Class is in Session (No gum chewing)

Author's Rating:

Pros: +easy to pick up and play +may prevent alzheimers +addicting and fun +simple

Cons: -needs more mini-games -Dr.Lobe only has one arm -you may grow bored of it

The Bottom Line: 
If you're looking for a simple game to pick up and play, then I highly suggest this one. It's a perfect way to dust of that brain.

Author's Review
Welcome to Big Brain Academy

Shortly after the purchase of my Nintendo DS lite I needed to find another game for it, because Trauma Center:Under Knife wasn't cutting it for me (no pun intended). So I said to myself,"what better way to heighten my intellectual learning abilities than by picking up a copy of Big Brain Academy", or I must of said,"I want that game". If I can recall it was no tax day and did the smart thing and purchased it at a consumer friendly price of exactly $19.99 and by golly it was worth it.

First time on Campus

Awhile ago videogames mixed with education would be an atrocious formula, but Big Brain Academy got the formula right. The simplicity of this game is perfect for all ages, young or old. It only takes a few minutes to pick up this bad boy and start topping your high scores. Big Brain Academy is also one of the few videogames that helps prevent alzheimer's disease (memory lost) because it works various parts of your brain to keep it stimulated and fresh. Dr.Lobe your professor at Big Brain Academy will work with you to improve your thinking, memorizing, identifying, analysis and computing skills.

Philosophy

In the "think" catagory the mini-games are made up of the games "Heaviest", "Path Finder" and "Boneyard." In Heaviest a scale is presented and a decision must be made on which object is heavier by showing you a scale or multiple scales. In "Path Finder you must draw one line on the touch screen connecting paths and creating a bridge for an animal to reach it's desired destination. In "Boneyard" a dog must find it's bone and by following the arrow sequences of either the dog of bricks, a prediction of the dogs location must be concluded.

US History 101

In the "memorize" category the mini-games are "sound bites", "flash memory" and "memo-random." In "sound bites", a series of tunes are played out by humans, insturments, vehicles and pets and you must memorize the order of the sounds you've heard. In "flash memory", numbers appear for a brief moment them you must punch in the digits. In "memo-random", various images are shown to be memorized, then some images dissapear and you need to pick which image was the missing one.

Micro Economics

In the "analyze" category the mini-games are "missing links", "cube games" and "animal lines." In "missing link", a game of connect-the-dot is played to complete the unfinshed pictures. In "cube game" 3-D blocks are counted. In "animal lines" a cross-word puzzle is played using goofy animals instead of words and letters.

Intro to Statistics

In the computing category the mini-games are "coin-parison", "add agency" and "written math". In "coin-parison" two sides with coins are shown and you must determine which side has more value. In "add agency" a number of objects are shown and two cards are to be picked must be numerically equal to the top picture shown. In "written math", you'll find yourself reading basic equations (written out in words, not numbers) and actually solving them.

Forensic Anthropology

In the "identify" category the mini-games are "shadow shift", "get into shape" and "matchmaker." In "shadow shift" you 'll touch the image that matches the shadow. In "get into shape" you have to tap the right pieces to make a shape. In "matchmaker", several cards are shown and you'll have to find matches among the many cards.

Extra Curriculum Activities

This game does offer some competitive multi-player. Only one copy of Big Brain Academy is needed, so their is game sharing, which is extremely convenient because I don't remember how many times I have had my psp and the same game as someone else did, but not with me. The game also has a demo of the same game which is odd, but then I realized it was for other DS owners to temporarily download to sample.

Music Theory 1A

The music in this game is quirky and sounds fun. It mostly contains beeps and bloops. When solving a problem right you'll hear a rewarding "ding" and when it's wrong it's the usually sound from any game show where an answer is wrong. During gameplay the music is very quite, allowing complete concentration. It sounds like the sonar noises a submarine makes. At the end of a session happy upbeat music plays and it gives you the feeling of finishing a hard finals at school and relaxing over it. The intro music starts with bells and a fun theme song. It strongly resembles the music from the Animal Crossing games. If you listen to the intro song long enough, it seriously think K.K. Slider(a musician from Animal Crossing) is singing in the intro theme.

Intro to Art

The graphics aren't going to "blow you away". It's very basic with 2-D pictures of stubby animals, vehicles, objects and people. It has a very cartoon like. This is good because it isn't boring and doesn't cause eye strain as you stare into the screen trying to top your high score. The graphics are abit plain, but it does have personality.

Graduation

I highly recommend this game for anyone. Old or young this game is addicting for any ages, as long as they know basic arithmetic for the computing section. This is a good game to pull out and play without the worry of saving, running out of ammo or loading screens. Big Brain is also a good conversation starter. It's always fun to see who has the biggest brain of the bunch. Some games like Dance Dance Revolution works out your body, but most people forget to exercise the most important part of the body, the brain. Well, it's been fun staying at the Big Brain Academy, now get out there and pursue your career.