Left Brain, Right Brain. Game Review

A better title, "Left Handed, Right Handed", this unusual title asks you to compare the fine motor abilities of your left and right hands, by doing identical tasks with both, and then comparing the scores. To put it another way, it measures your ambidexterity. To play the game, you turn the Nintendo DS on its side, book style, to test your ambidexterity -- in other words, the fine motor skills that you have in your right hand vs. your left hand. Note that this isn't a game per se. Like Brain Age, it is more of a collection of fine motor drills -- some fun and some more like work.

There are 15 mini-games that start with asking you to touch a moving box, first with one hand, and then the other (you turn the DS 180 degrees). After you do the same task with both hands, the computer tells you your percent correct on both sides of your body.

The idea is that you can work to exercise your least dominant hand in order to become stronger. Other activities ask you to connect dots, flick moving asteroids from hitting the Earth, play a game of whack-a-mole, and move a dot through a maze. This latter activity replays your prior performance, and challenges to you beat yourself. Or, you can race against another player using the DS wireless play mode. So does it work? If nothing else, it is an interesting example of creative design, measurement and assessment, using the DS pen based interface. Note that reading is required. Records for up to four people can be saved on the cartridge. Created by Japan Art Media for Majesco.

Link to buy Left Brain, Right Brain Game

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga Game Review

Now available on a variety of platforms, the game console version of LEGO Star Wars offers one of the finest two-player experiences to date. Don't be fooled by the E 10+ rating -- even children as young as five can play the game -- although it helps if they're paired with an older brother, sister or parent. It features a unique interaction style called “drop in, drop out cooperative mode.”

This edition contains content from 160 LEGO Star Wars characters, with content from all the movies. There's a variety of problem solving opportunities in the 36 unlockable levels. Unlike most games where players compete, this game goes out of the way to create a cooperative problem solving setting. Because each Star Wars character has different abilities, working together is mandatory to getting through the game to solve the puzzles and unlock all 160 characters. It’s like you and a friend exploring a dark cave, but your friend has the only flashlight. Discussion is mandatory.

So what if your friend has to go? The computer’s AI sniffs that nothing is happening with the other controller, and takes over in autopilot mode, so it is possible to continue to play by yourself. At any time, a new player can pick up the controller, and join the game.

This game was developed by Giant Software/Traveller’s Tales (both of the UK), and is distributed in the US by LucasArts. The DS version has a different design. Created for LucasArts by the UK-based Traveller’s Tales.

Link to buy LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga Game