Big Brain Academy for Wii, first play

filed under Gaming/PC by in5ane on July 27th, 2007 [blogs index]

Big Brain Academy: pretty much a poor man's Brain Training last time I played it on the DS. Sure, it's more colourful, fast paced, and has more mini tests, but overall just doesn't grab and keep your attention as well as Dr. Kawashima can. In fact, with More Braining Training out for the DS, the Wii's brain game could be overshadowed once again.

You start the game by enrolling the players you want at the academy. If you've got yourself Mii'ed up, this is pretty quick, although there's plenty of text you need to wade through from the game's brain character.

After enrolment, you proceed down the hall to take your first brain test. Just like the original, it's broken down into separate skills/areas, and a test takes about 5-6 minutes. You get marked on the separate areas, and are given your brain 'weight' (essentially meaningless) and an overall grade, which for me was C+ first time round.

The mini games/tests that make up the challenge are much shorter and 'wacky' than their Brain Training counterparts. They do a fine job of taxing your grey matter, but the style is lacking. Brain Training lets you draw pictures, recognises your handwriting and understands your voice. Big Brain Academy on the other hand, despite the innovative DS stylus and Wiimote, could be a series of simple Flash games controlled with your mouse. Brain Training's feedback does a much better job of highlighting your improvement over time as well.

With my fiancé enrolled and on the second Wiimote, we looked to the multiplayer games. I had high hopes, as this is the Nintendo 'Party Machine' Wii we're talking about here. Unfortunately, as far as we could see on our first play, there is only one option that involves multiple Wiimotes. While that one mode is fun, it's no competition to other Wii multiplayer titles. Other options rely on passing the Wiimote round, even if you have more turned on.

The best thing about Big Brain Academy on the Wii is the budget price, although that's not to say it's a bad game. The real problems are it's lacking of originality or innovation, and not being able to compete with the Brain Training series. However, I'd say Big Brain Academy is worth considering if you don't have a DS, or want to entice younger gamers to this genre.

more from in5ane

Testing new image uploads by in5ane on March 31st, 2008	Used Games are *not* Damaging by in5ane on January 18th, 2008
Google rankings slippage :( by in5ane on January 17th, 2008	Must. Stop. Buying. Stuff by in5ane on January 9th, 2008

Add your comment, no sign-up necessary!

[loading comment form]