Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day Reviews

• Wonderful!

  
  By A1IE6EZPNUWKBW on 2007-10-28
  This is a wonderful game! The layout is nice. The training games are new and fresh. The relaxation eye exercises at the end of the taining is great. You can do the daily exercises selected for you in relation to your eye test or use custom training mode. If you've played Brain Age or Brain Age 2 you will notice some similar formats but in no way is this a repeat. I would highly recommend this game. It is fun and it really does give your vision a workout. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
  
  

• Practical but Needs a Facelift

  
  By A3V6Z4RCDGRC44 on 2008-01-01
  Flash Focus is an eye-training game which helps you improve your peripheral vision, eye reaction time and other eye related functions. It is similar to many actual eye-training exercises used by optometrists.
  
  Set up much like the Brain Age series, each player creates a profile. There are daily activities you perform to improve your skills, and then you do a series of tests to determine your "eye age". Your aim is to hit 20 years old, representing a young, healthy pair of eyes.
  
  The tests cover a range of eye activities. There is the peripheral vision test, where you focus on a central spot but have to see the items around that. There are quick moving tests where you have to track a fast-moving object and remember where it ends up. There are reflex type activities where you stylus-click on objects, hit a moving baseball, swat at a ping pong ball. The more activities you work through, the more training session styles you unlock.
  
  I definitely see the value of these activities, and like that it tracks your progress over time. However, I have the same complaint with this game as I do with Brain Age - and you would think that by now they would have fixed these issues.
  
  First, the "discussion" involved with each game is maddeningly repetitive and annoying. You have to page through every single prompt. Surely by now they should have a "discussion off" option in the options menu!
  
  Next, when they kick you up to hard, you don't get any credit in the tracking system. So if you go from easy games to hard games, and don't do 100% on the hard games, they berate you for being less good even though you are now MORE good, i.e. beating harder tests. If the point of the game is to improve your skill and to be tracked in that improvement, they should track it properly.
  
  Finally, I am all for concentrating on the main task at hand, but some of the graphics here really could use a designer's touch. Remember, this is a VISION game!! The whole point is how things look! I think about how gorgeous Plankton looked, and that game was a very simple game. Just a basic overhaul like that could move this game from looking like it was made by 3rd graders to making it a game that's a true visual feast. They just didn't bother.
  
  Well recommended for its practical eye enhancement features - but I really hope someday that a person with a clue about game design takes over the Brain Age group and overhauls these games with some basic but much needed upgrades.
  
  

• Like Brain Age for the eyes

  
  By A1DAXLOSW1KBDM on 2007-11-10
  If you've played Brain Age, you'll know what to expect from this game. It's somewhat fun. Doesn't take long at all to do the exercises. Seems it's more of an observance teacher than something to improve eyesight.
  
  

• Kills time...

  
  By A1O2QLPHV5F9AU on 2007-11-24
  I don't know if it really "trains your eyes" that being said... it's fun. That's all that should matter when you buy a game anyway, right? It's great when you have a few minutes and nothing to do. What's nice about it is that, like the BrainAge games, it is "ageless". I'm a 21 year old female and I was never really a "gammer" but the DS brought me into it... this game is enjoyable but I think that it would also work for younger ages too. It doesn't have the rpg thing that many people are looking for so it might not work for some for that reason. I only took off a star for the fact that certain things get a little tedious. (Why can't you "skip" the lessons for example?... you can FF but only page at a time) If you like BrainAge you'll like this.
  
  
  

• The best game for the Nintendo DS

  
  By A342WL9G09LXXJ on 2007-12-06
  I recently purchased 4 games for my Nintendo DS lite, Flash Focus is the best game in my personal opinion for this system. It is fun, easy to use, and keeps you on your toes. Having a sharp mind is cool. I highly recommend this game for gamers of all ages. President, Brooklyn Institute of Massage Therapy ( Brooklyn, New York ).
  
