Brain Challenge?

Brian Challenge down-loadable from the PSN… First impression? CHEEZY! Dig a little deeper though and it’s not a bad title.  Get my opinion on the other side…

 

This game is made up of mini games under the categories of logic, math, memory, visual, and focus.  Designed to simulate a mental gym you start off with a brain test that consists of a complete round of the categories listed above and the plastic looking girl in the lab jacket tells you what percentage of your brain your using.  Choose your coach, plastic girl or plastic boy and away you go. (Don’t worry, you can choose to change coaches later from the settings menu if you decide you don’t like the one you picked.)

You can then go to the training room and practice the individual categories or do the whole line up in the daily brain test as often as you like. There is a daily stress test.  The stress test is made up of the same mini games to which they have added a variety of visual and audio distractions.  The game will only save the first “Stress Test” that you do each calender day.  As your performance improves you unlock more mini games and gain higher rankings.

The mode I like best is the multiplayer card game.  Two to four players are dealt a hand of cards, each with a symbol corresponding to the categories I mentioned above.  There is a bomb in the top left corner of the screen and the fuse begins to burn as soon as your turn begins.  Once you choose the card you want to play your mini game begins and you must solve it before the bomb explodes to be rid of a card.  For every three challenges you complete you can earn a bonus card that allow you to place more cards in opponents hands, remove cards from your hand, or decrease the time your opponent has to finish their next turn.  Play ends when someone empties their hand of cards.  Remaining cards dock you points and the winner is who ever has the highest score at the end of the round.

I found the lack of instructions for some of the mini games frustrating and the campy graphics a bit childish but once I got in and played a bit I found myself enjoying the game.  I have a hard time believing the claim that I’ll be able to use 100% of my brain upon completion of the game and I have found some of the challenges actually increased my personal stress level.  I have managed to bring my brain usage percent up to 26% from 6% and now the kids are trying to pass me up.  I think the game is worth having just for the fact that it got my teenager to WANT to play a game that involves math.

I found this game available for PC, DS, X-Box 360, Wii, and the PS3 download.  I have also seen this available for download to a phone.  
Brain Challenge for PC

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