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The first time I picked up Big Brain Academy and played it, I didn't put it down for at least three hours. It all started with the test, and my brain weighing an interesting 1010 grams. My evaluation stated (in not so harsh words) that I sucked at thinking, was doing exceptionally at memorizing, and not so bad analyzing, identifying and computing. What does all this mean? Keep on reading and find out. Big Brain Academy falls under the educational type of games. A bit like Brain Age, this Touch Generations title lets you exercise your brain to improve your overall mental performance. What sets it apart of Brain Age is that its mini-games are more varied, offering a variety of colors and shapes, and they're a lot more entertaining to do. The activities in Big Brain Academy will test your brain in five specific areas: thinking, memorizing, computing, analyzing and identifying. You begin by doing the initial test to see how your brain fares in these areas. Doctor Lobe, your strange little host, will then tell you how much your brain weighs, what career type or historic personality you correspond to, as well as giving you a grade on a scale of F to A+. You then move on to the Practice tests to improve your abilities. Results are calculated by the amount of questions you answer within a time limit, and how many correct answers you give. In Practice exercises, you are given medals (Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze) according to your results. Doctor Lobe also makes you go over the wrong questions at the end until you get the right answers. The game has a total of 15 activities, three for each category of "brain testing", and three levels of difficulty for each. In the Think area, you have: - Heavyweight, where you guess which object is heavier by looking at a series of scales; - Pathfinder, where you must draw a single line that will make the top animal find the bottom one; - Bone Yard, which I find particularly complicated, involves placing a bone on the square the dog will eventually move to on the grid. In the Memorize area (my personal favorite), you can find: - Sound Bites, a memory game to play the sounds in the order you hear them; - Memo-Random where you look at the top row and then find the respective panel when one is covered; - Flash Memory, where a series of numbers and symbols appear on the top screen and you have to repeat them on the bottom screen.Read full review
Big Brain Academy is the kind of game that test your basic knowledge,the sharpness of your mind,and many other things.The game is not complicated at all,and features a good but small variety of activities to ease your boredom. I purchased the game yesterday for under $20,which is an incredibly deal for a game like B.B.A.What I enjoy about the game is how it does help improve your mind's reflexes and the quickness of your mind.There is a good amount of activities to keep you entertained for long,including matching and guessing amounts,etc. One of the major flaws is the small amount of activities.Mind you,there isn't an extremely miniscule amount of things to do(15 total),but after playing over and over,you do become a bit bored. Because of that,this isn't the kind of game you can pick up everyday expecting a fresh experience.You can expect however a different kind of gaming experience that makes it worthwhile. I recommend this game to anyone willing to try something new.It's easy to pick up,and never gets too complicated. How big is your brain?Read full review
I bought this game because I really like Brain Age. Truth be told, I still like the Brain Age games better. Brain Academy is more for the "teeny-boppers"! If the graphics can be considered minimalist, the sounds are non-existent. Other than a few short riffs inspired by Mario sound cues, the game is silent, save for the rapid ticking of a clock in the background. If you’ve already got Brain Age, does Big Brain Academy have enough of an identity to justify another purchase? Surprisingly, the game actually is distinct from Dr. Kawashima’s game, despite the presence of “brain” in both titles. The basis of Dr. Lobe’s academy is brain weight. If you’re smarter, naturally, your brain will weigh more, because of all the work it’s doing. Clearly, this theory has no basis in real life, but is just an arbitrary way to judge your game score and how well you are progressing. Taking the Test is recommended first, since it shows what your total brain score might be. Dr. Lobe tallies the results of five different phases of brain activity, then assigns you an ideal occupation based upon the total and individual scores of the phases. Once Dr. Lobe hands out a letter grade, the Practice area can be assessed, in which each of the specific reasoning areas can be accessed. Each kind of thinking -- Identification, Calculation, Memorization, etc. -- has three different sub games, only one of which will randomly appear on the Test. Practice mode can be played for high score as well. Each game has three difficulty levels, with activities ranging from calculating written math problems to counting the number of cubes on-screen to deciding which animal or object weighs more, given a set of pre-determined scales and weights. Each game is timed, and the object is to correctly answer as many questions within the time limit. The results will be tallied after time has expired, and Dr. Lobe will award a medal depending on the performance: Beautiful Gold, So-So Silver or Shameful Bronze. Ideally, becoming familiar with the games in Practice mode will better equip players to take the Test, which will result in higher scores, letter grades and possibly a different occupational choice. It would be easy to dismiss Big Brain Academy as simply another brain game and move on; but the truth is, it is unique enough to distinguish itself from Brain Age. Unlike the latter title, Big Brain Academy is clearly less results-focused and more about having fun, rather than a daily exercise. It easily positions itself as a possible companion for the other title, as both offer different experiences. For experienced, hardcore gamers choosing between the two, Big Brain Academy is likely the better choice. The swift, frantic pace of the timed games has an almost WarioWare-like ambience about them, and the immediacy of going for a high score will seem more familiar than the play-every-day that Brain Age requires. The truth is, Big Brain Academy offers little depth, and almost no immersion, because the gameplay is so start-and-stop. But Big Brain Academy succeeds because of its simplicity and accessibility. This is a game that literally anyone can play, and it provides short bursts of fun regardless of prior gaming experience. And, who knows? It might even make you smarter.Read full review
7.0 Presentation That happy sugary environment, while not totally offensive, is a huge contrast from Brain Age's clean-and-quiet. Completely different products, sure...but let's find the middle of the road. 5.5 Graphics Simple cartoony appearance with a unique art style, but nothing that'll make you say, "Wow, this is beautiful." Cuz it isn't. 6.5 Sound The tunes match the visual style, but some audio can get a little blaring for a game intending to appeal to the non-gamer. 8.5 Gameplay Love the collection of brain challenges, with a good difficulty curve between the three different levels. Multiplayer is an awesome diversion that's handled well. 8.0 Lasting Appeal Everything the game offers is right here to play -- not much on the unlockables front, but the single and multiplayer experiences offer well more than enough for the 20 dollar investment. 8.1 Impressive OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)Read full review
WOW - even for an 11-year old, I really enjoyed it! :-) I gotta say: I really enjoyed it, but if you’re not an IQ-game person, this is not for you. This game tests your knowledge in FIVE areas: thinking, memorizing, analyzing, computing, & identifying ... in THREE classes: practice, test, & versus. After taking the tests, "Dr. Lobe" (the quirky principal of the academy), will suggest what practice you should take, weighs your brain, and tells you "whose type" of brain you have. You can also download a demo to a person who does NOT have Big Brain Academy. the_pokeson
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