Brain Age - Review

Brain Age
DS
Rating: E for Everyone (6+)
Price: MSRP $19.99

Synopsis: Fine tune your brain in minutes everyday by solving mini-puzzles and mathematical challenges, presented by the jolly Dr. Kawashima.

Rating: 7.5

• Story/Concept: 8.0
• Graphics: 8.0
• Sound: 8.0
• Gameplay: 5.0
• Replay value: 8.5

Difficulty: Medium
Learning Curve: Seconds/no time at all to learn how to play. The only real learning curve is learning to write on the DS screen in a way where the game won't mistake your answer.

Family Factor: Welcomes all ages and a fun source of competition. Brain Age offers 4 save files, meaning up to 4 people can each keep track of their own brain age. This game is touted as one that DS-owners outside the mail 16-year-old demographic gaming is often misleadingly associated with (average age of gamers = 29-30something). Plus it’s Nicole Kidman-approved. How could you not want to play it?

Review:
Once you get used to Dr. Kawashima’s floating head energetically spouting instructions and brain-training tips, Brain Age welcomes players with an easy-to-use interface and simplistic mind-challenging mini-games.While Brain Age isn’t one of those titles that you can sit down and play for 30-90 minutes, you can at least rely on it for a few minutes of solid play everyday, especially with the inclusion of over 50 sudoku puzzles.

The minigames are surprisingly fun. The race-the-clock mathematical puzzles and speed counting/memorization games are reminiscent of the same sense of competition from gradeschool board races. You begin your brain training with only one mini-game (Multiplication x20, the equivalent of 20 flashcards), but will grow as you complete the minigames daily and are rewarded a stame for each day you play. The minigames serve as mental conditioning for the Brain Age Test, which calculates the youthfulness (or dustyness) of your brain.

Most minigames rely on scribbling your answer on the DS’s touch screen. Brain Age will sometimes misread your answer, for example taking your perfectly-drawn “8” to be a “6,” and mark it wrong. Precision is key, or else your flawless score goes crashing to the ground. With practice, however, this problem can be overcome and nearly eliminated.

Related Games: Big Brain Academy (Wii/DS), Picross (DS), Lumines (PS2,/PSP)