19.8.2010

This is one of those train your brain type games, and it was originally a DS brain training release which has been improve (in my opinion) for the Wii. The overall objective of the game appears to be to increase speed of thought, comprehension of recognition, puzzles and calculations, as well as reflexes and coordination.First you have to enrol in the office of Professor Wormy's Academy (I don't know his name but it's the best description of him I can come up with). You use your own mini-Mii as your representative character and you can create separate ones for guests.Games are put into five main groups: Analyse, Compute, Identify, Memorise and Visualise; three games per group.Analyse - match blast,speed sorting and block spot;Compute - balloon burst, mallet maths, and colour count;Identify - whack match, fast focus and species spotlight;Memorise - covered cages, face case and reversed retention;Visualise - art parts, train turn and odd one out.Levels start at Easy, Medium and Hard, however, if you score a gold medal or above at hard you unlock the expert level.Medals are awarded Bronze (100-199 points), Silver (200-299), Gold (300-399) and a special platinum for (400+). This is the way that they keep you playing when you are alone - if you are competitive (or self achieving) then you will want, or should that be need, to get that higher score, that better medal.Scores are calculated using a combination of accuracy and speed.Once enrolled you have the choice of SOLO or GROUP activities.SOLO ACTIVITIESThis is where you get to Practice the different games and take the Test to see how you are doing overall.Within the practice area you are (initially) allowed to select any game within the five groups at any level except expert.When you use the test facility you will be given a random selection of 10 activities for each of the five practice groups (total of 50 puzzles). These activities will get harder the more accurate you become so that it pushes your thinking process, rather than just leave you with a very basic and easy selection. However, if you start getting the answers wrong the system will recognise this and will reduce the difficulty level for the next one of that sort. So, for example, if you got a balloon burst question wrong at medium level the next balloon burst question to appear would be at easy level.If you are using the system as a family or as a party game with friends you can compare your results with those for other people. This is not always advisable as it can cause upset if someone thinks they are being singled out for humiliation.Average brain score is give as around the 1400g mark though it does point out that the beginner tends to score around the 750g mark. From the "brain weight" it then gives you a grade (for example B- or A+). The annoying squeaking worm then gives you a mini breakdown of where you did well and where you need to practice more - unfortunately it is extremely tempting to just keep pressing the "A" button to try to by-pass the worm.Your score will also be converted into a "job" type. More often then not it is difficult to understand how they reach the conclusion they have, for example, a B-- is given as a doctor or Leonardo da Vinci, whereas an A minus is given as a menial worker.There is also a breakdown of the scores from the test next to the "office door" on the "student scores" notice board. I have to admit I found this far more helpful than the worm's breakdown of the scores.GROUP ACTIVITIESThis is the area of the greatest fun, where you play against your own previous record, friends in the room with you at the time, or imported scores.There are three areas to play in: Mind Sprint, Mental Marathon and Brain Quiz.Mind Sprint - allows you to play against up to 4 pre-existing records, or to race against up to 4 players in the room with you at the time. You can choose either a specific category or a mixed selection and a choice of either 12, 16, 20 or 24 questions. The game requires that you try and beat the opposition to the end of the series of questions as quickly as you can with accuracy. If you get a question wrong a replacement question will be set and you will have to answer that before you can move on.Mental Marathon - try and get as many questions as you can correct in sequence, one wrong answer breaks the chain and stops the game. This is made harder as the entire competition is against the clock, you start with 10 seconds on the clock and each correct answer adds a few seconds to the clock. The game is a little unfair, however, as the more answers you get right the faster the clock ticks down until you are fighting a losing battle were no matter how fast you are with the answer you will not regain the time it took for the puzzle to appear.Brain quiz - you are presented with a board of 12 puzzle types in a 3 x 4 rectangle. The puzzles which appear within the squares are randomly selected by the Wii game and the levels at which you must contest them are not shown until after they have been selected.When playing in a group you must try and get to your favourites before somebody else does because once a square has been selected it is then removed from the game completely. If you are playing alone you can pick them off in the order that you want and then answer the questions within the square in the given time provided. Once again if you get the question wrong that section of the quiz comes to an end and the next square must be selected.There are new games within this section that do not appear anywhere else within the Big Brain Academy such as the directionality and angle game "true view", the restaurants orders game or the card order game.The creators have put in a nagging female voice when playing the Brain Quiz that starts repeating the same three lines over and over again in quick succession. So if you pause for a drink or you are having a laugh at your previous results it can be extremely irksome; and I have to wonder is it really necessary, when playing the brain quiz alone, to repeatedly have to click okay on a main screen in order to access the board after every puzzle group.The wormy professor can be extremely annoying. He has a truly irritating series of squeaky meep noises, which are supposed to represent his voice, and you can't just skip passed him.There is also a voice from the Wii remote which is supposed to be a supportive coach for the player, but can be extremely off-putting when you are going for the record number of points and it suddenly shouts "go for the record" or "great speed" or something similar, and you find your concentration has been punctured and your rhythm has disappeared completely.As well as the multi player option you can play over the Wii-net link with friends and family by swapping records with them..As a brain training game it's not too bad, but its greatness lies in its multiplayer party mode, and when added to the likes of

