Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! Reviews

• Use your brain

  
  By A3EK57ZHMA55G5 on 2006-04-17
  I'm not entirely sure whether I can call a game like Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day a video game. Its graphics are hardly groundbreaking, its audios are almost monotonous, and its core gameplay involves reading aloud, counting syllables and solving mathematical problems. Surely, that's not what video gaming is all about, is it? Well, not if you hail from the Nintendo school of gaming, no. As mundane as Brain Age sounds, it's actually strangely addictive, and once you begin your journey of improving your brain age, you'll find yourself deeply immersed in the various activities aimed at giving your brain a daily workout.
  
  The primary objective of Brain Age is to "exercise your brain". This is done through doing activities that are designed to stimulate your prefrontal cortex, which is the part of your brain that influences how you apply what you've learnt (whatever). It's believed that doing these activities on a regular basis will have a positive effect on your brain. Whether or not this holds any truth, I'm not sure. But with 15 activities to choose from, at least the game can keep you occupied for quite a while, even though some of these activities are less desirable to do than others.
  
  Some of these activities include a calculation game, which puts you through a series of simple mathematical problems. 2+6, anyone? Or 8x7, for that matter? Well, you get the picture. The idea is basically to get the brain to start thinking quickly with a succession of simple questions, instead of forcing the player to spend too much time dwelling on one. There're different variations of this calculation module, but the underlying gameplay doesn't divert from the idea of rapidly solving a problem.
  
  Reading aloud is another activity in Brain Age. Obviously, this makes use of the DS' mic, and it basically requires you to read through an article as quickly as possible. While you may have problems pronouncing words like "epoch", you can actually breeze through this activity by simply bulldozing through without pronouncing the words properly. Just remember to wipe the saliva off your DS screens. Syllables counting is another mini-game on Brain Age. This one requires you to count the number of syllables in a short sentence, and then write the answer down on the touch screen. If you're not exactly sure about what is a "syllable", just remember that the word "syllable" itself has three syllables, and you should be fine.
  
  Of course, there're more to just calculation, reading aloud, or counting syllables in Brain Age, but as you can see, the activities in the game are not exactly the "saving the world from an evil force" kind. Yet, the game's appeal comes in the form of its simplicity. At times, when playing this game, I feel like I'm doing one of those online IQ tests, and the eagerness to score well is impetus enough for me to keep going despite the dryness of the questions. This basically sums up the charm of Brain Age.
  
  To spice things up a little, Brain Age also included a substantial amount of Sudoku puzzles. Now, if you can believe my wife, Sudoku is the best thing on Earth since sliced bread. The popularity of this grid-based puzzle game is immense, and it's not surprising to see it being included in the game. As with the usual Sudoku books, the Sudoku puzzles in Brain Age are sorted according to difficulty. The easy ones are, well, pretty easy to solve, while the advanced ones require more logical thinking. Anyhow, Brain Age contains more than 100 Sudoku puzzles, which should keep fans of Sudoku occupied for quite some time. Having Sudoku as one of the 15 activities in Brain Age basically provides additional value for an already value-for-money budget game.
  
  And, to top it up, Brain Age also has a multiplayer mode, which allows you to host up to an amazing 15 players with one cartridge. Unfortunately, the only playable activity in this mode is the calculation module, which lets you take on others in 30 mathematics questions. This gets old really quickly. It'd be fun if you can challenge your friends to a game of Sudoku (duh!), really.
  
  Brain Age also requires a unique way of playing. You play it with the DS being held vertically, much like reading a book, with the touch screen on the right. The concept is to recreate the scenario of solving puzzles in a puzzle book, and to a certain extent, this blends in very nicely with the objective of the game. And, true to the game's out-of-the-box nature, Brain Age is played entirely with the DS' features. That is, via the touch screen and the mic. These make the game more "book-like" than the usual DS games. The game also caters to left-handers. If you're a leftie like me, simply tell the game so, and you can turn the DS "the other way round" so that the touch screen switches to the left. This is a nice touch, or the game may just lose a lot of potential buyers!
  
  The problem with how the game plays, however, lies in the sensitivity of the touch screen and the mic. Somehow, it seems to have problem registering my pronunciation of "black", and doesn't really recognize my "8" on the touch screen properly. As a result, I've an initial brain age of 76 (!) because of unnecessary errors. It appears that players will need to adapt to how the game receives input to do well in their own results. This is not exactly a big issue, but it could be frustrating when you're trying to beat a certain timing, only to be let down by your poor handwriting or diction.
  
  In conclusion, Brain Age is a very different sort of game, even by the DS' selection of quirky titles. It may not boast the usual features that sell a video game, but in their place, we've something that is simple, unassuming, and ultimately very addictive. Moreover, the game is supposed to improve the functionality of your brain, so what's there to lose? Brain Age is highly recommended.
  
  

• I'll Be Happier with the Next Release

  
  By A3V6Z4RCDGRC44 on 2006-04-29
  Numerous studies have shown that doing crossword puzzles and sudoku puzzles helps to keep your brain active. Brain Age takes this to the next level, with charts and graphs of your progress.
  
  First, let me say that I have an issue with the whole concept of "Brain Age". The game claims that your ideal brain is at age 20 and that any age older than that is a "bad brain". That is pretty silly. There are 20 year olds who have very 'dead' brains because all they do is watch TV all day. There are also 60 year olds who are incredibly smart and who do fantastic research and writing. I realize of course that this game wants to "lure you in" with promises of eternal youth - that's what our whole culture is about in these modern times. Still, I wish that they could have chosen another way to do it - that you are running 100% optimal, or 20% optimal or so on. To have you "aim to be 20" seems very silly to me.
  
