Nintendo DS
Majesco Entertainment, December 2007
Well, I both had a few of the most enjoyable gaming moments of the past month and yet had the shortest total gaming experience. I started at level 5 of LB:RB and got 83/100/100, and then the second time, 93/100/100. 93 being on writing letters. I'm not ambidextrous. Since the Army I ate with chopsticks ambidextrously. Since working on Warhawk, I use my mouse ambidextrously (it only takes a week to be up to speed; mice are terribly unwieldy input devices). But I write awkwardly and slowly with my left. So unless there is a level I'm missing that's above 5, I'm 85% ambidextrous in half an hour. Can't say that ratio, even if shared with friends, makes up for a $20 or so pricetag (Thank you Gamefly, no thanks Majesco).
I'd like a second opinion, though from a doctor or neuroscientist about the neural benefits of practicing these following exercises through the 1px resolution stylus (which is far from pen on paper).
Here are the synopses of the channels that comprise its design, of which I enjoyed all at level 5 for an hour. I'd do them longer if there were a higher level of mastery.
Overall
Simulation: Accuracy, speed, motor control and hand-eye coordination exercises (but does it go all the way to writing competently)?
User interface: I really liked flipping the handheld device when switching from Right to Left hand.
Story: You are playing various minigames to improve your left-right brain connection. Drab and thin as memos.
Look and feel: Sparse, minimal. Cute hand drawn (though uninked) cheerleading hand.
Write the letter!
Simulation: Match image of a capital English letter with a standard bold san-serif font.
User interface: Write a capital English letter with a plastic stylus on a small touch screen about 2 by 3 inches. How helpful is the tiny eye-straining letter size for testing purposes?
Story: Write the letter the hand tells you to.
Look and feel: Minimal black and white.
Trace the shape!
Simulation: Compare image to stroke sequence.
User interface: Draw contour of an irregular figure with a plastic stylus on a small touch screen. Black and white is clever at indicating how close one traces the figure.
Story: There is a shape. Draw it. Get praised by the helping hand.
Look and feel: Minimal shades of brown.
Navigate the maze!
Simulation: Collision detection of circle to solid concave walls. Collide circle with goal without colliding the walls.
User interface: Trace a wide path through a narrow maze. What is cool and eerie, is seeing your other hand as a red dot racing your black dot.
Story: Get a ball through a maze quickly.
Look and feel: Minimal red and black dot, white floor and teal walls.
Psychologists, may I ask you, how much benefit do the above exercises have on "whole brain" cognition?
I decided to search a for a review to see if I had missed something. It seems I'm not alone in my feeling this game falls short of its promise. But that also there are others who say they liked it. In the end, a status quo site such as GameSpot rates it 6/10, and its users rate it 5/10. Disappointment abounds.