and they look set to take hold over here as pensioners (slowly) swarm to games retailers in the hope of reversing the hitherto relentless advance of senility.

Brain Age gives players short tests which can only be taken once each day, consisting of simple maths problems, logic puzzles, reading aloud into the DS microphone and drawing on the touchscreen. On the basis of your performance in these tasks, the game calculates your 'brain age', which you can reduce gradually with improving scores. The follow up to this title, Big Brain Academy, due out later this year, will calculate the weight of your brain and compare it to the brains of great historical personages. The brain weight thing is a little bit weird for me. Dr. Kawashima appears to be taking a little too much interest in the physical attributes of my organs now. How can he tell how heavy my brain is, and why does he want to know?

Almost implausibly, Dr Kawashima is a genuine brain specialist and, in partnership with Nintendo, he is pushing the boundaries of the traditional gaming demographic. This video game will have the curious distinction of being the first to be featured in Saga magazine. Amusingly, Dr. Kawashima's exalted expert status has not prevented the game employing an entertaining graphic of his detached head to accompany you through the tests.

The trend for self-improvement through gaming seems to be gaining momentum, a similar product is in development for the PSP and forthcoming IQ games for mobile phones will make the whole business more accessible. But Carol Vorderman's electronic Soduko could be taken as a sign that it may already have gone too far.

So what is going on? Are games not supposed to be about mindless brain-destroying joy? Have we discovered that learning is fun, or do we fear degeneracy to the extent that we will subject ourselves to daily tests as a means of reassurance? Is it ever right for elderly relatives to consider buying a games console? What is certain is that Brain Training is proving outrageously popular and, we have to admit, it is actually really good fun. Finally, as it's priced at less than £20, Dr. Kawashima has to seem a clever idea.