Big Brain Academy DS review

Big Brain Academy for DSNintendo has released Big Brain Academy for the Nintendo DS worldwide. Not just an educational puzzle game, it’s also a stress reliever for the DS owner.

Big Brain Academy features 15 activities that test your brain powers in areas like logic, memory, math and analysis. Free your mind by working through a number of simple yet deep problems. There are five different types of challenges. The game is playable by all ages, with only one cartridge needed for eight players and each activity takes less than a minute to complete.

In 2007 the game’s sales went up to 4.61 million copies worldwide. Time to find out if you’re part of its target audience.

System: DS
Genre: Puzzle/Trivia, Educational
Release dates: June 30th 2005 (JPN), June 5th 2006 (USA), July 5th 2006 (AUS), July 7th 2006 (EURO)
Players: 1-8
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Origin: Japan

Big Brain Academy DS screenshotWhen you start a new game, you’ll meet Dr. Lobe who’ll want you to take a Test mode challenge: playing all 15 activities that span the game’s five categories (Identify, Memorize, Analyze, Compute, and Think). This is actually the first gameplay mode. There are three modes of play, namely: Test mode, Practice mode, and Versus mode. Which we’ll go through below.

Test mode: Test is obviously the real thing, and it features an assortment of challenges that you’ll have to solve quickly. Tests are done in order to measure a brain’s mass. The heavier the brain, the smarter the brain is or the better the reaction time is. There is no one game mechanism to Big Brain Academy, as it is an assortment of puzzles with no one puzzle having greater priority than the other.

He’ll encourage you to take Tests often and to use Practice mode to improve your skills in all 15 of the activities. As well as telling you which you need to improve, which you can check yourself in the easy to follow graphs. He’ll tell you what profession belongs to your current ranking, these examples include: museum curator, librarian, astronaut, investor, fashion stylist, diplomat, cave man, Isaac Newton, poet, banker, doctor, musician, etc. Practice mode also offers three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard) for each activity, and Dr. Lobe will award several medals for high achievement in each one. Hey it’s an academy, so that’s the goal.

Watch the Big Brain Academy launch trailer.

Before we describe the last two gameplay modes, let’s break down the game’s 15 minigames within Big Brain Academy into five categories.

The five categories are:
* Think (Logic-themed questions) includes games like Heavyweight, Pathfinder, and Bone Yard.
* Memorize (Memory-themed questions) includes games like Sound Bites, Flash Memory, and Memo-random;
* Analyze (Reason-based questions) includes games like Missing Link, Cube Game, and Animal Lines;
* Compute (Math-themed questions) includes games like Coin-parison, Add Agency, and Written Math;
* Identify (Visual-themed questions) includes games like Shadow Shift, Get in Shape, and Matchmaker;

Practice mode: Practice mode lets you get comfortable with the game’s fast-paced assault of problems. Each minigame can be played separately, and depending on the results, the player can be awarded with a medal (bronze, silver, gold or platinum), according to their score. There are four levels of difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert, which is locked until gold/platinum medals are acquired on all of the previous three difficulty levels.

Versus mode:
In this multiplayer mode players can compete to determine who has the heaviest brain. Anywhere from 2 to 8 players can join a hosting player whether or not they themselves have a copy of the game. Versus mode throws out tests for up to eight of these players, requiring only one game pack. The game offers a special perk in that it displays the ongoing weight of your brain so that you’ll be able to keep track of how you’re doing during a match.

The main features in Big Brain Academy are:

* Face an assortment of challenges that you’ll have to solve quickly.

* Special practice mode helps players get used to the game’s fast-paced assault of problems.

* Continuous display of your brain weight, helping you track your progress during a match.

* 8-player Vs. Mode – all players can connect through a single game pak.

Watch some Big Brain Academy gameplay.

So how much fun is Big Brain Academy on a scale from 1 to 10?

FUN FACTOR – 8.0
Different quizzes from the Brain Age games, different difficulties, and even a competitive multiplayer mode (who doesn’t want to have the biggest brain?), make this a fun game you can play for minutes a day for weeks. A great low-budget $20 release. What ultimately makes or breaks this game for anyone is if you mind it’s another minigames collection. But the educational value and addictive nature of the tests setup makes the game a fast and fun entry into the brilliant Touch Generations series on the DS.

Graphics – 7.0
A very charming cartoony look. The in-game graphics are simple, but that’s logical for the quiz tasks.

Audio – 6.5
Cheerful background tunes, maybe a bit too much for some people. Minimal sound effects, but that’s ok for the puzzle tasks.

Ingenuity – 8.5
The ease of use make math, puzzles and brainteasers fun. The five different types of challenges are appropriate for all ages and challenging for players of all skill levels. The package is well put together, addictive even, as you’ll want to do better each time. The easy-does-it point-and-click DS stylus controls work very well.

Replay Value – 7.5
It’s an entertaining game you’ll want to get back to for a few weeks and pass on to family and friend. But like any game, once you hit the highscore, you’ll lose most of the incentive to go back. The fact that there are only 15 games doesn’t help this case, but at a budget price it’s hardly a complaint. Adding some longlivity, is the extra versus mode that doesn’t require extra copies of the game, only that the other players bring their DS. Nothing to complain about when I can get my casual gamer friends and non-gamer parents to once again try this out daily and having them like it — that’s the third time now — so overall it’s a great game to keep playing.