Big Brain Academy [DS]

Just when you thought it was safe to stop thinking so much during your next gaming session, Nintendo's released a new game in its line of cerebral puzzlers. Big Brain Academy is a pseudo-successor to Brain Age, a title which featured a Japanese doctor's floating head telling you that you're doing a good job at stimulating your pre-frontal cortex. It was an entertaining, albeit repetitive set of minigames, and although the same can pretty much be said for Nintendo's latest entry, they've spruced it up with more color, better activities, and a decent multiplayer option.

The premise behind Big Brain Academy is that the heavier your brain is, the smarter you are. It's possible there's some truth to this, but it dawned on us that investigating any deeper than a quick Wikipedia search frankly goes above and beyond the objective of this review. All that really matters is your skill gets measured in grams instead of points. We can handle that.

The only substantial solo gameplay mode in this title is "Test," which randomly polls you with one activity in each of the five categories: Think, Memorize, Analyze, Compute, and Identify. It then cumulates your score in each area, gives your overall brain weight, and jokingly suggests a profession for which you're smart enough. (Apparently, museum curators are smarter than lawyers.) Then you can start the process again.

Missing from the title is one of Brain Age's better features, which was a daily "brain exercise" regime that tracked your increasing (or decreasing) skill. Conversely, Big Brain features a much more fleshed out multiplayer mode in which eight players can compete with only the single DS card. This mode sees players simultaneously solving the same puzzles while always competing for the fastest time; the first to a non-customizable target brain weight wins.

Each exercise runs for 60 seconds and presents challenges that get progressively harder. "Memorize" flashes up numbers, sounds, or images and has you tap back what you saw/heard. "Compute" is typically some form of math exercise, where you calculate written sums or add up sets of coins and choose which has the higher value. One of the "Analyze" games has you counting blocks, which is more complicated than it sounds, because you have to deduce how many blocks are hidden behind others.

This will all sound familiar to Brain Age players, with the only real difference being the wider variety of tasks and the much warmer aesthetic. The presentation is no longer stark and monochromatic; instead, the design is a soothing and very child-friendly collection of pastel colors and animated pictures. But it's not too cutesy to alienate most adults, especially adults used to Nintendo fare.

Big Brain Academy's biggest problem is its limited quantity of activities. Yes, we get that it's part of Nintendo's new "Touch Generations" line, and that it's only $20, and it's meant to be a quick diversion...but even the casual audience that's being targeted is going to get bored after a few days. You'll strive to improve your rating, then generally hit a ceiling and play less frequently. At least the multiplayer gives it some legs. Most folks will enjoy enrolling in Big Brain Academy, but they probably won't stick with it long enough to graduate.