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76 of 78 found the following review helpful:
Great Idea - Poor ImplementationDec 17, 2006
By Lisa Shea
"medieval swordfighting enthusiast"
Brain Boost Gamma Wave is a mind improving game specifically aimed at improving your memory. As I definitely want a better memory, I began playing right away.
I play Brain Age and Big Brain Academy. Both give you daily training, daily testing, and graphics that help you track your progress. Brain Boost takes a different attitude. They try to turn this into a "game" complete with a plot. There is a robot who lost his memory disc. You're wandering around a planet finding it. You have challenges to face in order to get it back.
To be honest, plots in games are usually silly - who really worried why Mario was stomping on mushrooms and enemies? But in this case it interferes with the gameplay. When you play these brain training games, you want to jump into them for 10 minutes, work on your tasks, and know how you did. Scenes with robots or inane dialogue don't really matter to anybody who bought this game and only mean you have to click through several pages to get to the game itself.
All of these game styles rely on a few "mini-games". In this one, you have five different memory games. In one, you're shown a face, then have to choose the match from four faces. Next, you're shown a number and have to choose it from four numbers. Third, you're shown a combination of colored dots then have to choose it from four colored dot combos. Fourth, you're shown a series of pictures (all at once on a board) and have to choose which one changes. Finally, you're shown a series of pictures (one at a time) and then are presented with a collection of images to say which one doesn't belong.
The challenges are in essence the exact same thing. It's just one of the training items, shown to you again.
Your training mode just shows you the 5 games, with the total score in each. Each game has 4 levels. There's no change over time, or any sense of "improvement" at all. You keep replaying a given level until you do 100% in it, then you go onto the harder version, which normally just means more items to remember.
The challenge mode has four "continents" (one for each level) and each has five challenges (i.e. one for each game type). You have to clear each game type on that level. All you are doing is re-playing the training.
I realize that brain games are about helping you build your mental skills through repetition, but the Brain Age games are SO well laid out, with their charts and tests, to help you see your progress, that it's a real step backwards to do this game where there is no progress at all.
Also, the games start to get really tedious after a few plays. Every one shows you something, then counts down three seconds, then makes you click. You have to do this 20 times. With the other titles available for brain training, the games are often "fun". It's entertaining to play them. Here, it really feels like homework. Oh look - more numbers to memorize. It looks like a phone number. Now wait three seconds ... and click on it.
I appreciate what they were trying to do here, and I will gladly buy every Memory Training game in the hope to improve my memory skills. But I really feel, with everything that is known about game design in modern times, that they could have done MUCH better. I could go to 20 different websites and get far better - and far more fun - memory training games for free. With only a little work they could have made this game 100% better, by adding in more interesting games and a tracking ability to show your progress. Maybe a future release will achieve that goal. Until then, I really don't see myself replaying this game, while there are other titles available on the market.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Poor Man's Brain AcademyJan 09, 2007
By Moxy Rap
"Gamer Girl"
Except I don't know that it is actually cheaper. Brain Age and Brain Academy are much better games with much more variety. The story that is offered up doesn't add anything to it. There are only four different types of challenges (remembering a sequence of pictures shown, counting how many bouncing balls, adding several numbers to find the sum, and finding the two identical pictures among a group of singles). While they are different than the challenges found in the other two games I mentioned, they lose their appeal. There are four levels of difficulty for each game. They could definitely have a better way to keep track of your progress and your improvement. I haven't tried the Gamma Wave version of Brain Boost, but it looks to be as simple and lackluster.
I'd skip this game and opt for the Brain Age and/or Brain Academy! I may have rated it three stars, but considering these games are available, it can't compete.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
If you are tired of Brain Age and Big Brain...Mar 17, 2007
By M. Staley If you are tired of Brain Age and Big Brain Academy, then you might find that thie will help fill your time a little bit too. Don't expect this to live up to both of those, but it is a cute little game, and I've gotten some fun out of it.
Basically, it's got five mini games (I never bothered playing with the story parts) to help boost your memory. I don't think it has boosted my memory, but it's a great distraction when I'm sitting in a waiting room bored out of my skull.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
maybe for kidsMar 25, 2007
By Kimberly L. Collings
"osukim"
I bought this game becasue I love brain age and was looking for more of the same. I didn't find it here. Maybe ok for kids, but not the same crowd as brain age. Games are too easy, too few, and too silly.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Brain Boost GamesMar 09, 2007
By C. Braswell
"Cori"
My granddaughter who is 8 found these games to not be as good as other "brain" games I have purchased for her.
based on 10 reviews
( 10 customer reviews )
