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Brain Assist isn’t new. Two years ago Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training was released on the Nintendo DS and aside from having an annoyingly long name it took DS audiences by storm. Here was a game that anyone of any age could play and unlike a lot of games which appeal to the mass market, everyone actually had a go, enjoyed it and therefore purchased it. Brain Training is as much a game as it is an interactive IQ test. Using a variety of minigames and challenges, it ranks the age of your brain in correspondence to how quickly you could work out the obstacles put to you. Combining the slick touch functions of the DS with the portable, play anywhere methodology, it struck the gold mine. Since its release we’ve had a sequel, a Nintendo Wii port and what seems like an endless supply of similar titles who wish to recreate the success of Brain Training. Therefore, SEGA give us Brain Assist, a brain-training game which wants its own piece of the pie. Does Brain Assist gorge on your mind or does it starve and kill your brain functions with boredom?

With many comparable brain-training products in the market, the key question is what does Brain Assist offer the gamer which hasn’t been done before. Brain Assist could have given us a large database of mini-games / exercises to destroy its competition’s lack of depth. Sadly all it gives you is ten puzzles which aim to crunch your brain into submission. It could have brought more categories to the genre, and not just the typical ‘memory / concentration’ archetypes. Again, only five testable attributes are available to try and they‘ve all been done before. Finally it could have ditched the static picture approach and gone for something more engaging or innovative, but alas, it was not meant to be. Hopefully you’ll see what we’re getting at here. But enough of what Brain Assist could have done and more on what is has actually accomplished. It’s got the basic functionality of what you’d expect in the form of varied challenges and like its competitors it tracks your progress every time you undertake a challenge or evaluation. It grades your brain and gives helpful readouts as to how you can improve you rank, which unless you’re part of MENSA will most likely be below / average.

You interact with six nurses (Ed – Real original) and they’ve each got their own personality; well as much as can be conveyed via some un-voice-acted dialogue, which as a result means their personalities are pretty much void. You can quick play any of the events and you’ll keep playing until you run out of lives / time as their increase in difficulty. If you’ve got 15 minutes and want to score your brain overall then the evaluation system serve a better means and their split into two tests for the left and right brain accordingly. If you’re feeling lonely then there is the option to score your brain against a friend to see who’s more ‘intelligent.’ As well as that, it also measures the compatibility of the two brains, but we’re not actually sure as to what that means, whether it means that you get on well with someone or it’s a measurement as to how attractive you are to the other person. Finally, find four other people (up to) and then you’ll be able to Wi-Fi challenge each other through the minigames.

Depending on the category of the minigame, it usually involves looking at a series of pictures, symbols or shapes and then remembering them or linking them together. They’re easy to understand and unless your lacking mental power, easy enough to get a decent score. Each game beings with an optional explanation what to do but it can be skipped once you’re sure of the gameplay. The game has rewarding blips when you get something correct and lets you know if you’re wrong. It’s got a colourful edge to it but after an extended period of play it begins to stagnate.

The crunch point is what’s on offer. Basically, not much. You’ll exhaust the game’s mini-games and once you reach an acceptable standard of brain power (according to the game) you’ll pretty much hang up your gaming gloves for good. Even with the Wi-Fi support its pretty difficult to recommend Brain Assist unless you either can rent it for a weekend of intellectual relief or in the bargain bin for dead cheap, and too be honest that’s the most likely place you’re going to see it.

It’s not that fun to play, and can be comparable to a maths test, something you’ll do because you’ll see an improvement in your marks. The reward to effort ratio isn’t successful and it’s often boring and lacking any warm feeling. It’s loyal in its aim but if we’re being frank, we’ve had enough of training our brain, that’s what school, university and work is for, not video games. A decent effort but just not good enough.

Score: 5/10

(Brain Assist is out on Nintendo DS)

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