Garfield: Train Your Brain

You have to say, out of all the games looking to thrive on Brain Training's success, Garfield: Train Your Brain probably has the least convincing poster boy.

That's not to say that Garfield is in any way stupid - far from it. But, rather than picking up a masters degree or two, his conk is put to better use making his owner Jon and puppy pal Odie look stupid.

As such, Garfield: Train Your Brain constantly feels like a bit of an odd fit, with frankly bizarre mini-games squeezed into Jim Davis's comic strip for no other reason than that Indiagames happens to have picked up the license.

If you're looking to sharpen your noggin, then your best bet really is to look elsewhere: a brain trainer this is not.

Following a familiar path

Like most Brain Training wannabes, Garfield: Train Your Brain has both a main testing ground that evaluates your current skill-set and an area where you can practise.

On the first run, you're launched straight into the main test, but very little instruction is given about just what's required, meaning your first result is very likely to be especially negative.

Not that you'll want to have a bash at many of the games in its line up too many times. Most of the games - which are split into four categories: Math, Visual, Logic and Memory - actually bear very little relation to a genuine test of nous.

Instead, play simply charges you with performing very rudimentary tasks, such as remembering combinations of numbers or following a set directional pattern to uncover a particular card on a 4x4 grid.

That's not to suggest that you'll pass all such tests with flying colours. Indeed, due to the fact that any semblance of instructions are just as sparse in the practice sessions, you're almost as likely to flunk them as you are the main brain test.

It's a lazy, lacklustre set-up that feels like the result of a studio simply churning out the chaff rather than attempting to bind together any sort of meaningful experience.

As a result, Garfield: Train Your Brain is a prime example of the, ironically, mindless mobile test that has little value and little connection to its franchise of choice.

A bore for Garfield fans and those looking to give their brain cells a bash alike, there's just one thing Garfield: Train Your Brain schools you to do: avoid.