  The game's *premise* is a sound one, though. The more you exercise your brain, the more the blood flow moves through your brain and the healthier it is. Study after study shows that elderly people who use their brains remain alert - while those who vegetate alone in a room decay quickly. This game uses exercises that apparently have been proven in tests to boost that brain flow.
  
  The setup of the game is well done. Each day you have a series of tests you do. There are numerous graphs and charts to show you how well you are improving over all, and if other people are doing their own profiles on your DS you can compare against them as well.
  
  While the setup is good, the implementation has numerous problems. This is the sort of game that I will really like version 2 of - but version 1 just wasn't quality tested enough.
  
  First, the speech recognition. One of the core games in this is the classic color game where you see the word RED written in black letters, and have to say "black". It's been around for a while, and it's a fun challenge. The problem is that this game has ALL sorts of trouble understanding what you're saying. The word "blue" seems to really give it problems. So you get the word properly - but it doesn't hear you, and you get penalized.
  
  All they had to do is have the system train itself on your voice - i.e. have you say "red" 10 times in a row, for it to learn what your pronunciation of that word is. Otherwise it becomes an exercise in frustration, because you don't know what the game is trying to hear.
  
  Note that we have MANY games that use the mic on the DS. We know how to use it, we know to speak clearly and softly, not to yell. We've tried multiple pronunciations of "blue" and "bluu" and "bloo" and "blew". None works regularly. It's definitely a software problem.
  
  Next, the character recognition. Many of the games involve you writing things on the touch pad - either numbers for the math games or letters for the word memorization. However, the game only has certain ways that it wants these to be written - and it doesn't tell you. You spend the first few games cursing because every time you write a "4" the game thinks it's a "9". Every "B" becomes a "R". After a while through trial and error you learn to alter your natural writing style to match what the game seems to want - which is silly. The game should ask YOU to write the letters the way you want to - and then know to match against those.
  
  There's also a lot of inane "chatter" before you can play games. It's cute the first time, and maybe the second, but then it gets really annoying. If you have 10 minutes to do your "daily workout" you don't want to waste 5 of it hitting "next screen" while he blathers on about eating breakfast.
  
  The sudoku puzzles are fun, but easy. Most of us have access to online Sudoku and have thousands and thousands available of all difficulty levels. There are only a few here comparatively and my boyfriend easily gets the "rocket ship speed" doing them.
  
  My main complaint is that there are a ton of brain-challenging games out already for the DS that boast great gameplay, graphics, sound and long term playability. They definitely test your brain in the exact same manner. Lumines, Tetris and Polarium spring to mind. Those involve a lot of quick thinking and pattern recognition. Why couldn't Brain Age involve puzzles more like that? Why are the puzzles all so "boring"? Do IQ tests *have* to be boring? There are hundreds of educational software programs for the PC that do the exact same test styles - number matching, addition etc. - that are incredibly fun. This game by comparison appears that it was made in the 80s as far as that goes.
  
  Still, we play it every day, to get in our "brain education time". In general I found this to be a great *start*. However, I really think they can do MUCH better with this concept in the next version. They can fix the problems with voice and character recognition. They can bring the graphics and sounds up into the 21st century. They can add in more variety of games. This was a nice start - but there really should be much more depth to a game that they expect you to play day after day for months on end.
  
  

• Brain Freeze

  
  By A3W4D8XOGLWUN5 on 2006-04-19
  There isn't so much when it really comes to mental games for consoles or handhelds, unless it is something you'd see in the newspapers like the typical crossword puzzle, or the recently popular numbers game sudoku. They all have been so well-rendered to keep your mind in tip top shape. As for Nintendo, they have also made their mark with the way we play video games on the home market, and the handhelds with the Game Boy rendiditons, and the Nintendo DS nearly over a year ago. Well, Nintendo has put that mental challenge to the extremes for the DS in more ways than one.
  
  Brain Age for the Nintendo DS, is a compilation of all different kinds of games and puzzles that test your ability to read, and apply yourself mentally. The game consists of certain evaluations that reflect on how you remember words, simple math problems, and how fast you can also read. The game also includes sudoku on it, and it tells you how you are with the game, and what you need to do better. The stylus is really used quite well, and much better than most of the other games that rely on it. There also are challenges that test you verbally as well, like the stroop exam where you have to read the color of the text of a word, instead of the word itself. There is one big disadvantage, you have to say the words clearly through the stroop exam, because there are times where you may get the answer right, it might not be registered properly and your score may be affected.
  
  Despite a few flaws on the microphone, Brain Age really is a great mental challenge for Nintendo DS. It is a must buy for the mind as well as the pockets. I love how stimulating the challenges are, and there is so much to go around. I just hope there are more of these mental games for other systems like this one soon, it is definitely something missing for the video game market.
  
  Graphics: B+
  
  Sound: A-
  
  Price: A-
  
  Microphone use: C+
  
  Control: B 1/2+
  
  Fun & Enjoyment: B
  
  Overall: B 1/2+
  
  

• Fun for Seniors

  
  By A2FCHKKUJHFFQW on 2006-11-10
  I purchased a Nintendo DS specifically for this game and was not disappointed. I'm 65 and on a good day can get my "brain age" into the 30s. I gave the game and a DS to an 80 year-old friend, and she can get into the 40s. We both struggle with the test that calls for memorizing from a list of words.
  
