Big Brain Academy review (DS)

While keeping track of each score is fine, if you really want to know how you're doing, the test mode is what you're looking for. Here, one game from each of the five categories is chosen at random and operates on sliding difficulty scale that increases as you perform. At the end, your score for all five games is totaled up and you're also given a letter grade, as well as a label that's meant to indicate what sort of brain you have, like engineer, museum curator, or Michelangelo. You can take and retake the tests as often as you like.

The third mode is a multiplayer mode that lets up to eight players compete using only one copy of the game. In this mode, you pick one of the games and everyone gets the same tasks at the same time. The player to finish first gets the lion's share of the points. You lose points for mistakes, and you play to a set score. It's a worthwhile, though awfully basic, competition.

All in all, the game's friendly, colorful look and its easy-to-learn but reasonably addictive gameplay make Big Brain Academy a decent collection. You'll run out of things to do relatively quickly, but considering the game's budget price, it all adds up in the end.