There is one particular question that can be heard echoing throughout
the corridors of time. It is something that cannot be correctly
answered by most people, which usually include: the casuals, gaming
novices, and those who have never touched a game in their miserable
life. That question would be, “Can video games help us improve our
intelligence?” Well, the way games have always been made could be the
reason why most people ask this. You have your mindless hack and slash
ventures, frantic shoot-em-ups, and button mashing role playing games
(yeah I’m talking about you Square-Enix), but how do these genres help
us mentally? Unfortunately, they don’t. Thankfully though, the smart
folks at Nintendo have decided to put a patch on the problem, in the
form of an intriguing little puzzle game. That game is Brain Age: Train
Your Brain in Minutes a Day!
The educational focus of the game is based on activities designed to
activate your prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls
application properties. Mathematical problems, memory trials, puzzle
solving, and speech control are the primary focuses throughout, and
playing a little each day, according to Nintendo, should help you see a
bit of intellectual improvement. If that is the case then you have to
wonder if there really is any point to all those years of schooling.
Back to the topic at hand -- what really makes Brain Age impressive is
how it manages to keep track of all of your achievements. A slew of
elaborate graphs and record saves are what show your progress as you
finish each stage, alongside a calendar that lets you know if you
finished everything that particular day. Also, several files are
available, so that you and a friend can jokingly compare how stupid you
both are; a calculation that is made accessible through the “Brain Age”
score you receive. Overall, the best score that you can receive is 20,
signifying that you have the fresh mind of a twenty year old human
being.
Well, a smart one anyway.
What is commendable about Brain Age is that it is the first DS title to
take full advantage of the touch screen. Now just how many times were
developers going to rehash the gimmicky concept of throwing a map or
simple file data on that bottom window? And even though most companies
are still caught guilty doing it, we can be glad for the few that
gamble with innovative ideas. Alongside the significant use of the
screen is yet another interesting prospect in the form of a horizontal
viewpoint. Throughout your brain tingling progression, you will be
focusing on the top screen for questions and answering them on the
other. As you jump from challenge to challenge, you can unlock new
subjects, ranging from simple math problems to memorizing the order of
numbers from lowest to highest. The presentation of the game is great
and will show you just how worn-out your mind really is.
Everything explained thus far has been solely based on the one player
mode. To make things a bit more interesting, Nintendo decided to throw
a multi-player version onto the title to increase the interaction.
Doing math problems by yourself can only be fun for so long right?
Anyway, from two to sixteen players can battle it out using the
wireless download play feature. The name of the game in this mode is
the calculation battle, which gives each player a set of puzzles to try
to complete. Extra points are added for speed and accuracy, and the
resultant of the trials can be displayed afterward for all to see and
mock. For example, my brain age was an abysmal 70 the day I purchased
the game.
For shame.
If things do get out of hand and you need a break from all the mental
challenges, the game offers a plethora of sudoku puzzles. For those out
of the loop for the last year or two, sudoku is a unique number
sequence game, first made popular by Japan. The objective of the game
is to fit numbers, ranging from one to nine, in crossword style boxes.
Fitting these digits in without repetition will allow you to proceed
from one trial to the next, with each new board giving you harder and
harder situations. There are one hundred in all and Brain Age will
conveniently keep track of the ones you complete.
Unfortunately, the execution of the game can get a bit sloppy at times
and it all points to the writing and voice recognition. Yet another
hardware addition to Brain Age was the inclusion of the microphone
usage. Most of the pronunciation levels, which you will unlock later,
focus on the accuracy of speech translated through the several holes on
the DS. The problem is that the range of your voice can have a major
effect on how the game scores you. From the trouble the game has with
discerning if the word “blue” was said correctly to the incorrect way
that your writing is sometimes interpreted, Brain Age will certainly
give some players quite the frustrating moment. If you do happen to
burst a blood vessel, be sure to vent that anger into the microphone.
If all goes well then maybe, just maybe, it will improve your score.
In the end, what I find particularly interesting about Brain Age is how
well this genre is progressing and how well people are accepting it.
From the farming simulation Harvest Moon to the ball rolling madness
that is Katamari Damacy, the ideas of developers everywhere seem to be
jumping to life. Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day
definitely has its flaws, but the game is really what you make of it.
You can truly treat it as a brain trainer and try to get the best score
possible or maybe just try a round of sudoku from time to time. All in
all, despite the simple premise, there is a great deal to do, and the
low budget price of the game makes it an easy recommendation. Just be
sure to keep the “Minutes a Day” aspect in mind, unless, of course, you
happen to have a bottle of Tylenol on you.