  After learning to play Sudoku in Brain Age, I switched to playing it on my Palm Pilot (game from Astraware) which lets me enter the game from the daily newspaper. I've recently lent my DS to a 6th grader who is learning Sudoku. (By the way, avoid the DS game called "Sudoku". It's unnecessarily clunky for entering data.)
  
  This is an appropriate game for seniors who like math/logic challenges even if they've never used a computer. Plan to spend some time tutoring a newbie, and then watch as he or she enjoys the challenge.
  
  

• The game that plays you.

  
  By A2J189Z7DGRP60 on 2006-05-02
  From the moment you begin playing Brain Age you'll realise that it's unlike any other experience. It's probably the only game ever made that begins with a doctor addressing you - a prominent Japanese neuroscientist to be exact. He asks a few quick questions to get the ball rolling as he scopes out your "brain age". It's kind of unnerving actually. After displaying a couple of brain scans in various states of activity (or inactivity), the doctor explains that your brain is like any muscle and will shrivel without exercise. Old brains are bad, young brains are good.
  
  Once you pass the opening formalities the doctor runs you through a more rigourous series of tests (math problems, memorization drills, concentration sets...). The good doctor then assigns you your first daily brain age rank. If it's good (low) he'll congratulate you and encourage you to keep working hard. If it's bad (high) he'll chide you and issue a warning about the dangers of aging brains. As the game progresses he'll ask you random questions which contribute to your overall profile. This is where the genius of this game truly shines. Anyone could assemble a collection of mini math games and assorted brain teasers. Nintendo however has wrapped this all up in a diagnostic package. It feels like the game is studying you. Each day you log in the goal is clear and the feedback perfect. The interface is quick and simple, the touch screen works remarkably well and the voice recognition is a nice touch too.
  
  I must lower my brain age!
  
  
• The Brain Workout
  By A3KKM0T1KY42HA on 2006-10-25
  Thinking. Analyzing. Solving Problems. Reading. Logic. These are just some of the skills that Brain Age will help you develop (or re-develop).
  
  No, it's not Resident Evil or Splinter Cell. But it is as fun and addictive; it's certainly as challenging if not more challenging, and it's a nice pallet cleanser from the plethora of pure entertainment value games that my kids and I play.
  
  Brain Age is a bit advanced at times for my grade schoolers, but the parts that they do get really help them develop the skills that they are concurrently working on in school. Big Brain Academy is a much easier (not better) alternative for younger children.
  
  There's a daily training area that gives your skills a workout. And there's a test area that challenges you to quickly and accurately work through various tasks, then provides you with a calculation of your Brain Age based on how well you did on the test. Sudoku has it's own area to train the brain on number logic.
  
  Kids reading this will NO vote me to death for saying this, but this is a great game for parents to get for their kids. It's one of the only ones (Big Brain Academy is the other) that I never take away from my own kids when they've misbehaved or simply just had too much video gaming. They never complain.
  
  One word of advice: Brain Age has a hard time recognizing an "8" if you write it the way you'd skate a figure 8; it likes it better when you draw an 8 as two circles on top of each other.
  
  Addictive fun. Buy it.
  
  
  
• Flawed implementation, problematic
  By A1F9Z42CFF9IAY on 2006-06-12
  Firstly, the interface is a bit flawed. On many many occaisions I would say the correct answer (the Nintendo DS/DS Lite has a mic that this game uses), and it wouldn't register my answer being correct even though I was speaking the correct term. So, actually I was correct but the game thought I was wrong and gave me a poor rating. This can be very frustrating and seems unfair when it displays the color Blue for example, and you clearly say "blue" and it doesn't even register.
  
  Secondly, it relies on how fast you can write with the stylus. A lot of people may be very quick to think the correct answer, but may not be that good writing on the screen with the stylus, which can be awkward since to play this game, you have to hold the DS or DS Lite turned on it's side like an open book. It will give you a bad score just based on this, even though you knew the answer.
  
  Thirdly, the sayings that are on the screen during game play are strange and condescending. I think they are supposed to make the doctor virtual character seem powerful and superior, but really a lot of what he says doesn't make much sense. There is no way to turn this off, which can be a bit annoying because you have to sit through or click throw his sayings each time you play.
  
  This game should not rely so much on stylus and voice input and it should be redesigned to use the buttons more. As it is designed, the buttons are virtually never even pressed!
  
  The game is more frustrating than fun not because I can't answer the exercises quickly and correctly most of the time, but because the game doesn't recongize my correct input as correct the majority of the time. What good is that?
  
  The premis of the game is empty-it's supposed to exercise your brain but in reality, playing Super Mario Brothers (or any other game) probably exercises your brain just as much and is a whole lot more fun.
  
  I give it a thumbs down.
  
  
• Get ready for frustration
  By A3RJWPP3ASGOWI on 2006-06-20
  I don't play video games, but "Brain Age" seemed like a great idea and who among us doesn't need a little brain stimulation? So, I bought the Nintendo DS Lite exclusively for this game. I'm beginning to regret it.
  
  $130 for the system + $20 for the game = $150 of irritation.
  
  The DS Lite is great, so I'll probably end up buying more games simply to justify its purchase, because I don't know how long I can keep from smashing "Brain Age" into a thousand pieces.
  
