THE FACTS: Brain Challenge WiiWare | Gameloft | 1-4 Players | Out Now | 1,000 Wii Points Controller compatability: Wii remote (pointer); Wii remote (sideways)* (only for certain elements) Reviewer: Billy White  In this version, your objective is to show off the amount of brainpower you use. just about every time you complete the daily test, your percentage figure goes up and up, whilst you unlock new mini games throughout. The brainpower meter idea could have been done differently, especially since the quote at the start of the game states that people only tend to use 10% of their brain, and I ended up with a score in my twenties in no time. Plus, all of the graphs showing off your ability go up to 100%, which is a figure that you presumably reach when you've played on each genre a bit too much. It's the mini games that are the heart of this title though, with a variety of puzzles and tasks available overall. These games are split into five different categories, each one containing five different mini games. When you complete your brain test, you'll be given one game from each of the categories (logic, visual, maths, memory and focus) before you're given your score. This works pretty well, despite the fact that the system has been blatantly copied from Nintendo's own Big Brain Academy.  The mini games themselves are fairly good overall. Most of the concepts are pretty simple, as you work out which coloured ball bounces "best", what the resulting image is after a mirror reflects the original, and what happens when you combine two images together. All of the mini games vary in depth and difficulty, which is a shame, because if they were all a bit more similar (difficulty-wise, that is) then it might not feel as though you've messed up your brain check, although most of this is down to the individual playing, and their ability.There are a few extra modes as well. First of all, there's training, where you play through your unlocked mini games in a 90-second run on one of three difficulties to gain a grade. Then, there's the stress test, where you play a series of random mini games as they are obscured by visual interference or as you complete a separate mini game (such as helping the sheep run away from the wolf by getting correct answers, and making sure that the Panda stays balancing on his ball by tilting the Wii remote). You'll then get a degree on a thermometer graph showing how "stressed" you are, although the tests only prove that you can multi-task, rather than do well under pressure (thus, making the whole concept flawed).  As well as these, there's also three multiplayer modes where you must complete mini games faster than your opponents. These all need separate Wii remote's to play, which is a shame because some WarioWare-style turn based play would've been a good addition for the family. There is still a family friendly (ish) version though, where you play a card to receive a mini game. Complete it, and you lose the card. I say that it's only family friendly (ish), because you're still judged on points at the end, which are mainly judged on the speed of your answers.When it comes to including everyone, a senior and kid mode are also included, with the senior mode supposedly being clearer to see (although the mini games are no different), and the kid mode being easier than normal. These are welcome additions, but don't save your records, so become a bit pointless when compared to the standard mode.  This game is fairly good overall, and will definitely keep you going back for ten minutes a day to keep your score high, but sadly it doesn't all work. The stress and multiplayer modes shrink the playing area to a size so small that the graphics are blurry and it's hard to see what's going on, and when selecting answers in the normal mode, it can still be easy to be a couple of millimetres out of place when you end up hitting the wrong button on a keypad. Also, since it is harder for casual gamers to use a Wii remote than a DS stylus, the experience will seem unfairly hard on them at times when they start to answer questions two or three times more slowly than your average core gamer, meaning that the whole game eventually becomes a challenge of vision and Wii remote skills rather than one that puts your brain to the test. It's this that lets the whole thing down, which makes the game seem really unfair, since Brain Challenge could've otherwise turned out to be an ace addition to the brain training genre. Final Score 22/30 Good Gameplay 8 Good mini games, hampered only by slightly hard pointer controls Presentation 7 Very neat, with some good music to complement the game as well, however the size of the mini games is unforgivable Enjoyment 3 When not frustrated by the unfairness, the mini games can still provide plenty of fun Other 4 You can always keep improving your brain scores, and there are plenty of mini games to unlock and conquer
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Brain Challenge - WiiWare Review |
