Video Game Vintage Title: Brain Challenge

Brain Challenge

Brain Challenge is a mental exercise video game similar to Big Brain Academy, featuring "brain exercise puzzles". The game was developed by Gameloft for mobile phones and iPods and released on September 5, 2007. It was followed by a Nintendo DS version on January 8, 2008, an Xbox Live Arcade release on March 12, 2008, and a PlayStation 3 launch on November 27, 2008. The N-Gage 2.0 version was released on the day of the service's launch, April 3, 2008. A version for WiiWare was released in Japan on October 14, 2008, in Europe on November 7, 2008 and in North America on November 10, 2008. The Wii version also uses Miis for the players profile. OnLive also had launched their new streaming game platform with Brain Challenge on July 27, 2010. On January 20, 2011, the game was released for Mac OS X.

The game is also structured like Big Brain Academy in that puzzles are divided into four separate categories: Logic, Math, Visual, and Focus; the Xbox Live Arcade version, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, Nintendo DS and PC add a fifth category, Memory. The puzzles can be played at three difficulty levels, and more complex puzzles are unlocked through a player's progression through the game.

Many of the puzzles are similar to those from both Big Brain Academy and Brain Age. For example, Balance shows different objects on scales, and the player must determine from the relationships on the scales which is the heaviest object. In the Trout Route test, the player must follow a path based on the progressive numerical relationship given (i.e. +2, -3, etc.) Travelling requires the player to memorize a route of arrows, while Ascending has the player determining the order of a group of objects from least to most in amount. Bouncing Ball has the player determining as quick as possible which ball bounces highest.