  The concept is great and the puzzles would be too, except for a less than impressive number and letter recognition. Prepare to change the way you write to accommodate the game, because this is crucial to your ranking scores and charting your progress as your acuity increases.
  
  If this wasn't frustrating enough, one major "Brain Age" test relies on your ability to recognize and say the color the word is written in instead of what the word says. Example: The word "Black" pops up, but it is written in the color "Blue" so the user responds with "Blue". The only problem is the voice recognition on this game is TERRIBLE! It will only recognize the word "Blue" on occasion and sometimes not at all at which point the game gives you tips on how to talk to the game, but they never work.
  
  So, in short you will spend most of your time on some puzzles and games simply trying to make the game understand what you're trying to input. I've been playing it for two weeks and it hasn't gotten any better, and I'm loosing my patience. According to Nintendo Support, I should just keep trying or skip the games/puzzles with which I'm having trouble (all the ones with known issues). Wow, thanks.
  
  I would not recommend purchasing "Brain Age" until they come out with a version that can learn the speech and writing patterns of the user.
  
  
• A NEW LEVEL OF GAMING!
  By on 2006-11-29
  With the many outstanding features of the Brain Age game I would say it is one of the best DS games yet.
  1:You turn the system sideways so it apears as it is a book.
  2:You have a number of training quizes that you take daily to unlock more quizes and ultimately, to improve your brain age.
  There are many more reasons that it is,(by my opinion),a 9 out of a possible 10. I sugest that you do not purchase this game at an early age. It is intended for seniors and I am only 10.( seriously.) I enjoy this game and sugest that you get it as soon as possible. If you could get 2 games for a DS, (by my opinion),this would definetly be one. You will not regret getting this game for yourself, or a present.
  Sincerely, Parker222
  
  
• Do not buy this game from GameStop
  By A1A5IBULRQTNC5 on 2006-05-01
  I have not gotten the game, so no review on the game. I did just purchase the game as a part of a bunch of number items from Amazon. Got the confirmation eMail and realized that GameStop was charging $5.99 shipping on a $19.99 game. Ouch. Also got nailed with sales tax. Because the order was passed to an Amazon partner, I could not cancel. I hope the game is worth $30, because that is what i paid thanks to GameStop. The system forced me to enter a rating, so gave it a $30 rating. Learn from my mistake.
  
  
• Fundamentally flawed
  By A10X5D8JIK3QMS on 2006-09-22
  After five minutes on the initial test having my speaking "blue" misrecognised constantly, and my written "4" interpreted as either a 9 or a 0, I looked through the manual for the instructions on how to train it to recognise YOUR speech and handwriting.
  
  It didn't have one. Because it doesn't have those features. Which renders the game next to useless. Am I prepared to alter the way I speak and write to play this, and keep that in mind constantly while I try to solve puzzles? No.
  
  The REALLY stupid thing is that it prints the number 4 (in questions etc) the way that character is usually printed on books, on your keyboard etc, i.e. with three contiguous strokes forming a figure with a pointy top, but it seems trained to recognise only an "open" four, i.e. one with no join at the top.
  
  Play "Big Brain Academy" instead - less famous but FAR more playable.
  
  
• Brain Mashing Fun!
  By A2G3FRG7WH00HW on 2006-06-22
  I know what all of you hardcore videogamers are thinking... MATH! In a video game?!?! I myself LOVE to play video games, and Brain Age is pretty different from the games I play. It interested me though, and I took the plunge and got it. After the first 10 minutes I was addicted. Whether you're reading out loud, memorizing numbers or counting syllables, Brain Age is a great game. Training your brain isn't TOO stressful, and you get to see how old your brain is compared to your real age! Sorry to say, but I was the oldest you can be, 80, on the first day! Now I am 22, the best age is 20, and getting better all the time! As a bonus you can play suduko, a fun game involving numbers and grids.
  
  Hope this helps you make your decision! TTFN!
  
  
• Fun, but not accurate and can be frustrating!
  By A1AN6YIX1JTVJE on 2006-06-23
  I really enjoy doing this game; however, I am taking the "brain age" score with a grain of salt. There is a Stroop Test, where a color name appears on the screen and it may, or may not, be a different color than the word (i.s. "Yellow" is colored blue). You need to say the actual color of the word. Everytime a word comes up in blue, the game doesn't recognize it and slows me down. I waste a good 5 seconds trying to get the game to understand me. And I speak clear English! I'm trying to figure out just the right amount of "BL" to use to get it to work.
  
  Also, there is a Word Memory test where you're given a long list of 4-letter words to memorize in 2 minutes. Then you write as many of them as you can in 3 minutes. The game doesn't pick up your handwriting well. It returns an "X" when you write a "K", etc. AND it said a word I had wasn't on the list when it was!!!! You spend so much time trying to get it to recognize your letters and accept words that are there, that you forget all the words you had remembered!
  
  The Suduko puzzles are great and I really like doing the speed "math" (simple addition, subtraction and multiplication).
  
  
• Useless buggy recognition code
  By A238ZK9FQKQFC8 on 2006-09-25
  The concept for this game is strong, and it's got some cute ideas, but the voice recognition - especially for the word "blue" - and the character recognition is abysmal. It makes the "game" an exercise in frustration, more than anything else.
  
  As to character recognition...unless you write in whatever font the game is programmed to recognize, it's going to record your answers as something different than what you wrote.
  
  You are penalized when the system doesn't recognize "blue" or the correct number.
  