  
• Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
  By A3W4D8XOGLWUN5 on 2008-01-14
  When it comes to games about memory, none of them have shined brighter on any other system than the Nintendo DS. After the mammoth success of puzzle and mind games like Big Brain Academy, and Brain Age and its sequel, there have been many games that have been knockoffs that just haven't shined as vividly. Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped the people who've developed Brain Age, Touch Generations, from expanding the gameplay that Brain Age that appears to be strong to the eyes. Well, they've done it again, and it shows how fast can your sight be in your mind to catch it.
  
  Flash Focus: Vision Training In Minutes A Day, brings the success of Brain Age, in a more visual sense. The game includes many training exercises that focus in on accuracy and timing, rather than how much your brain weighs and age. There are many mini-game exercises here that work to the test, including sports games like table tennis, soccer, baseball and football. But, it isn't just about sports at all alone here, the game also shows how fast you can memorize patterns, and sight. The graphics look good but the gameplay is just as addictive as we've seen before. Sadly, the game doesn't do enough to seperate itself from others, with a lack of multiplayer gameplay, but the game does test your sight well.
  
  All in all, Flash Focus: Vision Training In Minutes A Day isn't a bad purchase for the Nintendo DS. The gameplay is a test of how well wew see things and observe more than meets the eye. If you've played Brain Age, you'll definitely want to add Flash Focus in as a part of your video game library.
  
  Graphics: B
  
  Sound: C+
  
  Control: B 1/2+
  
  Fun & Enjoyment: B-
  
  Overall: B 1/2-
  
  
• Not worth it, and pretty boring!
  By ACNON4BZACUUL on 2007-12-28
  I don't know why people gave this game good reviews. Could it be that they are involved some way with this game?? The creators?? We found this game to be pretty boring. It is no where as fun as Brain Age. How can they compare it to that? Not even close! You don't get very much for this cartridge at all. I guess that's why it was only $15.99 compared to a Mario Cartrige that is over $30.
  
  
• Eye education
  By ADJ2XYHZKSW6B on 2007-12-12
  This game takes alot of practice everyday to get good. I like challenging myself. The sport games are fun. If you want to improve your hand eye coordination this is the game for you.
  
  
• Variety!
  By A13700AF4X40YG on 2008-02-03
  This is only one of two pieces of software I've played so far on my new Nintendo DS Lite, but I'm totally hooked. The first was Brain Age and while I enjoy that, I think this has more variety. I'm not a gamer, so perhaps my descriptions will help those who are novices to Nintendo DS. It's been a while - my last game was an Atari.
  
  There are 10 "core training" exercises to test your various types of vision, which are varied and challenging. You get 10 attempts or segments to each of the 10 exercises. You start out at the slowest, (skill) Level 1. If you respond correctly, you will advance to the next Level, which increases the difficulty. If you respond incorrectly, it will often return you to the prior Level. Since there are 10 sections/attempts, the highest Level is 10. The first time you take each training exercise each day, the game records your results and then graphs them in subsequent days. While you can take do the exercise more than one time a day, it will only record your results the first time. When your final results reach a certain level, you will be offered a "Hard" version to go with the "Normal" level of difficulty to choose from for that exercise. "Normal" and "Hard" results are tallied separately for the first attempt at either level exercise each day. (Correction entered 3/22 - only one score is recorded each day - either Normal or Hard)
  
  Only a few training exercises are available initially. Every few days you play, you get another training exercise until they're all available.
  
  What makes the this game even more fun is the 7 types of "sports training" exercises. Like the core training exercises, the game records the results of your training exercise and graphs them in subsequent days. As with the core training exercises, you start out with just a few and an additional game is made available every few days. You're also given a "Hard" level version of each of the sports after you've mastered the most difficult level - or after you've "trained" with Flash Focus for a certain number of times.
  
