There is a
recurring trend in gaming that seems almost to the point of overkill – that’s
the genre of games that are supposedly geared for training the mind, or
sharpening it. There was a popular series of books that carried the theme of
whatever-it-is “for Dummies.” The idea being that anyone can do it.
Now combine the
two ideas and you have Brain Training for Dummies, a PC title from EA. The game
has some good moments, but then it has some areas where instead of feeling like
you have achieved the task, you quickly realize that the game wants you to do it
a certain way. But more on that in a moment.
Let’s get some
of the cursory stuff out of the way. Graphics? Minimal, but serviceable. Sound?
Err, what sound? There is some there, but not much. There are load times and
each game is preceded by instructions. There are 15 total games that tackle
diverse material such as language skills, memory, math and such. This is
standard fare in some ways. But for those who want to know, the games are:
Equation Quest (logic and math), Memory Math (math and memory), Speedy Spelling
(language and reflexes), Formula Phrases (language and math – you get a math
formula and have to select the correct answer from a grid), Word Wend (language
and logic – jumbled mass of letter, make as many words as possible in the time
limit), Reason Recall (logic and memory – memories a grid of objects and then
answer questions about them), Speedy Shapes (reflexes and spatial – you have to
memorize a shape and then compare it to other shapes), Reading Recall (language
and memory – a grid of works that is subsequently hidden and you have to answer
questions by clicking where the right answer is found), Lightning Links (logic
and reflexes – sort of a matching game where you have to match the object given
with others than tumble down the screen), Rapid Recall (memory and reflexes –
memorize locations and then, after a shuffle, choose the cards that appear in
the same spot), Quick Compute (math and reflexes – complete an equation with
numbers that fall down the screen), Math Matrix (spatial and math – completely
equations in a series of grids), Crossword Chaos (language and spatial – create
sets of words by rotating banks of letters inside a grid), Lost Locations
(memory and spatial – memorize a shape then compare it to other shapes), and
Shape Sense (logic and spatial – use pieces to fill in a shape’s outline).
There does seem
to be similarities in some of the concepts but generally they approach each idea
just differently enough to make it feel like you are not locked into a
repetitious cycle.
There are also
four ways to play – Brain Gauge (focus on six areas and work skills in those
areas to make the gauge glow), Full Circuit (randomly takes you through all the
games offered), Mini Circuit (gives you six games to play), and Skill Circuit
(focus on a specific area).
Got all that?
The problem
occurs in games in Crossword Chaos. The game asks you to complete four words
inside the 4×4 (4 letters across by 4 letters down) grid. You have letters that
are in certain patterns and you can rotate those patterns, using the letter
strings to create the word. On more than one occasion, there were four distinct
and real words showing, but the timer continued to run. Letters were rotated and
the game seemed to want four very specific words. The game should have stated in
the beginning to not just find four words, but find “these four words.”
Still the game
had broad appeal; the youngest in the house (who is 12) seemed to enjoy it the
most. And the game does ramp up the difficulty to create more challenging
scenarios as you work through it. And the games do seem to follow a nice outline
that give a cohesiveness to the package offered.
Brain Training
for Dummies is certainly not going to change you from Charlie (A Flowers for
Algernon reference) into Einstein, but it will give you something to exercise
the brain with. It’s not a revolutionary game, but it does a decent job.
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Gameplay: 6.0
Load times,
point-and-click, and some linear gameplay elements are the hallmarks of this
game. Some of the fun seems to be missing while supposedly sharpening the mind.
Graphics: 5.5
This is the kind of
game that will play on most machines.
Sound: 4.5
What sound there is
isn’t much.
Difficulty: Easy/Med
Concept: 6.8
A nice assortment of
games, but they tend to drag a bit and there is little room for creative
answers.
Overall: 6.0
A decent array of
games, but some linear elements that can rob the creativity and fun. The idea is
to stretch the mind, not pigeonhole it into doing things one way. Still the game
will work on most PCs and laptops and provide a few challenges.
