VideogameVagabond.com

The makers of Mega Brain Boost may not claim to be able to deliver you an acne treatment that works, but they do want to lay claim to being a brain-training game that gives Brain Age a run for its money. Unfortunately, the bar for impressive and entertaining brain training games was set pretty high by the Brain Age franchise and, in their first outing, the makers of Mega Brain Boost simply fall short of the target. Well short.

My wife, who is a fan of Brain Age 2, played the game longer than I did, and, given that she is familiar with the competition as well as the product under review, I trust her word on the matter. What she noticed while playing Mega Brain Boost is that the game is too puzzle oriented and lacks the variety of activities found in Brain Age 2. She also mentioned that although the game boasts about eight different game types, they’re all too similar and therefore she didn’t feel the game was as effective as Brain Age 2 at delivering any sort of “brain training.”

Personally, I also found the game to be lacking; the design’s a bit bland and unmemorable, and while it is appearing on the DS platform, Mega Brain Boost doesn’t deliver quite as much in the way of incorporating the touch-screen in creative ways, another area in which Brain Age 2 is head and shoulders above the crowd.

My time playing the game was OK, but it’s just not a game that seems fun enough to capture my attention long-term. And let’s face it, folks; if a game isn’t entertaining enough to keep you coming back for more, not a whole lot of brain-training is going to take place in the long run.

In the end, Mega Brain Boost is, at best, an average game that simply doesn’t deliver the challenge or variety of exercises needed to hold the attention of most gamers. It’s unfortunate, since I enjoy watching franchises compete against each other, with the efforts put forth spurring both companies on to bigger and better realizations of their franchises down the road. But so far, I doubt the makers of Brain Age 2 are losing much sleep over Mega Brain Boost.