  If the system is so rigid that it only accepts one way of saying "blue", then the system should have a sound file that tells you what it wants to hear. As to the number recognition, it should have a screen that shows you how the system wants the numbers written, or it should be able to allow you to enter your numbers and correlate them to numbers within the system. (When I make this mark, it = 4)
  
  Also, the "intro" content is absurdly long, with no way to skip over it. Huge waste of time after the first 10x you've seen it.
  
  I just got the game today, and I've spent hours trying to figure out a way to say blue such that the game will recognize it...now, I just wish I could return opened software. I'm very frustrated with the entire experience.
  
  
• Fun and it works!
  By A3A6QLNUICZUTB on 2006-05-24
  My job doesn't require a whole lot of thought and I felt that my brain was getting lazy. I bought this game for the Sudoku, but ended up really enjoying the rest of it, too. It really is addicting. The first time I tested my brain it was an 80, the highest you can get. Now I'm down to a 22.
  
  I've noticed changes in other areas of my life after playing for a while. My attention span seems to be longer, I'm able to focus on things more intently, and since my brain is "warmed up" after playing first thing in the morning, I'm less groggy and more productive during the day.
  
  The game keeps you interested, especially if you're competitive. If you have more than one person playing the game on a daily basis, after you finish an exercise it will tell you if you beat someone else for that day. My whole family plays. Another part of the game is it asks you to draw pictures of every day objects from memory. After everyone has drawn, when you log in you get to see them all side by side. It can be very funny and it's a nice way to encourage communication in the family. It would probably even be good to pass around in the office.
  
  If you have a job that doesn't require recalling facts or much meorization, I highly recommend this game. I've recommended it to my grandmother as well, because she wants to keep her mind sharp.
  
  
• Fun Game i luv to play
  By A2IX1HJDAB9DKE on 2006-11-12
  This game is awesome. I love to play it, and i play it everyday. In school it gets me way far ahead, and much quicker too at math. The only thing that puts the game at a rate of overall 4 stars is that in one of the games you have to speak out, and sometimes it won't take your answer. this happens sometimes, but it kind of stinks because your getting tested, so when it won't take it it counts it as wrong. But i gotta say don't let this little thing stop you from buying this game. It will kill alot of time. On long trips i always take it, and whenever i get to my destination im like man i spent over two hours playing the ds? It totally rocks! i used to get car sick because i was bored, and just sitting in the car, but now i don't get car sick at all, because im doing something else. This game has made me good, and quick at math in my school. It really helped. This game is definitely good for all ages even my dad plays it!
  
  
• In This Game You Will Destroy Evil Brain Eating Aliens
  By A2228B4OVTYKMZ on 2006-04-19
  ... if that's what you need to tell you kid to get them to play Brain Age, go for it.
  
  It doesn't happen, of course. This is calesthenics for your noggin, and it's a well-crafted, fascinating, exciting little adventure. This game is a phenonemon in Japan and I can see why. Amazing interactivity coupled with intense training, a wicked sense of humor and something that will actually do something positive for your mind and show measurable results!
  
  Yes, the sound and hand-writing recognition leaves a lot to be desired, but this video game is about the TRAINING, not the destination. Get out of thinking that you must reach Level Four or you're a failure. Just doing these exercises is what it's about. I won't go into the actual training techniques, which have been covered in other reviews, but will say they are challenging and enjoyable.
  
  Finally, the biggest audience for this game in Japan are the over 50-60 age range. It has been blamed for Nintendo DS systems selling out! This kind of stuff sits Nintendo above the competition. It will actively help your mind. Kudos to them for creating it and kudos to all you non-video-game players who will pick it up and get the benefit from it.
  
  
• Software problems make the game unfair and frustrating
  By A1M8210UNLTDZA on 2006-06-11
  Like others who have reviewed this, I have to agree that the voice recognition and the handwriting recognition in this game are so poor that they become major obstacles in enjoying the game. I am a professional voiceover artist for a living and I assure you my diction is quite good, and yet it cannot understand the word "blue" when spoken by myself or anyone else my family. It takes many repeat trials of saying the word over and over again before it accepts it. Because one of the tests used over and over is a color recognition test, the player needs to say the word "blue" into the game countless times during play, which is an exercise in futility.
  
  In addition, the handwriting recognition is also a major problem. In my case, my handwriting is admittedly not the best anyway, so it just makes any test that involves handwriting impossible for me to pass. The questions are presented and I know the answers, but I cannot enter them because it cannot understand my handwriting, and it takes countless multiple trials of attempting to style my handwriting to what the game wants in order to enter it. It's absolutely nothing but a huge waste of time.
  
  Since your "Brain Age" is determined by timed tests where you must answer questions correctly where the answer is "Blue" and/or require handwriting recognition, it is really quite pointless to continue since you cannot ever get even a reasonably accurate score. Competition between other members of your family is equally pointless, since the voice recognition and handwriting acceptance by the game seem to be essentially random. There is simply no way to win this game by being the "smartest", which of course ought to be the point of the game.
  
  
  If this were a shareware PC game downloaded from the Internet, I might expect such problems, but this is a professionally released game from a major game manufacturer. Even at a $20.00 price tag, it's still a waste of money. Shame on Nintendo for releasing such a shoddy product.
  
  
  
  
• Have Fun and Help Your Thinking!
  By A1AP7ZNM6STT8T on 2006-07-02
  I'm a 50 year old woman - and probably in the age range of people that this product is supposed to help. Like my friends, I complain of forgetting names, and other memory lapses that undermine my confidence. Brain Age is a program that touts working your brain's pre-frontal cortex - to keep your brain in good shape.
  
