Month Long Review - Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?

Publisher - Nintendo

Developer -Nintendo SDD

Format - Nintendo DS

The basic idea is every month I'll take a game like Brain Training, Cooking guide, French Coach and the likes and spend the whole month playing and reviewing it. For want of a better name I'll call these motivational games and I'd be glad to hear suggestions.

On the first of the month I'll set up the game, talk about it a little and set the parameters of what I'll play. For brain training I'll do the recommended amount of three exercises a day and also a sudoku.

At the end of the every week I'll take the brain age test and post a weekly round up and the last week of the month will be both a round up and a review.

There's two brain training games out and a multitude of similar games that have been out for ages. I'm trying to review these games a bit differently to stop the review being completely redundant, What I'm going to mainly be looking at is how the game fares in the long term, it doesn't seem like it but a month is fair chuck of time.

I hope to report on how easy Brain Training is to stick with and whether or not I feel better or rewarded by the game.

Upon starting a file you'll be prompted to do a quick test to calculate your brain age, if you choose the option that you are in a quiet place and can talk be prepared just in case the game struggles to understand your voice. It seems to be a common problem that the game can't recognise some people saying blue, and I am to be included in that party.

My first result clocks in at 20, and here lies the first problem. I got given the choice between failing completely because the game can't understand me or a task at which I'm pretty quick at. For the first reading it only asks you to do one kind of test, the one's I'll be doing at the end of the week use three tests so hopefully we'll see a different and more reliable result. I can only see my brain age going down hill from here though.

There's only three training modes on option at first. Calculations x20, calculations x100 and reading out loud. After doing one I'm rewarded with a stamp on the calender marking my progress and a new activity.

I'll keep this up and see you at the end of the week for an update.