Painting and colouring games have been something sadly lacking on the console scene, probably due to the problem of translating the mechanic of painting to a game controller. Only the Super Nintendo classic, Mario Paint, stands out in my memory, a fantastic game that allowed you to paint, animate and even create music - a game that's screaming for a 'Wii-make' if ever there was one! At least one developer has taken the initiative in this area though, using the unique features of Nintendo's DS system to create a painting game that other developers should take note of.

Crayola Treasure Adventures is a game that's entirely controlled by the stylus, allowing you to take part in a colourful adventure. Though arguably superfluous, the plotline is that the three colour crystals have disappeared and colours are fading all over the world. If this were a series of 24 then Jack Bauer would be charging around the globe, finding colour-blind terrorists and engaging in combat with fans of monochrome, painting the world with many shades (but mainly red!) However, as this is a game aimed squarely at young children, there is no action, swearing or plot twists: it's just you, your stylus and your friend Tip, in charge of retrieving the three colour crystals and restoring the world to its technicolour glory.

Now, you're thinking that Treasure Adventures sounds like a game for kids then you're right; if you're not under seven or a parent considering this for your child then there's little point in reading any further - but if you are looking for a game that your child will enjoy, then you've found a great one. The one thing this game knows is its target audience. The menus, gameplay and graphics are all bright and colourful, no doubt rendered in authentic Crayola shades! The menus are easy to navigate, with large buttons that are perfect for the stylus or children's fingers; the main menu is simple and uncluttered - as are the subsequent screens - giving you a choice of either the Adventure Mode or the Colouring Book. Throughout the game most of the action takes place on the bottom touch screen, with the top screen used for plot developments and tips from, er, Tip!

Adventure Mode is spread over three worlds, each with a different theme - jungle, desert and beach - the gameplay isn't really affected by the setting, but this prevents the game from feeling too repetitive. Each world is made up of nine challenges, which are built around three different premises: jigsaw, colouring-in and joining the dots. A jigsaw mission presents jigsaw puzzles of varying difficulty, where pieces are dragged and locked into place with the stylus; colouring-in sees you using the stylus as a pen, to colour in characters one part at a time; and with join-the-dots, objects in a landscape have been removed and can only be reassembled by a basic join-the-dots challenge. Each world ends with a 'boss' character, which is a more difficult colouring-in challenge.

It should be noted that, from the perspective of an adult, Adventure Mode isn't that challenging. Missions cannot be failed and colouring-in and join-the-dots challenges don't have to be carried out with precision to succeed. I completed the whole mode within thirty minutes - but that's not really the point, as young children will spend several hours on this mode. This isn't a massive amount of time, but the inability to go wrong, while arguably lacking challenge, will not infuriate children, though the repetition over the three worlds could well do. The only confusing thing I found about this mode was understanding which challenges you need to complete, as only on the third and final world do you have to complete each challenge to progress.

Whilst playing Adventure Mode you are guided through the story by Tip, whose speech bubbles are frequent and the text is a good size for reading. A large, red advance button makes it simple to progress and not get lost or confused as to what to do next. As you do progress, as well as seeing more of the plot, you unlock crayons and pictures, which brings me nicely onto the Colouring Book mode. This mode offers a choice of six categories, including farm animals, dinosaurs and sea creatures. Each of these categories have between fifteen and twenty-five images, totalling at over one hundred pictures to colour in, which will keep children entertained for a long time - considerably longer than the Adventure Mode.

Depending on what goodies you've unlocked during the Adventure Mode, each image can be coloured in with any of the colours from the Crayola range, using one of two pen sizes and either marker pens or crayons (both recreated very well in painting style). There is also an eraser for mistakes, with Tip available on the top screen to give out hints and, er, tips (you get the idea by now!) Colouring in the pictures in this mode is, well, child's play. You choose your option and colour from a separate menu where the actual crayons are recreated and then pick an area to colour in, rubbing the stylus across it. Though obviously suited to the target audience, it's a shame that you can't go over the lines whilst colouring, as this would be more realistic, but it does make for a better final image. Sadly - and this is a huge missed opportunity - your colouring efforts cannot be saved. As with the Adventure Mode, however, the touch screen controls work almost flawlessly.

Graphically, Crayola Treasure Adventures is excellent, with bright, child-friendly colours and images that are rendered in very appealing 3D that, while they are only stills with no special effects, look very good for what they are. Sadly the same can't be said about the sound, which ranges from non-descript to annoying; you will probably find yourself reaching for the mute option after only a few minutes of playing.

As you have already gathered by now, Crayloa Treasure Adventures is aimed squarely at its target audience, so anyone over seven years old will find it very limited. If you're looking for something more challenging then Paint by DS comes highly recommended, but for young children there is much to enjoy in Treasure Adventures' lush images, friendly tone and extensive colouring book, which provides much of the lifespan on offer. Only the lack of a save option for the Colouring Book and some decent background music let this game down a little, so if you're after a painting experience for your child but don't have the space for, or want the mess that comes with, real painting, then this is fantastic - and it should keep children quiet in the car! Anyway, now that I've satisfied my inner child, I'm off to go and pitch my plot ides for the next series of 24 to some television executives... "It's Jack Bauer… fighting with coloured crayons… oh, and he has a talking felt tip for a partner…"

Reviewed by Philip Lickley for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).