Gamertell

Title: Left Brain Right Brain
Price:$19.99
System(s): Nintendo DS
Release Date: 12/04/07
Publisher (Developer): Majesco (_No Company)
ESRB Rating: “E” for Everyone
Pros: The exercises that require you to write letters or negotiate mazes are challenging.
Cons: None of the others are.
Overall Score: 4/10

Left Brain Right Brain could have been a great addition to the already full catalog of educational games on the Nintendo DS. After all, it has a great premise - it claims to be a game which can help make players ambidextrous through an assortment of exercises and tests. The problem is that most of the tests don’t really feel as though they accomplish anything. For most of the tests my left hand always received a score that was almost identical to my right, even though in real life I am right handed and can barely create legible scribbles with my left.

The game begins at the easiest of the five different difficulty levels. First the dominant hand is tested, in order to set the bar of achievement for the other hand. Then you go through the same exercises with the other hand. The resulting figure tells you just how balanced you are, and how much work you have to do to be perfectly balanced. After that you are supposed to just keep training daily in an attempt to make both hands equal.

I don’t really see any educational value in this game. While I can understand the reasoning behind the title, it also seems like an attempt to cash in on a lucrative game market. At least with the Brain Age and Big Brain Academy titles, you can understand how the various exercises are improving your reasoning skills and such. I didn’t notice any ambidexterity advances in the two weeks I spent playing Left Brain Right Brain.

Surprisingly, it all doesn’t look that bad. In an educational title like this, the focus is on the exercises, not the appearance. Everything looks fairly structured, and is clear and defined. You don’t want anything too flashy, as it could distract you from the main purpose of the exercises. There also is very little distracting background noise, which is also good. If the exercises had perhaps been more engaging and challenging, this would have been a great title.

Left Brain Right Brain is also overpriced, considering what it offers. I could see selling it for perhaps $9, but never for $19. You’ll likely only play it for a month at the most. That may even be a bit generous. The exercises aren’t even remotely entertaining or engaging. Each one can be finished in about three minutes, after after that, well, there’s really nothing else. I couldn’t find any motivation to keep playing, as my scores never seemed to change and always seemed to register my left and right hands as being equal. There is a multiplayer mode included, but it isn’t any fun.

If you are looking for a good educational game with a gimmick, try looking at Flash Focus instead. Left Brain Right Brain is dull and uninspired, despite having an interesting premise. This game offers a lot of promise when it comes to the concept, but it fails in execution.

Site [Majesco Games]