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Dr. Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises
It was only time before our good friend, Dr
Kawashima from the excellent Nintendo DS game (Dr. Kawashima's Brain
Training) would arrive on the XBox 360, more particularly on the Kinect,
thanks to its intuitive and controllerless system. Just like the
Nintendo DS game, Dr. Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises on the Kinect
use this new technology to not only exercise our brains but also our
bodies.
Once again like the DS game, our good
doctor recommends that you train not only your brain but also your body
everyday in order to ensure that all facets of your body remains
healthy. Apart from playing this game solo, you can play with other
people such as friends and family (up to four players) as you compete in
all sorts of activities from memory to logic and more physical type
thinking games. One of the multiplayer games reminds me of buzz as its
cooperative play and is actually quite "ok" to play as you attempt to
work in unison.
The game is basically a collection of mini-games as you try to pop
balloons to match them up with the mathematics, a whack mole type game,
using your body to mimic math symbols or matching up colours with your
body. The Kinect sensor does work and sometimes gets confused but for
the majority, the games work.
Like Wiisport and the plethora of new
exercise games on both the Wii and the 360, Dr. Kawashima's Body and
Brain Exercises gives players the option of tracking their daily brain
age as they progress and needless to say, when I first started playing
this game, it thought I was considerably older than I actually am... it
thought I was in my 40's!!!
But once you get into
the kick of things, the games soon start becoming like second nature but
you still have to use that noggin of yours as you play over 20
brain/body exercises. The different exercises of this title cover four
facets that include physical, math, reflexes and logic. The good thing
about these exercises is that there are three different difficulty
levels, ensuring that gamers of all ages can play. In terms of
difficulty, the "brain" side of these activities does get harder and
more complex that still makes it difficult for some adults to play, no
matter what difficulty they choose.
The only issue I had with this game were
the Kinect controls that once again seemed a little too unresponsive
compared to the Microsoft releases. It did slightly hamper the enjoyment
factor of the game say you attempt to use your hands to navigate the
interface or using it in game to manipulate puzzles or pop balloons for
the maths questions. Hopefully the next generation of Kinect games will
rectify this.
Graphically, the title is oozing with 360 Avatar goodness and its
simplistic nature suits the premise perfectly. The effects look good but
once again, a well lit room is a must. Music is ambient and the sound
effects are sometimes a little over the top as is Dr. Kawashima. Cute
would best sum this game up for graphics and audio.
In the end, Dr. Kawashima's Body and Brain
Exercises is an interesting concept on the Kinect that works on some
levels (improved mental and physical reactions) but is a little lost
when it comes to real fun. The games were entertainment but that's about
it but keep in mind that there is a purpose for this training, your
mental and physical well-being. Dr. Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises
is definitely for casual gamers! |
