Reviewed On: Nintendo 3DS

Available For: 3DS, iOS, PC, and Wii

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Square Enix

Genre: Mini-Games

Age: 3 (PEGI)

EVER since Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training was released on the Nintendo DS in 2006, the world has gone crazy for software designed to stretch one’s cognitive processes. Now the kings of intellect and the fathers of intelligence testing have put their brand, questions and reputation on the line.

In Mensa style, the questions fall under five different categories, each designed to have the grey matter ticking over in a different way. There’s language, numeracy, logic, memory, and visualisation.

Play is split into three different modes, Play, Coach, and Test. Play provides a quick delve into the game with a quick-fire round of ten questions from a particular category. A score is given, stars awarded and progress made. As things progress, the questions increase in difficulty.

Coach mode coaches players in the various different categories of questions, preparing them for the delve into the world of Mensa Academy. With not everything available from the offset, there’s plenty to unlock in this mode.

Like Coach Mode, Test Mode is exactly as it sounds – it provides a test to measure IQ level. With plenty of play under my belt, I was able to answer much harder questions than when I first started. Whether this was down to simply getting used to the format and presentation of the questions, or the fact the game was able to wring some extra juice from my tiny brain is anybody’s guess. Either way, I have been improving and feel good for doing so.

The presentation is simple but adequate, the menus are basic but easy to navigate, and the music is – well – annoying! But it can be turned off.

My only other gripe, is with the control system which involves dragging a cursor and tapping the screen, which doesn’t work very well. It would have been better to have put the multi-choice answers on the touch-screen – I would have thought the boffins at Mensa and Square Enix would have come up with that one.

SCORE: 7/10

PROS: You can feel yourself becoming quicker, faster, and more competent with your answers.

CONS: You can feel yourself becoming quicker, faster, and more competent with your answers - although it's probably doing nothing to your actual IQ. The control system can be annoying.