7.10.2011

The game is set within a "college", where your proffessor is keen to train you to be a genius. There are several categories: Identify, Visualise, Memorise, Analyse and Compute, with three games within each category. To begin with, you train at the games and practice at improving your score. It isn't just about getting questions right. The game also times your responses to the questions, and that affects your score too. If you do well in a task, the game awards you a medal, and these are stored in your record book so you can keep an eye on your progress.When you feel you are sufficiently competent at each game, you can take a test, which incorporates all the puzzles you have practiced.At the end of the test, you are given a grade, a "brain weight" and a graph, that shows your strengths and weaknesses in each category, so you know what games to practice to improve further. You can retake the test at any time to see if you have improved your score and grade.The games are as follows:1: IdentifyWhack Match: Similar to the old whack a mole game, the game pops up different pictures very quickly, which you have to match with the target pictures.Fast Focus: A scrambled picture appears. You have to work out what it is as quickly as possible, as it unscrambles, from a multiple choice list provided.Species Spotlight: The screen is black apart from a circle of "light" that you can move around the screen. You have to work out which animal appears most on the screen.2: MemoriseCovered Cages: A bit like the old cup and ball game. You see two birds in cages and an empty cage. The cages are covered, and mixed up, you need to work out where the birds are.Face Case: One or two impossibly ugly children pop up briefly on screen. You need to identify them from the multiple choice list provided, a bit like an identity parade!Reverse Retention: Three or more images flash up in sequence. Remember the sequence backwards.3: AnalyseMatch Blast: A target shape appears on the left of the screen. You need to blast away pices of the shape on the right so that it matches the target shape.Speed Sorting: You are given four pictures and have to click on the ones that match the criteria given on screen.Block Spot: A shape made of blocks appears at the top of the screen. Four similar shapes are at the bottom of the screen. Click the one that matches the top one.4: ComputeBalloon Burst: You see balloons with numbers on them. Click the balloons in numerical order. Beware, some numbers are negative,and some are fractions!Mallet Math: You see a tower, comprising of blocks with different number values. You are given a target number. Knock out the numbers in order that the tower adds up to the target number.Colour Count: Several balls bounce into a basket, some red, some blue. Work out which is greater.5: VisualiseArt Parts: Like putting a jigsaw together. Copy the picture on the top, although sometimes your picture is inverted.Train Turn: A train is coming down the track.You need to lay down the correct pieces of track for it to complete its journey.Odd One Out: Four pictures, one is the odd one out. Can you spot it?The games are fun, and the varying difficulty levels mean they remain challenging. The game also has three multiplayer games, so you can challenge friends:Mind Sprint: Two teams race to answer a set number of questions. First to answer all the questions is the winner.Mental Marathon: Try to keep a perfect winning streak as long as possible. The game stops when you get a question wrong.Brain Quiz: A gameshow syle game, which pits players against one another at a chosen task. You pick a box containing a puzzle you think you will be good at, but you don't know the difficulty level. the player with most points at the end wins.Big Brain Academy is a really fun game, and really gets your brain working. It is great fun to play alone, or with friends, and of course, if you win, you can be quite smug about it! The music drives you a bit bonkers when you are trying to concentrate, but the graphics are cute and colourful, incorporating the Mii avatars, so you can play as yourself during the game.

19.1.2008

There are several parts to this game. There is a "test" covering 5 areas of mental agility: identification, memory, analytical ability, computational ability and visualisation. Each area has three games such as identifying a fragmented picture, recognising faces, choosing the correct rotating shape, deciding whether more red or blue balls have gone into a basket, choosing the odd picture out. Each game has 4 levels of difficulty from easy through to expert, giving you a reasonable variety of play. To sit the test you go through all the games and get an overall score in "brain weight" and a grade at the end. There is also a practice section which allows you to choose to play games individually at your desired level and earn medals (bronze,

29.11.2010

I originally had this game a long time but then chose to buy this for my niece's fourth birthday, after every time I saw her all I would get is 'can we play brain wii' so I bought it for her. Naturally she needs help moving the control, but she loves it, and she's four!!! My step mum has played a bit too and she likes it (she's in her late thirties) so I can only conclude this is an excellent game for all the family!!! There is plenty of 'things' to do so to speak, from marathon to see what the biggest score you can get in the time allotted, from taking a test, from taking a quiz or even practicing different challenges (for example Compute, Balloon Burst) to earn medals!!!

