Video game review: Mega Brain Boost
From Friday’s The Oklahoman:
By Matthew Price
Acting Assistant Entertainment Editor
THE NEXT LEVEL
“Mega Brain Boost” is a brain-training game along the lines of the popular “Brain Age.” The game has 15 different minigames aimed at building the gamer’s concentration, judgment and memory. The goal of “Mega Brain Boost” is to stimulate the right side of the brain, and after each minigame, the game will report how developed the right side of the gamer’s brain is (up to 100 percent). The idea is these games train your brain via the Shichida Method – the theory of right-brain development promoted by Makoto Shichida of the Shichida Educational Institute.
There’s a training mode as well as a multiplayer mode for each of the 15 minigames.
Ten of the 15 minigames were previously released by Majesco under the titles “Brain Boost Gamma Wave” (memory) and “Brain Boost Beta Wave” (concentration).
The graphics and sound are both sub par – there’s only one tune in “Mega Brain Boost,” and you’ll hear it through each and every minigame. The graphics are largely a black-and-white affair that wouldn’t have taxed the Commodore 64. There are some occasional splashes of color, but a graphics masterpiece this isn’t.
As you proceed through the game, the professor character running the show will spout off some poorly-translated phrases of encouragement. Generally, you’ll look up to read “Well, well, you must give it a try!!!” and miss whatever you were supposed to be looking at on the bottom screen. Even the games that do seem to be helpful as far as brain-testing don’t end up being that much fun.
In addition, “Mega Brain Boost” doesn’t chart your progress day to day like “Brain Age,” lessening the replay value even further.
“Mega Brain Boost” doesn’t come close to living up to the more innovative brain-training games for the Nintendo DS including “Big Brain Academy” or “Brain Age.” However, at just $19.99, it may be acceptable for a few of those who enjoy this type of game and have played through the better ones. The game is rated E for everyone.
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I guess it’s not a bad thing that so many of these type games are being released, it gives us more of a choice as consumers. However, I would like to see more games that rival the ‘Brain Age’ franchise rather than cheap copies such as this one. Good review.