Practical Intelligence Quotient (PQ) is non-traditional method for testing one's intelligence quotient (IQ). The concept was developed by Dr. Masuo Koyasu. He is a professor of psychology at Kyoto University. His theory was basically that the non-traditional IQ testing methods offers will replace traditional paper-and-pencil tests. PQ's method of testing is an interactive 3-dimentional logic puzzle framework that requires the brain to really think. This review addresses Practical Intelligence Quotient 2, or "PQ2" for short. PQ2 is the sequel to Practical Intelligence Quotient, which was released in January 2006. This new installment has more puzzles and features. However, the same PQ concept is at the center of PQ2.

Out of the box, PQ2 consists of one-hundred challenging puzzles that test your logic, efficiency, perceptiveness, and speed of judgment. The goal of each puzzle is navigate the player character to the goal. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, the game is a little more complex. While moving the player character from point A to point B completes the puzzle, there is "stuff" blocking the pathway. Each map has various "objects" that you need to interact with on some level to complete the stage. In addition, there are a couple monitors in place, which consider efficiency in number of moves and stage completion within a time frame.

The puzzle objects are important to what makes each puzzle challenging. The objects range from blocks to switches to adversaries. Objects like blocks are used to create steps so that the player character can reach unattainable heights; switches trigger doors or lifts; adversaries (police officers and detectives) try to catch you and force you to start over. There are other objects like warp boxes, laser boxes, and glass boxes -- each has their own attributes and features.

As previously mentioned, there is a pool of one-hundred puzzles out of the box. These puzzles are used to test your PQ. The primary gaming/testing mode is "100-Puzzle Test". You have three-hundred minutes to complete as many puzzles as possible (you can skip puzzles while in-game.) In order to have a full PQ recorded, you will need to play out the entire three-hundred minute period. However, if you want a quick PQ gauge, there is a "Quick Test" mode (new feature!). This mode only requires you to solve five random puzzles in ten minutes.

Another mode is "Theme Tests" (new feature!). This feature consists of five different test types (each with ten puzzles) that focus on specific types of puzzles. They include "Single Move", puzzles that can be completed with one move, "Trap", puzzles full of traps, "Reasoning", puzzles that test observation and deduction, "Fewest Moves", puzzles with multiple solutions that you must solve in fewest moves possible, and "Advanced", a collection of very difficult puzzles.

While one-hundred puzzles might seem like a lot, this number is in-fact a limiting aspect of the game. Once you know how to solve a puzzle in the most efficient way, it is no longer challenging to complete it. In this respect, PQ2 has low replay value out of the box. The good news is that PQ2 offers more PQ-puzzle action outside-of-the-box. "Create Puzzles" (new feature!) is a nifty option that allows you to create your own puzzles. These puzzles can be uploaded to the internet and shared with fellow PQ2 gamers. On that note, you can also download official and player-created content.

Other features include "Collection", play any of the puzzles without a time limit, "Tutorial", an explanation on basic controls, objects, creating puzzles, network, and about PQ, a history tracker that records your progress over time, and an online ranking system to check your rank within your country, region, gender, and blood type.

At first, I did not think much of PQ2. This was partly due to not fully understanding what I was doing. (Yes, I skipped the tutorials.) Gradually, the game started to make sense and I was able to get the hang of it. At this point, I started to appreciate PQ2 more, albeit I still struggled on some of the puzzle types (e.g., the detectives never fail to catch me.) In the end, PQ2 proved to be challenging and fun. I really liked the create-your-own-puzzle and ability to download/upload puzzles, both are neat aspects that will keep the experience fresh.