More Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?

The first aspect you notice about More Brain Training is that the visuals are exactly the same as in the original game, which is no particularly bad thing as you do not exactly need fancy 3D graphics swirling around whilst you are desperately trying your best to concentrate on the various tasks you are faced with. In fact, so fond of the purposely block-shaped Kawashima-head have we become that it is pleasing to see his jovial mug back in all its 'glory', heartily chortling away on random occasions! The other point that is glaringly obvious is how the music has only been tweaked ever so slightly. Clearly the in-game challenges have no soundtrack, for fear of distracting your pre-frontal cortex, but the main menu tunes are basically the same as before, just with a few extra notes or changes in pitch thrown in to good effect. At least this means they retain the intellectually stimulating feel of the first game...

 

For the millions out there who have already played Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training already, you will most definitely be in familiar territory here as the layout and basic idea is the same. For any who are unsure what this is all about, though, the premise is that Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Japan is renowned for helping stimulate the prefrontal cortex of people's brains by using simple word and mathematical problems. He states that just like any other muscle in your body, if you exercise the brain on a regular basis, even just for ten minutes each day, it will become stronger, healthier and, most importantly, younger. Thus arose the concept of Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain?

How it works on the DS is that you start up the programme with the system being held on its side like a book and are encouraged to partake in several training sessions, before being put on the spot and having your brain age checked. There are eleven different training programmes to try out, but rather than unlock them all in one go, you are encouraged to come back everyday and do at least a little bit of training, which will earn you a stamp for that day on the in-game calendar. Obtain enough stamps and more tests become available. As for the Brain Age check itself, there are six tests that are randomly chosen each day (five if you choose the option where you cannot speak freely, such as in public places or the working environment).

 

But what of these tests

 

Finally, before wrapping this up, it must be mentioned that there are also some other gems in More Brain Training, such as the Masterpiece Recital, where a piece of music is played to you with a cursor moving along the musical score and when it passes certain notes you must tap on the virtual piano keyboard in the right places. Other than that, Acrostics is another nice little addition, rather the task of having to draw objects simply from memory that was found in the first game. Here you are given a three-letter word and must write three separate words that actually describe it, but the tricky bit is that the first letter of each must be one of the letters from the original three letter word...Overall, everything just gels together so well and shows that the magic from the first game has definitely been replicated for this edition.

As for how long the game is going to last you...well, have you played the original? Remember how much time you were able to put into that one? In fact, I still dabble with it now and it was released last May! You need to remember that this game does not replace Brain Training, but complements it perfectly and with the incentive to keep playing in order to unlock other tests, plus the new selection of Sudoku puzzles and the ability to chart your progress against other friends and family, this will easily keep you going for another year and beyond.