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Aquarium by DS
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
(Also known as "Brain Training For Adults" and "Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training") Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day for Nintendo DS is a fun, rewarding form of entertainment everyone can enjoy, as it helps players flex their mental muscles. Brain Age is inspired by the research of Professor Ryuta Kawashima, a prominent Japanese neuroscientist. His studies evaluated the impact of performing certain reading and mathematic exercises to help stimulate the brain. Brain Age presents quick mental activities that help keep your DS brain in shape. Activities include quickly solving simple math problems, counting people going in and out of a house simultaneously, drawing pictures on the Touch Screen, reading classic literature out loud, and more. You can also play sudoku, the number puzzle game which has become an extremely popular feature in U.S. newspapers. On your first day of exercise, you will take a series of tests and get a score that determines how old your brain is. This number is called your "DS Brain Age". By performing daily exercises just minutes a day over weeks and months, the better you'll get at the exercises and the lower your DS Brain Age will become. [Nintendo]
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more... 100
Detroit Free Press
What impressed us most was the possibility that a player just might get hooked on Conrad or Bronte and this little handheld game might actually spark someone to put down the electronic gadget for a while and pick up a literary classic.
 93
WHAM! Gaming
The game is such a blast because you only have about ten minutes each day to prove that you really are as quick and sharp as you were the day before.
93
IC-Games
Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? is unique, compelling and in the long run, ultimately rewarding. The end result is a game that whilst graphically inept, deserves to be scooping up awards at the end of the year regardless.
90
Sydney Morning Herald
A simple idea brilliantly executed. Perfect for newcomers to gaming.
90
Nintendojo
It works beautifully.
90
Gamezilla!
Be careful should you choose to pick this up, it has a nasty habit of making addicts out of your family members that normally don’t care for games.
90
EuroGamer
Whether it works or not, you'll have fun playing it; lots of fun; and that, more than anything, is why you should buy it.
89
Computer and Video Games
However, if you're looking for another fix of Nintendo's knack for genius game design - with the added benefit of potential brain flexing thrown in - you owe it to yourself to check this out.
88
Gaming Target
Brain Age isn’t really a game and it’s gimmick will eventually wear thin. But it’s also an excellent piece of software for those that like a good puzzle game.
87
eToychest
Even so, the mini-games are excellent and really do provide a quick, painless focus for the mind.
87
Ferrago
Prof. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain is an intriguing 'program'. This is not a game for Mensa geniuses, but is ideal for those of a general intelligence.
85
Digital Entertainment News
For DS owners that haven’t played Brain Age yet, it may be hard to understand what the hype is about. Let me give you a word of advice – take your DS to one of those demo download kiosks Nintendo has in game stores, or find a friend with a copy of the game and download a demo from them. Only after trying it will you have an idea just how fun this title is.
85
Deeko
Crosses the border between being a game and a unique application. In both respects, it somehow succeeds and is an amusing way to keep those brain waves going.
85
NintendoWorldReport
The polygonal, disembodied head of Ryuta Kawashima acts as your personal coach, and his quips are actually pretty amusing. Challenges are stripped down to just include what's necessary, and there's not much to fault, in that sense.
85
Console Gameworld
Number one in Japan for 46 weeks and counting. That's got to mean something.
84
netjak
It's interesting to watch your progress after a couple of weeks of daily play. Who knew that math could be this much fun?
83
Electronic Gaming Monthly
I just wish the game offered a wider array of activities...simple arithmetic has only so much staying power. [Jun 2006, p.120]
83
Game Informer
It might sound dry, and there are some issues with the voice and handwriting recognition(it frequently struggles to detect that you've said "blue"), but you'll be surprised how addicted you will become. [Jun 2006, p.119]
82
Cheat Code Central
I know it sounds like work, but this is way more fun than flossing. It's like playing a bunch of puzzle-based mini-games.
81
AtomicGamer
For $20, you get some fun minigames to play that will track your progress along with 100 Sudoku puzzles.
80
Thunderbolt
It is ideal for those looking to further develop their mental alertness, or wanting to take a break from gaming-overdose, or simply anyone who feels like a quick, productive coffee break.
80
PGNx Media
An extremely unique product that has since spawned off countless imitators on the Nintendo DS and even some on the PSP. At its budget price, it’s a great way to use a few minutes a day.
80
AceGamez
If you're looking for something different and stimulating, something that could even, perhaps, improve your thought process, Brain Training achieves that very well and does exactly what it sets out to do.
80
NGC Magazine UK
Like nothing you've ever played before and, for that reason, a great talking point in the pub. Plus, it's good for you. [June 2006, p.40]
80
Games Master UK
Genuinely strengthens your mind, and does it well. That's it, really. [June 2006, p.66]
80
DarkStation
With your brain getting older by the minute, Nintendo lets you reverse the flow and makes it younger. Fun exercises to stimulate the mind while on the go.
80
GameBrink
Brain Age is truly a pseudo game. It’s Wario Ware meets Tamagotchi meets further education. If you want to give your brain a workout and get a fun number puzzle game to boot then picking up Brain Age is a no brainer.