  The first time I did this program it said that my Brain Age was 80! After a few days I got my Brain Age down to 28. (20 is the "best" age you can get.) My 9 and 12 year old sons' first Brain Ages were also in the 80s, though it told them that players under age 20 should take the results "with a grain of salt."
  
  There are two categories of activities in Brain Age. You can choose "Brain Age Check" or "Training." If you choose "Brain Age," you first answer if you are in an environment where you can speak. Then you are given three tests chosen at random, and your Brain Age is calculated based on how well you performed on the three tests. Examples of Brain Age Check tests are:
  
  Stroop Test - This test shows you names of colors. Each name is in a different color, and you are to name the color that the word is written in. You may see the word "Blue" and it can be written in Yellow, Black, Blue or Red, and you are to say the color it is written in. (This is harder than you think!)
  
  Counting - This test asks you to count, as quickly as possible, without slurring, from 1 to 120.
  
  Connect the numbers-and-letters. In this test one screen has the letters A through M, and the numbers 1 through 13, each circled, randomly placed on the screen. Your task is to take the stylus and make one long line, connecting A with 1, then moving to B and 2, then C and 3, etc., until you end with M and 13.
  
  Word Memory. In this test you are shown 30 words on the 2 screens and given 2 minutes to memorize them. You then are given 3 minutes to write down as many as you can remember.
  
  Counting numbers. On one screen you are shown different numbers in different colors, some of the numbers may be pulsing, rotating and/or sliding. The program will ask you things like "How many blue #s?" or "How many sliding numbers?"
  
  The other part of the program is Daily Training exercises. At first not all of the exercises are available to you, more become available as you use the program. Some examples of the Daily Training activities are:
  
  Calculations X 20. You are given 20 easy calculations, like 5-2, 7X8, 6+3. You try to complete these as quickly and accurately as possible, with penalties for inaccurate answers.
  
  Calculations X100. Same as above, with 100 calculations.
  
  Low to High Number Memory. One screen flashes four to eight numbers. Then, on the other screen, you are shown spots in the same formation, and you are to tap, in order, where the lowest to highest numbers were. The screen may flash up to 8 numbers at a time.
  
  Head Count. On one screen you are shown a number of people figures. Next, a house comes down and hides them. Figures then enter and exit the house, and, after a few, you are asked how many figures are left in the house. The training exercise has you do this 5 times, it starts out very easy and gets very hard.
  
  Reading Aloud. You are timed as you read a short passage aloud. Passages are interesting, and include sections of Dracula, Jack London, the Constitution, etc.
  
  Syllable Count. You are shown a number of short phrases, like "A penny saved is a penny earned." and asked to count the number of syllables in each.
  
  There are other games, and more games become "unlocked" as you use the program.
  
  Plusses and the minuses:
  I like this program a lot - and I do think that it has helped my attention to detail. I'm getting better at all the activities - I can remember up to 18 words on Word Memory, when I started playing I remembered only 10.
  
  The Voice Recognition and writing recognition are better than I expected, but they are far from perfect, and that is the most frustrating thing about the program. For example, in the Stroop Test the DS never understands when I say the word "Blue" (and I am a native English speaker.) So I use 2 player files: one where I say I can speak when I do the Brain Age Check, and one where I say I can't. The age difference in the Brain Age is about 20 years.
  
  Also, many times I will write a number or a letter and the DS will think I've written a different number or letter. Many of these tasks are timed, so I am trying to write quickly, and it'll think, for example, that a "5" is a "4", or an "L" is a "C", and then I get penalized for wrong answers. (On the bright side: this is a good exercise in persevering in the face of frustration! A whole new product line idea!)
  
  Bottom Line: This game is fun, addictive, and might actually have lasting benefits. Not bad for $19.95!
  
  
• Don't Listen to the "Recognition" Negativity
  By AHFNBNA603R18 on 2006-06-18
  All these people that are giving this game like a 1 or 2 stars just because they say it can't detect your voice or what you write really don't know what they're talking about. I write extremely sloppy at times and it still detects what I write. I would have to say that the writing recognition is superb, and borderline amazing. I do chicken scratch 3's and other numbers, and yet it still knows what I'm writing. And as far as "blue" goes, well that is the only color that can give you trouble sometimes, but once you figure out what works for you it just isn't a problem. Other than these complaints that seem to come from nowhere, this game is a great way to keep your mind active and truly a breakthrough for any portable gaming device. Great to have if your looking to stay sharp, or great to have if your simply looking for some fun, especially with Sudoku. Get it!
  
  
• Brain Age- The Cure For Being Dumb
  By AJRNWWM102PMI on 2006-07-28
  Brain Age- The Cure For Being Dumb
  
  By: Brandon J. Mendelson of The Brandon Show
  
  I decided not to rush with my review of "Brain Age: Train your brain in minutes a day!" A lot of media outlets did a cursory look at the game, threw up a review, and moved on to a new one. We did something a little different here at U-Wire, we took a test subject, me, and put the game to work. Do the tests really improve your "Brain Age?" Do you have noticeable improvements in mental functions from using the game? How many syllables are in the phrase, "Thank you Mario, but the Princess is in another castle?"
  