  You are given the opportunity to take an Eye Age Check each day, which is recommended regularly. It's been interesting to see how my Eye Age changes, particularly that it seems to deteriorate when I'm tired. These start out at a much higher level than the training exercises and are pretty challenging - at least for me.
  
  Each day, you are given "Today's Training Recommendations", which consists of 4 games - either core or sports training - or a combination of each. Instead of having 10 segments for each exercise, you have 5 and the difficulty level is determined by the results of your last Eye Age Check. I've found this to be very challenging and difficult, as they start out far faster than the core and sports training exercises.
  
  What I've really enjoyed is the "Record Challenge" available under "Other" that becomes available after something like 15 days of playing. Instead of having a pre-determined length of each sports exercise game, you play until you make a mistake and then the game ends. The system records your top 3 results, so you're essentially competing against yourself.
  
  As another reviewer mentioned, the "canned" phrases and comments get a bit tiresome after a while, but that's a very minor issue.
  
  Overall, I've very much enjoyed both the fun of the sporting games and the challenges they and the core exercises present. I've found this to be quite addictive and it's been a great source of fun to keep me entertained during the winter. The best part is I don't have to feel guilty - I'm training!!
  
  
  
  
• Fun
  By A22MZDI0I3TKFS on 2007-12-08
  The game is fun, if you like Brain Academy and these types of games. My 7 year old son loves the sport games. It is a great visual training. I like to play those games on trips but even at home I play it now. Would buy it again.
  
  
• good for your brain and vision therapy
  By A16E7EISP6GA0L on 2007-12-21
  My husband is an optometrist who does vision therapy. These games are similar to some of the things he would have patients do to increase their focusing ability. These games are fun and on top of that will help with focus, reading comprehension and even hand eye coordination. Might as well improve yourself while having fun.
  
  
• Fun "Work"!
  By A24B2BOF36WMGC on 2008-01-01
  I purchased this game for my son. He is 10 and spent a year going to weekly "Vision Therapy" sessions at the eye doctor. ($$$$$) He LOVES this game and can't wait to do his daily practice sessions to improve his score. His sister (13) loves to use it as well.
  AS A PARENT ... this was a great investment! He likes to play it and rather than it being a mindless waist of time ... he is continuing to sharpen his vision skills doing many activities that are very similar to those that he practiced in his weekly therapy sessions. We could have saved thousands if this product had been around two years ago.
  
  
• Very challenging
  By A1243VLRTEH7FK on 2008-01-12
  I bought this "game" for my husband for Christmas and we have both been using it. It really isn't a game, but more of a training tool, similar to Brain Age, in that it is meant to test your eye age and help to improve it. It takes you through various different exercises, which get more challenging as you go. As you get better, more exercises are unlocked and added to your training. It is really quite interesting to be able to see how well you really focus and how much you improve as you use it. It's great for us older folk, but even my 10 year old grandson enjoys playing it when he is here. Even though kids would enjoy using it once in awhile, I wouldn't recommend getting it for a child because it is not a game.
  
  
• Love it!
  By A2126SW4XPQC4A on 2008-01-25
  As a senior citizen, I am concerned about retaining my "quick vision," memory, etc. Flas Focus is a fabulous tool in exercise for the eyes, and in my opinion, also helps in maintaining our alertness. I felt reluctant to get it as I thought of it as a "kid" game, but I did get it, and I really enjoy it. It is helping to improve my alertness. "If we don't use it, we lose it!"
  I will be buying more of these exercises, games, etc. for my Nintendo DS!
  
  
• flash focus
  By A1ZGG6J7H5TN0B on 2007-12-12
  I loved the game from the time that i loaded it. Great game for agility especially for those of us who are fighting the effects of aging.
  
  
• It's not easy!!! But I think the training pays off!!
  By A2K1H0ML6NZPB6 on 2007-12-17
  Yes, this is like a "Brain Age" for the eyes. That said, it is NOT easy albeit pretty darn accurate at least for this reviewer as it has my age right around the right neighboorhood (between 39 - 45 when my real age is 40).
  
