Majesco
brings DS gamers a double helping of brain games with the two Brain Boost games:
Gamma and Beta. Each game is specifically catered to exercise a particular brain
function, with Gamma working on how we memorize things.
Unfortunately, this means that all the game really boils down to is a series of
memory tests, which can be fun at first but quickly becomes boring. Brain Boost:
Gamma Wave is essentially an electronic flash card.
Starting a
single-player game (or Challenge Mode) introduces us to the Doctor, our hero
Mickey, and his robotic dog Dino. Mickey is sent on a journey when he and the
Doctor discover that Dino’s memory chip has been replaced with a rice cracker.
Mickey and Dino travel to planet Ronnoc to find the missing memory chip.
On this
planet live many creatures that, instead of eating children like Mickey, like to
test their memory with simple quizzes. Each monster encountered represents a
different difficulty level, and you are required to pass all five tests to get
by each monster. There are four difficulty levels in each test.
The five
tests include: Remember Colors, Remember Faces, Remember Circumstances, Remember
Numbers, and Remember Images. Each game starts by showing you an image, number,
or series of images for a brief moment. Depending on the level of difficulty,
these images or numbers can either be very simple or very complex. The initial
item to memorize then disappears and five seconds later you are faced with
multiple choices, all very similar to the original image. You must then pick the
original image out of all the presented choices.
The only
slightly different tests are Remember Images and Remember Circumstances. In
Remember Images, a series of images are flashed in front of you. Lower
difficulties only show a few images while the higher levels will show many. A
grid is then shown with all the images that were shown previously and one extra.
You must pick out the one extra that wasn’t shown before. In Remember
Circumstance, the player is shown a grid of pictures. The grid is then hidden
and revealed with one altered image. The player must pick out which image was
altered.
The only
other mode besides Challenge is Training Mode. Training pretty much is
Challenge, just without the cute cutscenes. In Training you can select exactly
what test you want to try and on what difficulty.
Each test
consists of 20 problems, and players pass the tests by answering a certain
number of questions correctly out of the 20. No matter what, when you start a
test you must do all 20 questions. Brain Boost doesn’t even allow you to pause
the game, so starting a test becomes a commitment. There are no quick game modes
or little time-wasters.
Brain Boost:
Gamma Wave has very little variety, and what is there isn’t very fun anyway.
After a very short time it starts to feel like a test. Brain Boost Gamma seems
more like a tool to improve memory and less like a video game.
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Gameplay: 4.0
It’s pretty fun
at first, but the novelty wears off quickly. Once you realize there are only
five total tests in Brain Boost: Gamma Wave, and only four levels of each,
you’ll become bored very quickly.
Graphics: 6.3
Each test has
template that relates to the style of test it is. For example, Remember Numbers
takes place on a desk with a pencil and a notepad. The story sequences are also
fairly entertaining.
Sound: 6.0
There isn’t much
to the soundtrack. It doesn’t add or detract from the game; it’s just your
typical jolly tunes.
Difficulty: Easy-Hard
The difficulty
depends on your memory. There’s really no way to “lose” in this game since
it’s designed to exercise your memory.
Concept: 3.5
I guess these
“exercise your brain” style games are pretty popular right now, but this isn’t
even really a game. I wouldn’t even have a problem with that if there was more
to do, but five different tests just isn’t enough.
Overall: 4.3
While Brain
Boost: Gamma Wave might train you to have a better memory, it won’t help you
have fun doing so. It didn’t take me long to feel like I was back in school
taking standardized tests. It’s not that I don’t like educational games, I just
like games and this was not a game. If you feel you need to improve your memory
and want your DS to aid you in that quest, this title is perfect. If you’re
looking for a fun game to stretch your mind, this isn’t it.