  In 1994, Rykta Kawashima wrote a book entitled, "Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a better brain." The book met with some success in Japan, and garnered the attention of Nintendo, who reportedly was looking for an educational title to release with the DS. In the game, a polygon version of Kawashima guides you as you do your daily training or play Sudoku. The doctor is an interesting MC of sorts that livens up the game with Yoda like advice after each exercise. You can also get him to glare at you or laugh out loud by talking into the DS's microphone. And if you missed some of Kawashima's saint like advice, each tidbit is saved in the options menu for later viewing.
  
  At first I thought "Brain Age" would be a burden to add to my day-to-day activities. The thought of having to play a game every day for a possible pay-off was not appealing. But now I can't go a day without picking it up and doing some training. And that is the beauty of "Brain Age." It doesn't require a time commitment, and you can pick how much time you want to spend playing it. This game also has you covered both ways, if you like instant gratification, you can try to top the best record in an exercise, or if you stick with it for the long haul, you can chart your progress on graphs and open up new features such as Triangle Math, Voice Calculations, and Time Lapse.
  
  I do have some complaints about "Brain Age" that would normally prevent me from purchasing a game like this. During the Stroop Test and Voice Calculation, despite you saying the correct word, the system's microphone does not always hear you. This is frustrating if you're highly competitive and don't like to get wrong answers for something you did right. If you have poor handwriting, sometimes the game will record something you entered as wrong, or not record it at all, which is very damaging when all of your activities are timed. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to toss my DS during Word Memory, when I tried to enter words but the system wouldn't understand my handwriting.
  
  These annoyances can be over come. You can skip word memory by holding select at the "Brain Age" test menu, and if you limit the noise around you and speak clearly, the system is more likely to record the correct answer when you speak. I would suggest sticking with "Brain Age." I've noticed an improvement in my handwriting since using "Brain Age," and I've observed my brain age drop from seventy to a twenty-three over one month of training. While some scientists have issued reports attempting to disprove Kawashima's studies, I believe that regular use of Brain Age has kept me sharp over what has been a lazy summer vacation. For example, I've always been horrible with telling people how many syllabus were in a phrase, but now I nail that specific exercise every time after a month of training. While geared for non-gaming adults, Brain Age is great fun and engaging for everyone despite some of its flaws. If you're looking for a gift for your family, or a going back to school present, "Brain Age" comes highly recommended.
  
  
• Great concept, but it needed more development time
  By A2Y6X38QO8ZAF9 on 2006-04-26
  This is an extremely interesting piece of software. Though I only ranked the same 3 stars on the fun factor, I think that's plenty since the game is not designed to provide an evening's worth of entertainment like a Metroid or Castlevania game. Unfortunately, due to the buggy "Microsoft" quality of the software, I can't justify an overall score greater than 3 stars either.
  
  First of all, the game's speech recognition software is horrendous. The "Stroop Test" challenge requires users to state the text color of a word that spells a different color. When the correct answer is "blue" the game will usually fail to understand your voice. I have experienced the occasional flaw with other words as well, but I have both personally and through reading reviews found "blue" to be the worst. There's just no excuse for this game to be on the market with a bug this big! Fortunately you have the choice to skip the microphone-based challenges.
  
  Other challenges involve writing numbers and letters, and this software only does an OK job. Some challenges give you plenty of time to repeat character entry, but some are not forgiving. I find that an 8 is often seen as a 6 (or was that the other way around?). Alphabetic character recognition is even worse, but I've found that uppercase characters are easier for the software to understand. I doubt handwriting aberrations like the ridiculous little slash some add to the number '7' and the letter 'Z' would be understood by this software, so proper handwriting is probably a requirement. Overall I would rate the handwriting recognition aspect far better than the ridiculously mangled symbols required on early PDAs, but not quite good enough for 2006.
  
  It's sad. This software would have been excellent had Nintendo given it the development time that it needed. The bugs are so in-your-face that Nintendo should be ashamed for releasing this product.
  
  Just a thought...
  The DS does not contain region locking, so I can't help but wonder about getting a different release of the software that has had more development time. Australia will probably get this release, but I doubt software of this nature would be successful anywhere in western europe. If an Australian version is released it would be designed for a different english dialect, but the additional development time may fix enough bugs for that version to be superior for a US resident.
  
  
• Fun Despite a Few Flaws
  By A3UWSRJAJYN9VG on 2006-05-02
  This game is alot of fun and helps to wake up the old grey matter. My only problem is that occassionally the voice recognition was a little off (although it helps alot if you hold the DS far away from you) and every time I played the word memory game it wouldn't recognize my letters, often thinking that an "N" was a "W", causing me to get frustrated, forget half of the words I just spent 3 minutes trying to memorize, and then get a lower brain age as a result. The good thing however, is that there is a way in which you can select which exercises you want to do when determining your brain age. Although sometimes I feel cheap when doing this as I tend to choose the exercises I'm better at. Despite minor flaws this game is still alot of fun and at 19.99, it's worth the price. Plus, it's got Sudoku (which I honestly didn't think looked that fun until I gave it a try in Brain Age) which can also be alot of fun.
  
  
• Gets Boring After Awhile
  By A27YUZ4HZHPWUU on 2006-05-29
  This game is based on research that shows that we can keep our brains in good shape by exercising them for just a few minutes a day. The game therefore contains a number of exercises that the player is encouraged to perform at least once a day, including simple calculations, reading aloud, counting syllables, and counting the number of people going in and out of a house. You are also encouraged to test your "brain age" daily to see your progress. The test will include activities similar to the ones described above. The ideal brain age, according to research, is 20. The game also includes about 100 sudoku puzzles of varying difficulty levels to work on.
  
