Pros: Brain exercises, tons of Sudoku puzzles, decently entertaining, inexpensive
Cons: Can be repetitive, some problems with speech and writing recognition, some irritating exercises
The bottom line: Brain Age provides entertaining brain exercises that anyone can benefit from. I recommend it for players of any age, including children who have learned to read and perform simple arithmetic.
Video games are often given a bad reputation by the media. Articles discuss teen emulation of video game violence. Video games get lumped into the same category as television; a brain-rotting activity that furthers the trend of childhood obesity by keeping children on the couch inside their homes. The Nintendo DS game Brain Age may not burn calories, but it certainly cannot be classified as brain-rotting.

Game Play
Brain Age allows you to test and train your brain using various exercises in memorization, arithmetic, and reading. With consistent training, the game expects to sharpen your memory and other skills. You can measure your progress with consistent testing to obtain your “brain age.” The test usually consists of several short segments testing skills that are practiced throughout the game’s training feature. Fast and accurate responses to the test will result in a “younger” brain. The game tracks your progress, which should hopefully improve with practice.

Up to three players can create save files and track their progress. The game is easy to set up and play. A file is created by signing your name (literally) and answering a few short questions. Once per day, players may take the test to determine their brain age and record their scores from various training exercises.

The training exercises allow you to practice many of the skills you’re tested on. Some exercises require you to do simple arithmetic, while some give you slightly more challenging mathematics. The arithmetic is easy enough for anyone who has been through middle school mathematics. The games “Calculations x20” and “Calculation x100” require only knowledge of addition, subtraction, and multiplication. These two exercises may be especially useful for elementary school children who need practice while learning these operations. “Triangle” math requires the addition and subtraction of both positive and negative numbers, so this would be difficult for children who have not yet had exposure to it.

Most exercises are performed by “writing” the answer with your stylus on the screen. The number recognition is excellent. The letter recognition is good, but could use some improvement. Often it records a ‘t’ as an ‘x’ or a lower-case ‘b’ as an ‘o.’ Other exercises are completed using speech, such as “Voice Calculation.” I found the speech recognition to be mediocre. The game could not recognize my speech if I wasn’t speaking loudly. It also had trouble deciphering some of my numbers. Granted, I am from New York, but I have a very minimal accent. 4 is “four” not “faw” and 3 is “three” not “tree.” I preferred to skip over the vocal exercises for this reason and because there are few situations in which I feel sane talking to a handheld game system.

As you complete training exercises each day, you will get a “stamp” on your calendar. When you reach certain numbers of stamps, you unlock new training exercises.

The training exercises could have been a little more diverse. Most involve counting and arithmetic. One requires you to read aloud and tracks how quickly you read (Reading Aloud). Another exercise asks you to memorize numbers and select them in ascending order (Low To High). “Time Lapse” requires you to determine the amount of time that has passed between two analog clocks. I found most exercises fun and entertaining.

The one aspect of the game that really irked me is the little activities it forces you to participate in before you get to the training menu. The game’s host asks you to draw pictures of common objects from memory and asks you trivial questions about your breakfast. It’s supposed to be a brain exercise and each time, the exercise is followed by a brain tip explain its relevance. These are a nuisance and time-consuming. I wish the game had been designed to make these optional.

One of my favorite activities on Brain Age is Sudoku. That game provides tons of Sudoku puzzles for you to solve. Your time solving is recorded and you are given a visual display of how quickly you solved it (a rocket ship means you were the fastest you could have been while a slow time will be ranked at “walking” speed). The puzzles are of varying difficulty and you have the option to have the game inform you of any mistakes as you solve the puzzle.

Graphics and Audio
There isn’t much to the graphics and audio of this game. The graphics consist mostly of a giant head (the host) and text or simple graphics. Visually, the game looks like a digital copy of a children’s mathematics and language arts workbook. The audio is simplistic as well, mostly consisting of dings and bells to denote the end of certain exercises or whether or not your answer is correct.

Controls
Brain Age is an easy game to pick up. If you know how to write and you know how to read, you have it down. The game is controlled mostly by tapping and writing with the stylus. Everything is explained step by step on the screen in excruciating detail. There are even instructions for navigating through the instructions. I doubt anyone would have difficulty picking up and using this game.

Price
At the time of purchase, this game was priced at $29.99. It has since gone down to $19.99.

Overall Recommendation
Brain Age is a nice diversion with the added benefit of keeping your brain active. It can get repetitive, so don’t expect it to be as engrossing as other video games, but it sure beats the limited capabilities of handheld sudoku games. I recommend it for anyone who would like some semi-entertaining brain exercise.