Released on 09/06/2006

• Brain Training Review

  The brain boggles...

  It's got a title that's the gaming equivalent of the epic Manic Street Preachers single If You Tolerate This (Then Your Children Will Be Next), but the premise behind Prof. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? (lets just call it Brain Training from now on, shall we?) is actually pretty simple. In fact, it's all in the name.

  Inspired by a book by prominent Japanese neurologist Professor Ryuta Kawashima, Brain Training asks players to undertake a series of mental challenges for a few minutes a day, every day, in order to improve their mental age.

  The DS Difference

  Playing is simple; holding the DS on its side like a book, use the stylus or microphone to answer a series of mind-bending conundrums and arrive at your eventual Brain Age. It's fun for more than one person, too; with space for four save files on the cart, friends and family can compete and compare their brain ages, seeking to outdo each other day-by-day.

  The idea of doing GCSE-quality puzzles on a handheld console isn't exactly in the norm, but it fits in nicely with Nintendo's new mainstream philosophy, and offers a taxing cerebral alternative to the more purely playful titles games on the system.

  Offering word, logic and number puzzles, Brain Training looks set to be a big hit with Sudoku-playing Times readers and education-pushing parents alike. It's simply the perfect way to integrate learning and play.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Keep your mind sharp with just fiteen minutes play a day!
  • Simple and intuitive stylus control interface
  • Surprisingly addicting!

  

  

  • Not everyone will like the idea of work being fun
  • Not a 'proper' game, per-se
  • A few minor issues with voice recognition now and then

  Review by: Mark Scott
  Review Published: 09.06.06

  Published: 22/05/2006

• Brain Training headed for 3DS?

  Brain Training headed for 3DS?

  We can't explain it, but there's something weirdly addictive about the Brain Training games for the DS. Maths and reading shouldn't be that much fun, but under the watchful eyes of Dr Kawashima, the whole thing becomes completely brilliant. Good thing there's a new Brain Training on the way, then.

  That's according to the doctor himself, whose new book, Goodbye Brain Boom, reveals a third game is in development with Nintendo.

  The doctor can't say too much as he has a confidentiality agreement with Nintendo, but Eurogamer's reporting that he's revealed the team is going to do "something special" - which a lot of people are interpreting to mean that the game is headed for the 3DS. Nintendo's new 3D-powered handheld will be coming out in the first half of next year, and a Brain Training game would be a great match for a launch title, wouldn't it?

  If you can't wait until then, of course, Dr Kawashima also has Body and Brain Exercises hitting Microsoft's Kinect on Xbox 360 early next year, too. Be sure to check that one out if you want to get fit as well as smart, eh?

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