| Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! | 
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| From: Nintendo
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $18.89
You Save: $1.10 (6%)
Buy New/Used from $12.60
Avg. Customer Rating:   (126 reviews)
Sales Rank: 51
Platform: Nintendo Ds
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 0 x 0 x 0
MPN: NTRPANME
UPC: 045496739010
EAN: 0045496739010
ASIN: B000QUYHIK
Release Date: August 20, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great Brain Training for All Ages August 28, 2007
132 out of 136 found this review helpful
The first Brain Age on the Nintendo DS spawned a whole generation of brain training games. Now they're back with Brain Age 2 - and I really feel they did a great job of enhancing the game's functionality!
First, the infamous "voice test". In Brain Age 1, it was the classic see-a-colored-word-say-the-color game that so many magazines and websites print. The big problem there was that blue and black always got confused. With this one, they changed it to rock-paper-scizzors. It's just as challenging, and we've never had any problems with it understanding us. Hurrah!
Next, the mini-games. I appreciated the challenge of the Brain Age 1 games, but they were pretty boring. They just weren't much fun to play, especially compared to some of the other games on the market.
They did a great job of revamping the games in Brain Age 2. Some of them are still on the boring side, like the 'running people' game where you try to figure out what place the dark player comes in. Most of them, though, are truly fun to play. The spinning letters game where you try to figure out what word they spell can be quite challenging. I love the piano game where you try to play along with the song.
There are the usual graphing options, so you can see your progress over time, and then the "brain age" with an ideal age of 20. Just like with the first game, I have to protest that it's a silly idea that your brain is best at 20. Your brain can easily be very slow at 20 and much better at 30! They should rate it as a 0% to 100%, rather than pushing this idea that youth is best. What's next, a diet program that gets you to weigh the weight of an "ideal 20 year old"?
Still, it is certainly valid that the more you use your brain, the better it gets. Everyone needs to keep their brains exercised and fresh. Playing this game is far better than sitting back and passively watching TV all night. Best of all, you can bring this along with you and increase your brain power while you ride the bus, wait in line, and do other boring tasks!
Highly recommended!
better than the first August 28, 2007
like this one better than the first. i can never remember what 7X8= but i can remember that 2 PLUS 2 equals 4.
wish there were games like this.
 Better Than The Original! Improved Game Play!! August 26, 2007
67 out of 69 found this review helpful
I have to say I like Brain Age 2 more than I liked the original. I found the first version of the game frustrating (yet still engaging) because the handwriting recognition and voice recognition to be problematic.
This new version seems to have improved immensely. I see a few reviews here inidcating that some users are having problems with voice recognition, but that's not what I am experiencing with the game. The Rock, Paper, Scissors game is working flawlessly for me, unless I stutter, stammer, or someone says something in the background. I especially like that the game requires you to answer with EITHER a correct or incorrect answer! Furthermore, I have absolutely awful handwriting, yet the game is doing an excellent job recognizing my chicken scratch!
Best of all, the game is addictive and has me playing constantly. I'm a fan of games like Brain Age and Big Brain Academy where you ultimately compete against yourself to improve your score (or compete against others if you are so inclined). There are enough challenging mini-games (including sudoku) to keep the game interesting for quite awhile. It is certainly worth the price!
However, it would be a mistake to believe these games are any REAL indication of innate cognitive skill and performance. The game claims to help make your brain more agile and that may be possible. Research is, in fact, showing the benefits for people to continue to solve puzzles, read, and perform other complex cognitive tasks to stave off the effects of mental aging and even help recovery from brain injury. I think Brain Age will improve mental agility, but players should not be discouraged if their initial scores are not high. This is a GAME first and foremost, not an IQ test. Play it and enjoy it!! If your brain becomes more efficient at processing information consider it a bonus of playing a very enjoyable game.
More of the same, and that's not a bad thing August 25, 2007
28 out of 30 found this review helpful
Brain Age 2 offers more of the same this time around, and if you played the original, surprise smash hit for the DS, then you'll know that this isn't a bad thing. Brain Age 2 supplies just what the cover of the box says it does: it's more training for your brain. The game is easy to get into for newcomers and veterans alike thanks to offering the same, simple structure as before while offering new takes on the mini-games themselves. Combine that with some solid multiplayer capabilities, more great sudoku, and much more complicated math problems; and Brain Age 2 ends up being a winner. The biggest flaw of Brain Age 2 however remains left over from the first game: the handwriting and speech recognition features are still somewhat shaky. That aside though, Brain Age 2 succeeds by following the same formula as before: addictive gameplay, clean presentation, and a budget price; and in those departments alone, Brain Age 2 is worth checking out.
Better Than The First! August 24, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Brain Age 2 has so many more exercises than the first one. There is a little problem with voice recognition in Paper, Rocks, Scissors- but don't let that stop you from getting it. There are still many, many more games to play. What I really like is that it has it's own version of Dr. Mario! If you click on "training" and scroll down to the last "???" block and click on it...you will find VIRUS BUSTER!!! That alone is worth 20.00! Get this game, it is good!
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