Over the past year, Nintendo has somehow made learning cool and fun. Edutainment titles that have gamers solving math and word puzzles have made a strong showing on the Nintendo DS, and Midway is trying to capitalize on the craze with its new brain game, Hot Brain. Hot Brain is exclusively for the PSP, a platform that's far less familiar with the genre. Although the game has a great deal of charm, its limited assortment of puzzles and easy difficulty level makes it far less engaging than the products that Nintendo have benchmarked on their dual-screened handheld.

One of the most admirable things Midway has done with Hot Brain is the incredible amount of personality they've added to the genre with the Professor Warmer character. A beautifully animated CG intro explains his theory: increased blood flow to the brain causes the brain to get warmer. Therefore, by participating in a series of math and verbal puzzles, players will increase their blood flow, and make their brains hot.

This week, a new brain training game hits the PSP: Hot Brain. We got a chance to chat with Jerry Huber, producer at Midway on the title.

Doesn't a hot brain increase the chance of a stroke? Where did the "hot brain" concept originate from?
Jerry Huber: I don't believe that playing Hot Brain will cause any long- term physical harm ... although I am not a doctor.

The hot brain theme came up while we were doing research for the game. We found an article where they had done thermal scans of peoples' brains while they were doing different types of activities. There was a scan of somebody sleeping, somebody watching TV, doing a crossword puzzle... that sort of thing. The scans where people were actively using their brains showed increased blood flow and higher temperatures then the brains that were resting. That's what sparked the whole "hot brain" concept.

Why target PSP with a title like this? Wouldn't the DS be more suitable?
The brain- trainers have done really well on the DS. I think that's a pretty strong indicator that there's an interest in these types of games. We felt like a brain- trainer designed specifically for the PSP would have a lot of appeal.

Just to warn you, PSP Fanboy Theatre and Ask PSP Fanboy features will be very, very late today. Why? Let's say that blogging from our PSP systems isn't the most efficient way to do things. Until I get seated next to an actual computer, let's try solving these new Hot Brain images from Midway. We'll be getting our review copies soon, so stay tuned for our impressions.

PSP owners haven't had much of a chance to try the Brain Age fad. But no worries, Hot Brain should do just the trick. This brain training game, starring Fred Willard, is going to try and make you smarter by throwing tons of word and math puzzles at you. IGN has a video blowout of the title, showcasing tons of gameplay options from this mind-expanding collection of minigames.

Check it out.

IGN recently played the PSP brain training game, Hot Brain. Sure, it appears to be a quick cash-in on the strangely popular edutainment craze, but IGN's hands-on reveals a game that may offer a bit more originality and charm than a simple "clone" would. Some of the gameplay modes described include a Simon-esque "Musical Memory" mode, which has players memorizing the orders of sounds. "Back Seat Driver" has players looking at a top-down map, and predict where a cab will go. Apparently, it's more than a little rough: "[it] made me feel like an idiot from the get go."

Read more of IGN's preview, and don't forget to check out images from the game to see sample brain-teasing puzzles in action.

The new brain-training PSP game, Hot Brain wants to make your brain hotter. Unfortunately, not Tricia Helfer hotter. No, they mean temperature hotter. Like "I'm getting a stroke" hotter. Isn't that a bad thing?

Regardless, the dialog and voice acting have us excited: this could add just a little bit more personality to that whole Brain Age thing. Wonder if this game will also feature a floating decapitated head?

Brain Age fans will have something to get excited about if they own a PSP. Midway has announced a new "mind-training" game titled Hot Brain. Being developed by Midway's San Diego studio, the game has five timed categories: logic, memory, math, language and concentration. Oddly, Hot Brain will be voice acted by comedian/actor Fred Willard who some may remember from Anchorman. The game's is titled Hot Brain, because the objective is to get the highest brain temperature by correctly answering questions and completing challenges. Hot Brain will also include multiplayer with such modes as Test Mode, Brain Race and Think Tank.

Fans of the genre can look forward to Hot Brain sometime this summer.

[Via IGN]