You don't usually find the word "math" in the title of a video game. It sounds like homework.

I was worried, but "Personal Trainer: Math" is fun. You get the whole shebang on this Nintendo DS game. There's addition, multiplication, subtraction, division, you name it. It's got everythingmath. It reminds me of the "Brain Age" game -- it's designed to improve your memory and accuracy -- except it's cartoonier.

Your private math tutor is Hideo Kageyama, a Japanese professor who teaches everything you need to know. He shows up as a little animated guy in a blue suit. You hold the DS like a book, and the problems are of the left side, and you use the stylus and touchscreen on the right to write your answers. I think that's pretty cool.

You have to be careful if you have sloppy handwriting, though. For example, I put down a seven and the game thought it was a one. That is mainly the only drawback.

The main menu offers three different games to choose from: the daily test, the Kageyama method, and practice exercise. The daily test -- like it says -- is a test you take every day to improve your math skills. They start out simple, like 9 (fill in the blank) = 10. The problems go up a difficulty level every five days so you keep practicing and developing your skills.


In the Kageyama method, you study alone, or by wireless with up to 15 friends! And you only need one actual game cartridge to play it, which is again very cool. You can do addition, subtraction, and multiplication via the 100-Cell Method or do the division marathon. It's fast-paced, so you're racing to get the most points.
I tried and liked the practice exercises. There are eight pages of calculations involving flash cards, times tables, fill-in-the blanks, sentence sums, etc. They all help your brain, I can guarantee that.

I am going to give this game a solid 8 out of 10. It is very fun and improves your memory and math basics. I'd give it a 10 but the format is almost exactly the same as "Brain Age" and I like original twists. And while the music is OK -- kind of like waiting-room music -- if you listen to the tinkly "practice exercise" music for more than 10 minutes, you will go insane ( it's all I hear right now). Next time, I'll turn off the music and sound effects so I can really concentrate. See ya!