  Although I tried following the training program for about a week and a half, it quickly became boring and monotonous. As there isn't much motivation to play the game for more than about 10-15 minutes per day since the game will only save one score per day for each activity, it is easy to lose interest. And though the game teases you the first few days by rewarding your daily training by opening up new activities, after a few days you stop unlocking new things. So after playing for 10 straight days and still seeing activities on my screen yet to be unlocked, I was rather frustrated.
  
  In addition, there were a few frustrating glitches in the game. One of the tests for brain age requires you to speak into the DS's microphone and name the color of the words printed on the screen. While not a particularly difficulty activity, the DS had a great deal of difficulty recognizing when I said "blue" or "black" so I had to keep repeating it, sometimes costing me several valuable seconds. Even more frustrating was the fact that I found it very difficult to write the number 5 so that the computer would recognize it. So in calculations, I would write a correct answer, but the computer would think my 5 was a nine so I would get the wrong answer and lose huge points.
  
  The main redeeming quality of this game is the included sudoku. The system they used was practically perfect. You are able to put in up to 9 possible numbers in a space and then write a large number over them when you are sure of the correct number. And the fact that you can use the stylus to play it just like a regular pen and pencil puzzle without having to constantly erase numbers was nice.
  
  
• Pretty good and educational
  By A34E6ET8ZGWPVM on 2006-07-23
  Fun and educational, as other reviewers wrote the "blue" on the speaking task doesn't work well, it's best to practice and see what works before you take a real "test". Regarding accuracy I'm not sure about the "brain age" but it's still a good daily exervise. Overall it's pretty good and I enjoy doing my daily tasks.
  - I wish there were more tasks though
  
  
• the best game ever!!!!
  By on 2006-11-26
  Brain age is the best game ever! It's a fun and addicting. My brain is in its 40's! Im smart! Are you? There are many games you can play.
  One game is there will be a word like blue written in black and you have to say black into your mic. There is one game that is full of math problems. Another game is you have to memorize words then spell them.And many more. I have three more words to say.
  
  BUY IT!
  
  
• Glitches Abound, but overall good
  By A1PC8N6OBZ5PAJ on 2006-06-07
  I won't rehash what other people have said, but will reiterate the mic issue. It has problems.
  
  Now, I enjoy this "game" a lot, and recommend it highly, BUT, if you are color blind, or even if you don't see the color red (which is fairly common in men) don't get this game. I'm not color blind, but have family members who are, and while I live thousands of miles away from my family, my first thought on the Brain Age test, was if you were color blind there is no way you could ever play this game regardless of how well you do mentally.
  
  Two of the tests require color recognition, one in the "No, I can't speak aloud" category, and up to two in the "Yes I can speak."
  
  In the "Stroop Test" you are required to say the name of the COLOR of a word, regardless of what the word actually says. The other, "Number Cruncher" will present you with a screen full of numbers doing various things in numerous colors, with a question on top such as "How many red #'s are there."
  
  Overall good, but if colorblind, don't waste your money
  
  
• Puzzles, tests, math, and english
  By A1GXONX1GZ5X5J on 2006-06-19
  Here is a game that is a lot of fun. But take that with a grain of salt. I really enjoy math and tests and puzzles which this game seems to include. The controls are easy however, sometimes the games doesn't recognize the numbers you write and the microphone really has trouble with the word blue. But with 100 games of sudoku and tons of tests and quizes this will bring many months of challenges and fun, and maybe a little brain exercises too.
  
  Revision: May not really be months of challenges and fun. I am not at one week of play, and am still enjoying it, but I can definitely see that driving appeal that I first had start to curb.
  
  
• Shoddy
  By A3CRWSNIW7TNPQ on 2006-09-03
  Essentially a good idea, but utterly hamstrung by poor speech recognition and VERY poor character recognition.
  
  Make no mistake, these two things serve to completely ruin the game.
  
  
• Great idea. Horrible writing and sound recognition = unplayable.
  By A1BMTF8S1E5ASP on 2006-04-19
  I was really looking forward to this. I like the idea of a game challenging you to improve your thought speed by daily training. Very intriguing premise.
  However after trying out the game at a DS download station at a local Gamestop I don't think I'll be picking it up.
  The game has huge problems with recognition. On one of the tests you have to say the color a word is written in, not the word (which is a different color), into the mic. I would have gotten every one right and in good time but the DS could not recognize my speech. Which I thought to be somewhat strange since I generally pronounce my words quite well. So, after clearly enunciating BLUE! for the fifth time the game finally recognized what I was saying.
  Ugh.
  Next up was the quick math test, where you do simple arithmetic problems in rapid succession. Now I will admit that my writing isn't very neat but come on! The DS recognized all my 9's as 8's, oftentimes it would skip the next problem after I'd only just put the stylus to screen with an answer giving me an incorrect for the problem, and when it wasn't misreading my solutions it simply wouldn't recognize them at all; giving me a question mark for my efforts and I would have to do the problem again.
  What I find exceedingly frustrating here is that I like the idea and I want to play the game, (or use the tool, depending on your perspective) but at least for me it seems impossible to achieve accurate results.
  Highly disappointing.
  
  

• Electronic Gaming Monthly
• Play
• Tips & Tricks Magazine
• Nintendo DS Lite Travel Power Pack

• Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day!
• Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day
• Big Brain Academy
• Nintendo DS Lite Travel Kit
• My Word Coach