GENRE
	Brain Training
	DEVELOPER
	Nintendo
	PUBLISHER
	Nintendo
	LOCAL WIRELESS MULTI-PLAY
	Yes
	Wi-Fi/GLOBAL ONLINE MULTI-PLAY
	No
	MICROPHONE
	No
	BUY NOW AT

Judging by Japanese video game sales, brain-training software is the wave of the future. At present, Nintendo has no less than six brain-oriented titles on the market in its home country, with more on the way, many of which have been among the most popular game software week after week. Brain Age, the first and most notable of these titles, has already been released in America, and is seeing echoes of the same success here that it saw in the East. Enter Big Brain Academy, another piece of software cut from the same mold. The real question is, is this game different enough from its predecessor to keep interest in the genre alive?

visuals

True to Nintendo’s current stance on graphics, the visual style here can best be described as minimalist. Dr. Lobe, the fictional host and leader of the Big Brain Academy, resembles something a third-grader might have drawn. The colors here are varied, but sparse pastel hues that work together in a muted harmony: no blazing florescents here. The games have a slightly different art style than Dr. Lobe, and the animals, objects and people are humorous-looking and pleasant.

audio

If the graphics can be considered minimalist, the sounds are non-existent. Other than a few short riffs inspired by Mario sound cues, the game is silent, save for the rapid ticking of a clock in the background.

gameplay

If you’ve already got Brain Age, does Big Brain Academy have enough of an identity to justify another purchase? Surprisingly, the game actually is distinct from Dr. Kawashima’s game, despite the presence of “brain” in both titles.

The basis of Dr. Lobe’s academy is brain weight. If you’re smarter, than naturally, your brain will weigh more, because of all the work it’s doing. Clearly, this theory has no basis in real life, but is just an arbitrary way to judge your game score and how well you are progressing. In Japan, the target was brain softness, but in English, having a “soft brain” sounds somewhat negative, so the measure was changed for US release.

Taking the Test is recommended first, since it shows what your total brain score might be. Dr. Lobe tallies the results of five different phases of brain activity, then assigns you an ideal occupation based upon the total and individual scores of the phases. Once Dr. Lobe hands out a letter grade, the Practice area can be assessed, in which each of the specific reasoning areas can be accessed. Each kind of thinking -- Identification, Calculation, Memorization, etc. -- has three different subgames, only one of which will randomly appear on the Test.

Practice mode can be played for high score as well. Each game has three difficulty levels, with activities ranging from calculating written math problems to counting the number of cubes on-screen (in the punnishly named “CubeGame”) to deciding which animal or object weighs more, given a set of pre-determined scales and weights. Each game is timed, and the object is to correctly answer as many questions within the time limit. The results will be tallied after time has expired, and Dr. Lobe will award a medal depending on the performance: Beautiful Gold, So-So Silver or Shameful Bronze. Ideally, becoming familiar with the games in Practice mode will better equip players to take the Test, which will result in higher scores, letter grades and possibly a different occupational choice.

multiplayer

Up to eight players can take on each other in Big Brain Academy games, through either single- or multi-card wireless play. Unlike the single-player mode, though, these games are just for fun. No high scores will be recorded.

overall

It would be easy to dismiss Big Brain Academy as simply another brain game and move on; but the truth is, it is unique enough to distinguish itself from Brain Age. Unlike the latter title, Big Brain Academy is clearly less results-focused and more about having fun, rather than a daily exercise. It easily positions itself as a possible companion for the other title, as both offer different experiences offered at bargain prices.

For experienced, hardcore gamers choosing between the two, Big Brain Academy is likely the better choice. The swift, frantic pace of the timed games have an almost WarioWare-like ambience about them, and the immediacy of going for a high score will seem more familiar than the play-every-day that Brain Age requires.

The truth is, Big Brain Academy offers little depth, and almost no immersion, because the gameplay is so start-and-stop. But Big Brain Academy succeeds because of its simplicity and accessibility. This is a game that literally anyone can play, and it provides short bursts of fun regardless of prior gaming experience. And, who knows? It might even make you smarter.

9/10