Is it just me or are TV shows scrambling to make games now? CBS Interactive along with Chillingo have released 'Numb3rs™ - The Game' and in a refreshing turn for the better this who-dun-it show isn't being paired with an adventure game.

Nope, instead of searching for hidden objects and pressing witnesses you'll take part in the fantasy mathematics of Numb3rs by solving numerical puzzles. Charlie has developed yet another algorithm to locate the suspect in question, but as a budding genius college student you're enlisted to help refine his program. Mathematical symbols will float across the screen and when they're tapped you'll be presented with an equation to solve. Combos can be created by letting the symbols cross near to each other and other hazards are introduced along with faster moving symbols to increase the difficulty later on.

A few mini-games are injected now and then to break up the mathematical monotony while adding a bit more to the storyline, but the cheesy and simplistic games feel ham-fisted next to the game's main gameplay itself. Characters from the show do grace the screen now and then, but don't get too excited as it's the usual set of stock cut-out photos without any real life that are common to these TV-to-game titles.

Numb3r's puzzle gameplay is actually quite challenging and multiple difficulty levels add a new depth to the game if you find basic equations laughable, but overall the package feels lifeless and the TV show is merely tacked on; a decent puzzler for those inclined, but an otherwise average title.