Game Review on Train Your Brain with Dr. Kawashima

I'm in the middle of several things right now, none of which are complete enough to be reviewed. I did, however, just try out this new brain-teasing game for a bit of a mind refresher.

Train Your Brain with Dr. Kawashima is a PC Game based on activities that apply to the frontal lobe of the human brain. The frontal lobe is registered as the section of the brain that gets the least use during video gaming sessions. Some reports have shown permanent brain dysfunction stemming from the lack of frontal lobe activity, due to child and young adult gaming culture habits, but most reports record that there is no such correlation. Train Your Brain tests are based on four major categories: logic, memory, calculation and vision.

Dr. Ryuta Kawashima is a 49-year old neuroscientist known primarily for his Nintendo DS, console and PC video games involving brain development. Kawashima is an expert on neurophysiology and brain imaging. He actually refused a $22 million salary from game company royalties. Kawashima did finally accept a salary of roughly $100,000 a year. The rest of the money will be used as funding for research. He has put some of the funds to use in constructing new laboratories, with one completed and one still in construction.

Train Your Brain with Dr. Kawashima is similar to any of the games you may find on the Nintendo Wii system. Graphics are colorful, bright, with white backgrounds and Wii-like content bubbles.

Upon first glance, this seems to have the makings of an excellent pastime that will train, stimulate and refresh the mind. Immediately upon creating an incomplete profile, the player is thrown into several brand-new, completely different challenges that may not be played again until the following day. That is correct, these Daily Training exercises may not be practiced and are picked completely at random from 6 potential choices. That means six exercises are off limits and, guess what, ONE HALF of the following content is locked and the player is not allowed to try them until going through the Daily Training many times. This game does not let you play it.

Once every day upon clicking the new profile, a player can add one extra fact about themselves to the actual profile, such as: favorite color, town, age, etc.

Train Your Brain regards itself as scientific. By accessing an information chart, rating all the growth development recorded in score, the player may see how fulfilled their brain has become. Detailed data includes a brain juxtaposed to a radial graph, as well as a Wii Sports-similar calendar outlining trophies and ranks earned.

To say it bluntly, my mind does not appear to be more thoroughly trained. Some of the important Daily Training tests include counting out loud to yourself and pressing an OK button to signal completion, as well as memorizing a series of words over the course of two minutes with no gradual incline of difficulty. Highly scientific. Do you feel smarter already? I have 52 trophies from very little gameplay and can't say I approve of the reward content. In fact, most of the time I was playing Sudoku, which is not native to Train Your Brain. Sudoku is a very fun puzzle-game that will net nothing except casual trophies in Train Your Brain, regardless of the time taken to each puzzle's completion. I highly recommend Sudoku.

The content of Train Your Brain, not including Daily Training or locked games, consists of 12 tests within logic, memory, calculation and vision categories and two casual games that have nothing to do with anything, as far as I can tell. Tests include fast math, memorizations and visual exercises.

Fast math would include making change, simple math equations equaling up to ~100, and clicking numbers in the right order. Not very difficult, or entertaining. The change made must be done with European monies though, which can be tricky at first. That's all there is for calculation! Total entertained play time: 5 minutes?

Memorization exercises are memorizing shapes/pictures in sequence, remembering which paperdoll was wearing what, and keeping track of a walkthrough sequencing the route to get home. The paperdolls get me every time, its too bad memorizing paperdolls is not the most rapturing of experiences. Especially considering the awful difficulties of dudes being chicks and chicks that are dudes with no common proportions of decency whatsoever. The rest is clicking shapes how they were shown, or waiting for a 1st person visual to walk its way home. Total entertained play time: 5 minutes.

Logic sequences are made up of rock paper scissors (yep.), making up animals from other animals, and matching a cog wheel with the impression it makes. Rock, paper, scissors? Making up animals? The cog wheel was OK, except I haven't learned anything substantial. Total entertained play time: 5-7 minutes?

Visual exercises include match the pairs, choose the correct point of view, and 'colorful dots'. Matching pairs on a screen is exactly how it sounds. The correct point of view is choosing the correct camera perspective in 2d while looking at a scene in 3d, not bad. Lastly, colorful dots is comprised of guessing which colored flecks on the screen are the most prevalent. Yep. Entertained play time: 7 minutes, meaning more than one exercise might get a single replay.

That was it, 20 minutes of fun. It wasn't that good. The music is repetitive and I'm trying to get around all these unlocks still being locked. Its not happening. I rate this game as fail, but I'll stick around and see how the unlocks go. One never knows, there could be a Quake engine built into this thing.

Unlikely.