  Nevertheless, a good workout and I do think it is effective in training the eyes to work a little faster. After having played this over a few months, I discover myself performing better on some of the minigames in both Brain Age (low to high) and Big Brain Academy (the number memorizing game under "memory").
  
  My only complaint (and this is only my opinoin): The new eye age check is based on the last eye age check. If a player did well on a previous eye check, the next eye check will add more difficulty. That difficulty may not necessarily be surpassed yet then the game will report that the player had results that "dropped dramatically" when the reason for the drop may be in the increased difficulty level and not necessarily in the skill. That can be misleading and can give a blow to a player's confidence level. It would be interesting to know statistically how the score is generated.
  
  Nevertheless, with both mundane activities as well as sports activities and explanations as to how certain skills may be beneficial in certain sporting events, the game is very well done. Stick with it and don't let the game get you down if you don't perform quite as well one time than another. There are multiple factors that tie in including a player's baseline fatigue, the lighting, the time of day, et cetera.
  
  
• fun, fun, fun
  By AD8E85CAIGH8C on 2007-12-27
  I am not a gamer by any means but when it comes to educational games, I'm for all the way. The kids have allowed me to participate with them and this is truly a fun game.
  
  
• This game really works!(?)
  By A3QVHPB8MUJ5QH on 2007-12-29
  I've had 20/20 vision all my life and still do, but have needed reading glasses since turning 40 (I'm 45 now). What a pain having to take them out to read things like dosing instructions or cooking directions on packaged foods. After three days of doing all the exercises in this game, I can read fairly small print without the glasses! What a wonderful game!
  
  
• Finally, A Game That's Good for Your Eyes!
  By A1AYYCXEMY84I7 on 2007-12-30
  Flash Focus is an outstanding game because the minigames are fun and it gives you an idea of how your eyes are doing. I'm not sure if the games really help your eyes, but it uses graphs to make it easy to determine the strengths and weaknessses of your vision. For example, my eye movement is superb, but my momentary vision isn't so good. The graghs also show how you have improved and how you've gotten worse. It also gives you an eye age check. If you're eye age is the same as your regular age, your vision is normal. If it's above your age, then you have a lot of room for improvement. If your eye age is lower, then your vision is good. The minigames are fun, quick, and pretty easy. The only bad part is that there aren't many minigames. If you play this game once a day for about 10 minute for 8 days, you'll be almost finished with the game. Anyone can play this game!! My sister (who HATES videogames) likes this game! The first day I got this game, I had 3 save files for 3 people!! Flash Focus is a great game for a great price!!!
  
  
• Excellent
  By AQ42NK454QD47 on 2008-01-03
  I just got this game from my boyfriend for Christmas because his friend got one for his girlfriend (and for himself too!) And this game is so much fun! It's rather like the Big Brain Academy type in that you're kind of solving puzzles but with less thought and more instinct.
  
  The graphics in the base training aren't anything to write home about but I was very surprised to see that the graphics during the sport training (i.e. boxing, baseball, etc.) were very well done and almost realistic looking!
  
  I just loved the eye cool down exercises, it is very relaxing after a 20-minute eye training workout.
  
  
• Great for all ages
  By A2P54540Y1FBSB on 2008-01-07
  I have enjoyed this "game" and would recommend it and when I took it to my son's house at Christmas. Our 9 year old grandson loved the sports feature and so did his 5 year old sister. She was so engrossed in hitting the pitched ball that she formed holes in the protective covering. By the end of our stay our grandson had surpassed my "eye age" in all games and I had to give him some money so he could buy his own even though he owns a Wii.
  
