Picross picking its way on to DS

Honestly, brain training is the new black. Or is it brown these days? We don't know and, frankly, we don't much care – we're too busy keeping up with mind-enhancing software releases to attend international fashion shows.

In fairness, Picross DS isn't strictly a brain training title. But it is the latest in Nintendo's Touch! Generations Series (software designed for broad appeal and which includes the likes of Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? and Nintendogs) and its remit is firmly focused on light puzzling entertainment.

As such, in the main Picross mode players are expected to reveal a hidden image beneath the puzzle by filling in a grid with squares and crosses in order to complete patterns.

The 300 grids on offer ensure serious longevity but also variety, not least because they range from five-by-five versions, all the way up to daunting 20-by-20 alternatives (those with tiny minds may find comfort in the revelation that clues may be obtained to help finish puzzles, as well as the option to get a head start with a roulette-style hint function that reveals a line of the puzzle).

Creative types, meanwhile, will no doubt cherish the option to create their own puzzles to test their acquaintances' mental capacity (and select their friends accordingly). Stylus in hand, puzzles of all sizes can apparently be designed, including the image hiding beneath the challenge, and once completed are then shared wirelessly or via the Wi-Fi Connection service.

And as the brightest amongst you may have already pre-empted, this also paves the way for the download of both unofficial and Nintendo-created puzzles, meaning a potentially limitless supply of fresh challenges – this is precisely what My Picross mode is for.

There's more, though. Daily Picross is perfectly suited to those looking for quick distraction-type play, providing a selection of five small-grid puzzles designed to be solved as fast as possible. Daily results are then plotted on a chart to get an idea of progress over time.

Furthermore, regular play is rewarded by new unlockable modes such as the descriptively named No Xs, Error Search and Memory. (Though not related to this mode, further unlockable items include touchscreen reaction-based mini-games and skins to enable players to customise their game environment.)

Finally, if you're brain can take it, why not engage in multiplayer competition? Multi-Picross caters for five individuals trying to beat each other and the clock to be the first to finish puzzles, while the Online Battle mode, as its name suggests, enables infrastructure play.

Glu shuffles up with Poker Pop for mobile

This week, the great and good of the mobile industry are gathering in Orlando for the CTIA trade show, which can loosely be described as the North American equivalent of Europe's 3GSM – in that companies show off their wares, announce new mobile stuff, and do a lot of schmoozing.

Glu Mobile took the opportunity to announce its spring games line-up at the show. It was aimed at the US audience, and we've seen some of the games here already: Brain Genius, Project Gotham Mobile Racing and Lemmings Return, for example.

But there was one newie, Poker Pop. Based on a casual web game, it's part poker and part puzzle, taking the basic idea of poker hands and throwing a tile-based twist on top of it. It's similar thinking to that behind I-play's Jewel Quest Solitaire, or Digital Chocolate's WordKing Poker.

Scalextric gets a new mobile game

We have to admit, we're a bit confused. Last year, mobile publisher Player X signed a deal with Hornby to release a Scalextric mobile game. Look, you can read our story about it for proof. But now Spanish publisher LemonQuest has announced that it's releasing a new mobile game based on... Scalextric. Except it's through a licensing deal with Spanish firm Tecnitoys, not Hornby, and the game is going to be called SCX in some countries, and Scalextric in others. Ah well, despite the confusion, the game itself looks like a corker. Boasting nifty isometric graphics, it'll let up to six players race against each other, although it's unclear whether that's on one handset, via Bluetooth or even over the network. You'll be able to tweak your brake tension and fuel load, and alter your pit-stop strategy to get the best out of your car. And, brilliantly, you'll also be able to build your own tracks with the game's built-in editor.

RPG meets RTS in DS' Heroes of Mana

When it comes to national gaming stereotypes, we all know the Japanese typically do role-playing games, while Western developers do strategy games. Psychologists could write learned papers about why, but being journalists we'll just say it probably has something to do with Japan's rigid social structures and the colonial baggage of the Europeans and North Americans. At the end of the day, we all tend to do best what we know best. So where does that place Heroes of Mana? According to our demarcation of roles, this real-time strategy, role-playing hybrid should be being developed halfway between the US and Japan – maybe Hawaii? But, of course, it's not. Instead Tokyo-based Brownie Brown is doing the business. As the title suggests, the game's set in the World of Mana, a place we last visited in the thoroughly enjoyable dungeon-battler Children of Mana. This time, however, you've moved up the chain of command, so now you're ordering around groups of heroes, warriors, bizarre creatures with trumpets for noses, and the Mana's series special icon, those ferocious little yellow rabites. Viewed from a top-down position, control over your troops will be maintained with your stylus. It will be interesting to see how tightly you can move them around though, as it appears there will be up to 20 units onscreen at any time. There's a neat icon system enabling you to quickly select any unit, which hopefully should maintain some order in the ranks. Another feature will be the game's limited use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Sadly, no multiplayer gaming is supported, but you will be able to upload scores, as well as download new missions and maps.