Introduction: As we have read in numerous places, the previous year has seen Nintendo achieve the unimaginable. In a year that saw the UK Government paying students to study with their Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) scheme, Nintendo have somehow convinced students, Mums, Dads and even Grand Parents to pay for the privilege of going back to school. Their ingenious combination of daily coaching, stretching puzzles and progression monitoring has got literally millions of us scratching our heads once again on those G.C.S.E style real world tasks. This is a stark contrast with the governments EMA approach, of essentially bribing students to keep up with the book smarts.

One of the many stars of Nintendo's education line up was Big Brain Academy. More of a quick play than Brain Training, it provided a wider variety of games and challenges. Although the DS version lacked the statistics and sense of progression of the previous game, it offered a series of tasks that could be played by a much wider demographic. Now aiming to repeat this success on the Wii, with pointing rather than touching oriented gameplay.

GamePlay: As the first out of the gate for the Wii's educational line up, Big Brain academy has a lot to prove. It offers a similar line up of tests and tasks to get the old grey matter working. The tapping of the DS has been replaced by pointing and gesturing with the Wii-mote. The tasks themselves have been adjusted accordingly, to suite the pointing interface of the Wii-mote.

One of the more interesting features of the Wii version is the introduction of new modes that enable you to play with other people. This was as aspect of the DS title that seemed somewhat underplayed. Education games in general seemed to shun the multiplayer game enthusiasts, it is only now with More Brain Training that we are seeing more substantial group throw down challenges. Multiplayer mode in Big Brain Academy plays you against someone else at a particular task, both of you trying to get to 12 points before the other. Additionally, some nice co-operative play means that you can also work with, rather than against other people to achieve the complex problems. As educational analysts will suggests, this caters for those of use with a more social learning schema. It also edges the title into the party game genre, which has to be a positive step that broadens its appeal.

Control: As mentioned above, the controls have had something of a change of gear, moving from taping to pointing. This does detract from the physical feel that so benefited the DS title. The Wii controls can't compete for that same sense of connection as actually touching the screen. That said, it is a testament to how well they understand their own game that they have made some subtle but important adjustments to make things work better with the pointing dynamic. The games are a little more forgiving, as it doe stake a little more time to move the pointer around the screen than using the stylus. The best aspect of the controls is their simplicity. Almost no explanation is required, regardless of how much gaming experience you have. In my book that's the mark of a successful control scheme.

Graphics: Visually, this is a game that stands on its style rather than weight of polygons. To this end, the use of the Mii's, a feature that should become mandatory for Wii games, really helps establish it as part of the Wii's visual heritage. By simply using the Mii graphics the game makes itself instantly appear likeable. It already has your friends and family milling around the various school corridors and enrolment halls, what more could you ask for.

Apart from this, the graphics follow the same plastacine style that was found in the DS version. Whilst this doesn't break any barriers, it again is a great way to present what are often pretty dry tasks. The playful approach to education is a real breath of fresh air. The games benefit from the extra screen space in comparison to the DS.

Sound & Music: The majority of the sound and music is along the elevator waiting music style that has now been popularised by the Wii channels. This works well to establish a playful but practical feel to proceedings and avoids distracting from the main action.

Final Comments: This is a game that updates the DS version adequately, without ever really taking things to the next level. It doesn't offer an awful lot more for your money, particularly if you already have the DS version. That said, if you are looking for an update and some multiplayer action, then at the reduced £19.99 price tag this is still good value for money.

Pro: Budget price and multi player modes.
Con: Not as immediate as the DS version.
Final Score: 6.8


Reviewed by: Douglas Andrews