Brain-bending good times!!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Quick to learn, challenge to master

Cons: The MC talks too much; multi-player games often allow only 1 remote

The Bottom Line: 
Lots of fun, and great for the competitive personality!

Author's Review
After seeing this game advertised on tv, I decided I simply MUST have it! Having purchased our Wii system only 1 week prior to buying this game, we were still fairly new to the Wii in the first place, but this game was definitely worth getting!

Setting up your characters is a breeze if you've already made your Mii characters, and the little goofy-looking MC talks you through each step of the set-up.

On to playing... er, testing/practicing. There are 5 brain challenges to conquer- computing, memorization, analysis, identifying, and visualization. There are 3 "games" that test your abilities in each of the 5 categories. When you have completed the 15 tasks, the game measures your strengths and weaknesses to give you your "brain shape". In the testing mode, the tasks become more difficult if you are particularly skilled (for example, if you are quick and correct at the memorization tasks, they increase in their difficulty). This will help make your brain "bigger", by the game's definition. At the end of your "test", the MC breaks down how well (or poorly) you did in each of the areas. This is mildly frustrating because it seems that the little bugger never shuts up! Plus he likes to pick on you, too. One of the recommendations that is repeated ad nauseum is to "pick up the pace". Mind you, I am VERY quick, so every time that little snot tells me to speed up I just want to pop him.

When you're sick of being chastised, you can also go to the practice mode, and build your skills while earning "medals" for your accomplishments. If you master the 3 skill levels with gold medals, an expert level is added. The MC still talks too much.

This game also offers an opportunity to play against other people. There are 3 competition-style games that you can play, but only one of them allows you to use two individual remotes (wii-motes), forcing you to continually pass one remote back and forth between players. On the plus side, in competition mode, there are challenges that are NOT in the testing or practice areas, so it adds a little bit more "spice" to break up some of the monotony of playing only those 15 games.

This game could also be great for helping kids master basic mathematic skills. I personally believe that over time, constant playing of this game may help develop skills in areas that you are weak... for instance, a little bit of "training" in the spatial recognition has helped me develop my observational skills. With more practice, I would imagine that these skills could be honed even more.

Overall, this game is well suited for just about everyone, and is a challenge for all. If you don't believe this game offers any challenge, go test for the Triple Nine Society (and if you don't know what that is, you're never going to get in).