It's no secret that Blake likes video games. Since he started up Infendo, a blog dedicated to all things Nintendo, he feels that it is only fair to the readers to buy the new games that are released. No big deal. The funny thing is, when Blake is getting ready to buy a new game, he ALWAYS says, "Honey, I think you are going to really like this game."The first few times he said this, I got kind of excited. Then I played the game. I finally figured out that Blake said I would like his new purchase so that he would feel better about buying it. So, a few days ago when Blake mentioned a new Nintendo game that he wanted to pick up at Walmart, I just shrugged it off when he uttered his famous last words.
Boy, was I in for a treat. The new game is called Brain Age. You play it on the DS . I LOVE it. I'm addicted. The basic concept of the game is to "train" your brain. When you first get started, you take a test and depending on your score, you are given the "age" of your brain. I started out at 80 but only because it took me a few minutes to learn how to use the microphone. The ideal age of your brain is 20. So, how it works is you have to "train" your brain on a daily basis. I've been training for 3 days now and have enjoyed every minute of it. The game is full of mathematics, memorization, reading outloud, puzzles, and so much more.
This is no ordinary video game folks. It's different than anything I have ever seen. I must say that I am very impressed with Nintendo for coming out with such an educational game. I would argue that this game could have a place in classrooms.
I would like to mention a word of caution to any potential players out there. This game is very addicting. I had so much to get done yesterday but I made the mistake of thinking I could solve just one puzzle. Wrong. I couldn't put the DS down because I was having so much fun. Plus, it's easy to justify... I'm "training" my brain. What could be more important than that?
So, I guess you could say the moral of this post is that sometimes men can be right. :)
P.S. Judd, I'm expecting to hear your thoughts/opinions on this game. Word on the street is that you are thinking about making a very wise purchase.
2 comments:
It was an otherwise uneventful afternoon.
I was sitting in my office, being productive, minding my own business, when a Justin Timberlake impersonator intently grasping a piece of white paper featuring hand-drawn images of a dinosaur and what appears -- from a distance, to be a squished bug -- barges through my deliberately closed door.
"Honey, I think you are going to really like this game," he yells, nearly hyperventilating.
I calmly pick up the phone to call security.
"No don't call security on me again," he implores. "This shirt still has burn marks from the Tasers they used to subdue me last time," he said, pointing with his free hand.
"As long as you promise to quit calling me 'honey'."
"Oh OK!" he says.
"So what are you so excited about, Justin Timberblake?" I asked.
"Look at this brilliant game!" he says, spreading out the sweaty, crinkled paper on my desk, thus allowing for closer inspection of the silhouetted dinosaur and what now appears to be not a squished bug, but a bit of early, conceptual DaDaist artwork.
Very early.
And very conceptual.
"Blake, what is that?"
"It's everything! And yet it's nothing! It's simple! And yet it's complex! It's fun! And yet it's educational! Best part? It's on the DS, and yet Lindsey loves it even more than me!"
"You lost me at 'simple'," I said. "And then you really lost me at 'DS'."
"The DS stands for Dual Screen! It's a Nintendo product."
"I should have assumed as much," I said.
"But the DS has more than one crumby screen! It has two! That's a 100% jump in screen count!"
"Impressive. But what good are these two screens?" I ask.
"See for yourself!" Blake says, eagerly tapping on the lonely white space between the dinosaur and what I now think might be a roadmap of Toledo, Ohio.
"Brain Age! It's Brain Age!" Blake says with a dreamily, adoring lilt in his voice, like a brand new father calling his parents with the news.
"And Lindsey loves it as much as me!"
"YOu mean she loves this thing to the same degree that you love it, or she loves you to the same degree that she loves it?"
"Um...is that a trick question?" Blake asked.
"No Blake, I think I understand," I said. "You're excited because for the first time Lindsey really shares your passion for a specific video game. Right?"
"Right! And I'm excited because Brain Age lets you draw pictures of kangaroos!"
"In addition to dinosaurs and what looks like a technical schema for a 1970s era hi-fi stereo system," I noted.
"I don't understand," Blake said, with a sudden somberness.
"Right there. You drew a dinosaur and something indecipherable," I said, pointing to the paper.
"Those are both kangaroos," Blake offered sternly. "Lindsey and I drew them this morning. It's why I was late today. This 'dinosaur' scored me a brain age of a 37 year old, and Lindsey, who admitedly struggled a little with this particular assignment, is in her early 40s, brain-wise."
"And what's the goal here?" I asked.
"To get a brain age of 20," Blake said.
"Forget it! When I was 20 I was still actively eating things on dares. I'll settle for 34. This is a comfortable brain age for me. Plus if I got down to 20 I'd have to buy my brain all new clothes," I said.
"That's it, I'm outta here," Blake said.
"Plus if I got [my brain age] down to 20 I'd have to buy my brain all new clothes"
...I never... thought about it like that... /boggle
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
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