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Great Intentions - but Bad Navigation

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: September 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Hot Brain for the PSP falls into the category of Brain Age and other puzzle / brain testing games. You practice with a bunch of mini-games, then you take a test to see just how hot your brain really is. While it can be fun, there isn't enough variety to make it the long term draw that Brain Age is.

First, the basics. You're in a brain lab where testing has shown that the more you use your brain, the more blood flow that goes through it. It makes sense, and I like this concept MUCH more than the bizarre ideal that "everyone should want to have a 20-year-old brain" that Brain Age supports. A well exercised brain is a healthy, happy and functional brain.

There are five categories of brain tests and exercises for you to play with. You can play with logic, memory, math, language and concentration. The types of games you play are pretty typical for this type of game. You play Simon type remember-the-sequence games. You look at a series of shapes and figure out what comes next. You choose numbers in order of low to high. You alphabetize words.

I think we have really been spoiled by the Brain Age series, though. Many of the Brain Age games are really fun to play. I admit some I dislike, but most are good. Here, though, they are all pretty boring. I like the shape assembly game, and the yarn following game is fun enough, but many of the others just aren't fun. In fact, one - the "what rhymes with this shape" - provides shapes that are completely unrecognizable! How can I tell what rhymes with an object I can't identify?

Another problem, oddly enough, is the graphics. At first I was really impressed by the graphics and was thinking I would love the game because of it. Brain Age is notoriously poor on graphics. But after playing for a while, it became clear that in many cases the graphics are just there for the sake of being there - and added a LOT of loading time that was completely unnecessary.

Let's say I wanted to work on concentration games. So I'd go through a sequence of clicks and loading screens to see the elevator going down to that "floor" - and images of rotating brains and so on to get to a game. Once I finish the game, it sends me back to the main level - and I have to do the entire sequence again to get to another test! I looked for ways to turn off these cut scene sequences and couldn't find any. You're just stuck with them.

Also, Brain Age really encourages you to come back daily. It has daily charts and graphs, welcome messages, and more. There are fun, random, creative daily puzzles that you want to come back and see the results of. You can compare your results with friends playing on the same machine, which encourages a friendly competition.

You don't have any of that here. You do have a graph of your overall brain heat over time, but that's it. The most you can do is retake a given mini-game to try to better your score in it. But it's not easy to scan them to see what you want to work on. Never mind that you'd have to trudge through various loading screens to get there.

There was a huge amount of potential here. If they'd tested some more, they might have realized how old those loading screens get after a while, added more multi-person comparisons, and jazzed up the games a bit. I suppose if you have a PSP and not a DS, this is certainly better than nothing. Maybe with luck they'll come out with a sequel that builds on this base and adds in the other functionality.

Lukewarm

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 14
Date: June 21, 2007
Author: Amazon User

On the Nintendo DS, there are the Brain Age games. Games like Brain Age and Big Brain Academy that have enjoyed enourmous success. I suppose that when it comes to the PSP, Hot Brain is the closest we'll ever get to Brain Age or Big Brain Academy. The problem, however, is that the reason Brain Age and Big Brain Academy worked so well was because they were creative and on the DS you could go nuts with creativity. It isn't that Hot Brain is bad, it's just that a lot of the games aren't memorable, and that's really sad because there are not a lot of games to be found here.

There are five categories in Hot Brain: logic, memory, math, language and concentration. A lot of mini-games have you solving logic puzzles and putting things in a certain order or deciphering pictures or putting words in alphabetical order. Those are just a couple of examples of what you'll be doing. The problem with Hot Brain, however, is that these mini-games just aren't very exciting. Certainly some are executed well, but in the long run, ordering numbers from lowest to highest is just not something I want to do.

What's even worse for Hot Brain is that there are only 15 mini-games. Most of them aren't all that exciting to begin with, and there are only fifteen? Of course, when you pick up a mini-game collection, it's unrealistic to expect that all of them will be winners. However, 15 mini-games really isn't a lot, and you don't get the sense that there's a lot of variety here either. If it were 15 games where the majority of them weren't so generic, it would be so much better.

The point of Brain Age is to get the youngest brain possible. In Hot Brain, the point is to score the highest temperature. You can get your brain as hot as 120 degrees. In other words, you want your brain to be on fire. The game also gives you other ratings like lukewarm, cold and icy.

There's multiplayer here, but it's really not all that exciting. There aren't that many modes here. What's disturbing, however, is that multi-player may very well be the most fun you'll have with this game. Simply because these games are pretty boring to play by yourself. With a friend, however, it's not nearly as bad. That doesn't really make the games themselves any better, but competition in just about any mini-game compilation is welcome.

Hot Brain isn't really bad. It just has the misfortune of getting here after Brain Age and Big Brain Academy. Mostly, though, it had so much potential to be just as good as those two games had it not been for the fact that a lot of the mini games here are stale. The lack of variety makes the game more of a drag. Hot Brain is a game that had potential, but didn't live up.

Hot Brain is Wicked Hot

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: August 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is very entertaining.It constantly shows your brains progress throughout the game.Highly recommended for someone who wants to improve their concentration and have fun at the same time.

way too easy, no entertainment value

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: April 02, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I take long, international flights on a regular basis and I was looking for another weapon with which to fight boredom and this game is definitely not it. I found it to be so easy that it held absolutely no interest for me, even though they did a great job presenting it.

Oh well, I think I'll just get a DS.

Geez

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: July 21, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Interesting game, good competition for DS. The narrator was a bit annoying but turning off the sound fixed it. a few of the chalanges aren't explained well enough so i would say to practice before you "test". also if youre bad with math (like i am) it helps you with those skills

Better than nothing....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

In a world of brain age rip-offs, this one is actually good enough to fill the void on the PSP. It does a good job of testing you and showing your progress as time goes on. I would recommend this for anyone wanting to keep his or her brain in shape. Although the jury is still out if this keeps your mind alert, it is fun to play along and see how you compare to everyone else. It just lacks the originality that came with Brian Age.

brain age for PSP

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My original reasons for buying a game console was to have "Brain Age". The sales man convinced me, while being 32 to get a PSP instead of a nintendo. But I mentioned wanting to have a brain game. I was suggested Hot Brain.
It turned out good. It is a fun game, challenging and one game that you can play over and over again no problem. It is much more graphic then the original brain age from Nintendo.
It gives you challenges in 5 different catagories and the assignments are very nice and random.

If you are looking for the best brain age comparison, I think Mind Quiz is better, but this game is more graphic and a little more sophisticated.

Hot Brain is challenging and fun.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Hot Brain is challenging and fun for children over 13 and adults. Because its timed, it requires your undivided attention. A few of the games can be confusing. A little advanced for my 9 year old. I highly recommend this game.

Just what I expected, or maybe more.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was serching for a game that could keep me hours playing it, and that also made me feel like something in my mind was getting better.

Obviously, it has no story, and the 3D graphics aren't shown all the time you play, but it gets your brain to work, and if you have the chance to let someone else to play, you start comparing yourself and working hard to makeit better.

Hot Brain Not So Hot

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 18, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Hot Brain is interesting but it did not hold my attention. Graphics are pretty good.

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