80
1UP
It's not a game, and because you're never taught anything new, it's not really even "edutainment" -- Brain Age is a tool, one that sharpens your mind not just for playing real games, but living real life as well.
80
GamerFeed
I'm not sure whether my brain's actually benefiting from this special treatment, but I do know that Brain Age is fun to mess around with for several minutes a day.
80
Games Radar
The fact that you can only test for your age once a day gives you incentive to keep trying, and with the floating head of Professor Kawashima offering suggestions, there's a sense of a persisting, updating world every time you play.
80
IGN
But like a gym membership, it's completely up to the player whether a group of mind exercises is considered "fun." At the very least, Nintendo's wrapped everything into a fulfilling package to make these tasks as enjoyable and replayable as possible.
80
Play Magazine
Effective or not, this is a uniquely engaging piece of interactive software--and it's 20 bucks. [Jun 2006]
80
Armchair Empire
It’s pretty amazing that one can actually see how much they are improving over time if they play the game regularly.
80
Edge Magazine
The fact that it’s just mental arithmetic simply doesn’t matter: all it makes you realise is that most games are mental arithmetic one way or another. [May 2006, p.95]
80
Electric Playground
Yet another odd and unique one from Nintendo. Not for everyone, but it does your brain some good.
77
Jolt Online Gaming UK
Don’t expect it to raise your IQ, but do expect it to kick off a long, long line in copycat titles.
75
The Onion (A.V. Club)
The handwriting and voice recognition are great features, except when they fail; it takes practice to retrain your writing and pronunciation to Brain Age's expectations, and in the meantime, your DS just thinks you're stupid.
75
Entertainment Weekly
Now that I've gotten my brain age down to a respectable number, I'm waiting for Nintendo to come out with "Body Age."
75
Gaming Age
I enjoy playing the game daily since it keeps a chart of my progress. Does the game make me any smarter? I doubt it, but the bottom line is I’m having fun.
75
GameZone
If you’re searching for a hearty, unique puzzler for your DS, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day may just be a perfect match.
72
The New York Times
Brain Age is meant to be played only a few minutes a day; the exercises lack enough variety to be played for very long.
72
GameSpot
Does Brain Age actually make you smarter? We have no idea, but it's still an interesting puzzle game available at a budget price.
72
N-Insanity
Perhaps the greatest asset of Brain Age is the addition of Sudoku, a famous number puzzle that is gaining popularity quickly. It contains a wide range of difficulty, meaning it can be fairly simple or very difficult.
70
VGPub
With a budget price of just $19.99, this game has done something I thought I’d never experience or see: a fun video game that also educates. In your face, channel four evening news!
70
GameSpy
Brain Age is a remarkably accessible game that just about anyone can pick up and get something out of.
70
Yahoo! Games
The technical issues are frustrating to be sure, but Brain Age is a surprisingly engaging puzzle non-game.
70
Da Gameboyz
Regardless if there is any truth to the belief Brain Age is a great game of puzzles and logic that will keep fans of these exercises playing for quite sometime.
70
VideoGamer
You can't compare this to the GTAs and the Tomb Raiders of the world, but as a fun way to spend a few minutes every day, it's worth considering.
70
Pocket Gamer UK
If you're committed to the cause, Dr Kawashima's Brain Training will give your grey cells a daily workwork for weeks, but it ain't no game.
70
N-Europe
If you aren’t into logic puzzles and memory tests, and you’re a man of action rather than one of thought, this game is definitely not for you. But playing this – for however long you do end up playing it – is a pleasure, albeit a guilty one.
70
PALGN
Brain Training sounds pretty promising as a concept, and there is some impressive technology behind the game, but portions of the title are noticeably rough.
70
Total Video Games
As expected Doctor Kawishima's Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain is a wildly different type of "game" to those that typically adorn TVG pages. What you should know is that Brain Training is far more entertaining and addictive then we initially thought.
60
RewiredMind
Good, but not nearly as great as the entire world would have you believe.
60
Modojo
Brain Age is a decently amusing distraction, but without the fun and variation of the minigames found in "Big Brain Academy" and with many questions about the actual impact the training has on your brain, its tough to recommend the software too highly.
60
games(TM)
Its unique Nintendo appeal and our own innate yearning for self-improvement make it a worthwhile little curio. [June 2006, p.117]
60
G4 TV
Although Brain Training asks you to figure out increasingly intricate problems in a short amount of time, there's something quite relaxing about the whole thing. Not worth full price, since there are only nine different games to play here, but definitely a fun time-waster. [JPN Import]
50
Game Revolution
If you’re looking for a way to make yourself smarter, start by saving your money for a better investment, like a book.
30
Computer Games Magazine
Don't be fooled: Your score is not an accurate measurement of intelligence. But whether you buy this game is. [July 2006, p.91]
William T. gave it an8: DJ T gave it a3: Evan B. gave it a10: Steven L. gave it a9: Caz C. gave it a4: Eric gave it a7: Tracy gave it a7: |
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