10.11.2020

I used to play this game about 13 years ago when the wii and this first became popular to the mass market. I loved it then and I love it now! I recently got myself a reconditioned wii console and had to add this to my collection of games. I quickly picked up the hang of it again, but oh dear, was my brain so much slower and inaccurate.Recent science has debunked the notion that playing these games will improve our brain and IQ. What I have found, though, is my attention has increased and my memory functions a bit better since starting to play this again. I get faster and thus move up through the medals (which is motivating).It might not be scientifically improving my brain function or IQ,

21.11.2011

This is a varied game that offers plenty of gameplay and entertainment value.There are 15 games that can be played in various modes - alone; in pairs; in teams - and that you can earn medals (bronze, silver, gold, platinum) for. Each of these games has three levels - easy; medium; hard - and you can unlock expert mode if you get gold medals on the three standard levels.There are other games available only in the team modes, which can be played with up to 10 people.The brain training covers five areas to activate and test different parts of your brain - analyse; compute; visualise; identify; memorise.As well as earning medals,

24.12.2010

I originally purchased this game on 26 Aug 2008 and I am surprised it has not gone down in price, and that may be a good indicator of how popular this game is. There has been an influx of games that are used to train your brain and this one doesn't disappoint. As a single player, train and practise on the big number of games that are designed to train and test your brain capacity. With a test every day, you can really monitor your progress with the game. For me, it was for multiplayer, playing with the family and the multiplayer editions are even more fun that singles. This could be competetively and fighting for a higher score, or co-operatively also, trying to reach the highest combo or fastest time as a group.

27.7.2007

Bought for £20 new and sealed. Easy to play but also fun and challenging. Not as hard as I expected as I find high scores are effected by the speed you answer with as opposed to the question itself being tricky. But, I guess that keeps the game quick and exciting. Very nice presentation, quirky and bright/clear. Good with a friend playing together or against one another. Good use of Mii characters resulting in extra laughs and overall charm. Defiantely one of the best 'mini game games' on the Wii. Nice variety in question types and a cool reulsts board that displays your strongest/weakest category. Fun to try and get better results and improve your mental weak points. Well worth buying,

13.11.2007

At the current price you can't go wrong with this. It's an enjoyable game if not a little scarce on options. The graphics serve their purpose (it's always good to see the Miis being used) and are quite charming. The best feature is being able to compare your records with friends over WiiConnect24. It gives the game the extra dimension it needs to stop it becoming a little boring and dust gathering, and can turn a simple game into an extremely competitive and addictive experience.If you're looking for a fun family game to kill a few hours on an evening I'd suggest purchasing this. But if you're someone who expects depth,

18.2.2008

For under 20 quid, this is a real steal if you're the competitive type. I was sceptical upon first playing it - I didn't think it would have the longtivity of my other Wii games. However, I wasn't thinking through an open mind. This shouldn't be a game you'll play every day for hours. It should be a game you'll play 'once in a while', and i've found over the past month or two that I now love it for this!With some simple, but bright-as-ever Nintendo graphics, fun tasks, and nice music/sounds, this is a real bargain that anyone can play.(P.S I agree with those that fall asleep when the Jelly Baby Man talks! You can skip his speeches however by holding 'B' whilst pressing 'A'

3.1.2008

Our eight year old loves this game and it has certainly helped improve her skills and confidence in the maths and visual games involved. There are a total of 15 games here each with three skill levels. Adults may find it gets a bit tedious after a while constantly doing the same things. In fact the only way you can improve your "intelligence" in this game is by doing the stuff faster. I am not sure that speed of response is a true mark of intelligence so I am a bit doubtful about its usefulness for adults. However for children up to early teens this should help develop their mathematical and visual reasoning which might well help build their confidence for higher education and work.

26.12.2011

I bought it because I wanted something different from the exercise games we have, Something to test the brain rather than the body. I recommend the game for a variety of reasons. Different age range members of the family can play(solo or multiplayer) and you can get very competitive to get the Biggest Brain score! Thought at first from the cover/graphics, it was going to be relatively easy - Ha! Some games harder than you think, which is good because it really tests your reflex times, spacial awareness etc.,I actually find it quite relaxing even though it is testing my brain! I like everything about this game, it's a good all round family fun game.

22.8.2007

Big Brain academy is a very fun brain-quiz. I bought it for my brother's birthday.My brother is the one down below. My favourite game is face-case. big brain academy is my second best game! Martha - age 7.Big brain academy is a very helpful disc because it can help you with school (if you're a child obviously). I especially like the headmaster, he is very funny sometimes.My favourite game is match blast, it is quite easy for me when it's on hard but overall i'm an expert when it's on easy. You learn lots on this disc it is very fun. It also looks like a school! Harvey - 9 years old.

29.10.2007

One of the best games I've bought for the wii so far. Me and my husband are constantly wanting to put it on to see who can win the most games this time, we've found the sprint when you race against each other the best. The games appear to be easy when first looking at them but once that clock starts ticking your mind goes to mush and they become harder than you think. Plus the fact that so many people can all play at once (up to nine depending on which game you select) means it can be a family affair. Well worth the money in my oppinion (especially if you get it at a reduced price)

18.1.2008

I bought this for my Mum after she'd become addicted to Brain Training on my DS. We both love it - she's 50 and I'm 19. The different difficulty levels means that it's also great for younger players - from the age of about 10.It's more friendly and cute than Brain Training and it also has a bit more variety which is great. It's good to play on your own but really fun to challenge someone else in a mind sprint.My only criticism might be that there's a bit too much talking but it doesn't bother me that much.It's definitly well worth the money.

Big Brain Academy (Wii) - Reviews

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