  
• Mediocre Passtime
  By AGFLLUGP36JBI on 2008-02-09
  I purchased Flash Focus about a month ago and have moderately enjoyed playing it. It seems very geared toward athletic types (of which I am not) and is definitely not the same as the other "exercise your mind" game that Nintendo has.
  I do enjoy playing it, not as much as Brain Age 1 & 2, but enough. I give it three stars only because as a non-sports person, I think it could have more activities that aren't so sports related.
  
  
• Fun, but gets monotonous
  By A1D0Z9S5EF71N5 on 2007-12-18
  It is a fun game, and it really does train your eyes to catch things--for a while anyway. Eventually though, you're going to stop playing because it starts to get a little repetitive day after day after day of the same activities. It was fun for a while though, and you can always pick it back up eventually.
  
  
• Focus
  By A2BVTJQBCPU6IH on 2007-12-27
  This "game" encourages you to "train" everyday with customized trainings based on your eye age. I gave this as a gift to a 60 something and she really appreciates these games that keep your brain sharp.
  
  
• Fun keeps coming...
  By A2MTR11NBZLV3M on 2008-01-03
  There are three games that I HAVE to play every day and that is: Brain Age, Brain Age 2, and of course... Flash Focus. This game is very challenging and gets extremely hard as you go through the levels and different activities! It is a really good way to pay attention to detail and train your eyes to look for certain things. I enjoy the sports games that the have... baseball, volleyball, basketball, ping-pong, etc, but all are fun. You get different activities every day based on your eye age check so it isn't as repetitive as some of the brain age games. Great game.
  
  
• Flash Focus
  By AF5L8S1V8T1QX on 2008-01-14
  Flash Focus is a fun mental challenge. I especially like the sports games and my eye age has improved in the couple of weeks I have been playing it.
  
  
• Purchased for my 79 yr old mother
  By AOEF99LXYQH5B on 2008-02-08
  On a whim - bought the Nintendo DS Lite for my parents - late 70's. When deciding on "games" for them - I came across Flash Focus and figured - 'why not'
  
  Dad is amused by it - but Mom does her vision 'exercises' every day. It really does work to help fine tune the various aspects of vision. Mom keeps a log of her work and progress and there has been a significant change after only two months.
  
  Highly recommend - not only enjoyable - but beneficial too.
  
  
  
• Fun game which improves your eyes!
  By A3DTS4462NMW0N on 2008-02-09
  I bought this game because I had tried it on a friends nintendo ds. Basically there are series of exercises in which you try to improve your vision. You do any 4 of these in one day and then can monitor your eye age as you progress. I really enjoy the sports games on this. I do feel like my visuals have improved after playing this. I would recommend to anyone who has played brain age or related games, this game is similar in idea. Its fun and you can play for about 10 minutes everyday which works well for me.
  
  
• good for moms!
  By ARBKYIVNYWK3C on 2008-03-15
  I gave this to my mom as a Christmas present with a DS. She liked it but found it a little frustrating at first. Sometimes my parents' friends come over and they play it and have a blast. They're in their 50's.
  
  
• Better than expected
  By AL2K5GSTRUIY on 2008-03-31
  If you can afford one game for Nintendo DS, this is okay.
  Not sure if it actually improves vision.
  There are NO scientific studies on the correlation of eye sight improvement with the use of this game. If you need eyeglasses or
  contacts due to poor vision, this game does not resolve your problem.
  It is suppose to help with making you feel younger.
  
  
  It does make you feel good about yourself if the machine says
  you are younger today than the last time you took the "test".
  
  
  While some games are difficult, It is a good way to kill time.
  If you want to kill 10 minutes to 30 minutes everyday, this is okay.
  If over 30 minutes, get another game.
  
  update September 2008
  To improve vision, close and rest your eyes for at least 2 minutes whenever you have a chance. Massage it afterwards.
  With your eyes closed, look to the extreme, and rotate your eye 10 times clockwise, then counterclockwise.
  
  This game is good for telling you what your health status is.
  
  Now I only use this game, the most, once a week.
  
  

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