DS Review - Best of Tests DS

Best of Tests DS
Published by: Conspiracy Entertainment
Developed by: Neko Entertainment / Otaboo
Genre: Puzzle

ESRB Rating:

Reviewed by: Justin Alderman

The latest entry into the brain training genre has arrived.  Despite the game claiming to have the “Best of Tests” I found it to have exactly the same kind of tests, and uninspiring presentation that got me sent to the principals office for falling asleep in 1st grade.

The tests in Best of Tests DS are split between 2 modes: Intelligence, and Memory.  Each mode has 3 levels of difficulty and each difficulty level has 3 lengths.  If there was incentive to play through all of these modes the total number of test would be impressive.  But where the game excels in quantity if fails in quality.

Brain Age set the standard for all the brain training games to come after it.  And for good reason.  The game tracked you progress, put pressure on you to finish the tests as fast as possible, and gave a lot of incentive to pick up the game and play everyday.  Unfortunately none of these features made it into Best of Tests.

For example, while taking one of the memory tests you are shown a two digit number.  After staring at the number for about 20 seconds (shorter if you tap the screen to continue) you are asked to type in what the number was.  That really was one of the tests, no joke.

After you answer the question the floating professor head (who almost always seems to be picking his nose) will flash a thumbs up for right answers or make a sad face for wrong answers.  The animation is so quick that it took me several tests before I realized that the game gave you any indication if your answers were right or wrong.

Passing tests unlocks the next difficulty level or the ability to take longer tests.  You are then given a score, but there is really no point in it.  Score are not given any meaning and progress is not tracked beyond telling you what tests you have finished.  There is no substance to these tests, and it really is a shame.  Even the addition of some kind of simple stat tracking would have brought the game up to the average category.

Recap:

From a technical standpoint nothing is broken and the programming works.  From a gameplay standpoint if these are the “Best of Tests” we are in a whole lot of trouble.  The lack of urgency during the tests, simplistic questions, and nonexistent stat tracking discourage finishing even the first test.  If your noggin is looking for a work out, you would be better off with a title that has “Brain” in it.

Final Score: 04/10 - Borderline

The Casual Glance by: Sami

When I started playing Bests of Tests I expected a similar experience to Brain Age, what I received was not nearly as satisfying.

The game does not track your improvement as you repeat tests.  And the presentation of the game is dull & basic. A few of the memory tests were somewhat enjoyable. But not enough that I would want to repeat them on a daily basis.

Overall Best of Tests does not excel in any one area. Some of the tests are enjoyable the first time through, but because the game does not track your progress you won’t feel the need to repeat them.

Casual Score: Pass