Never has being dumb been so fun.

Thanks to Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima, a new brain training iPhone app released by Namco Bandai, no longer do I need to pretend that I know how to read in order to seem like I have a single iota of intelligence.‚  Nope, instead all I have to do is turn on my handy iPhone device and start playing the various games that Brain Exercise has to offer, boosting the power of my frontal lobe in the process.

However, with the ever-growing number of apps available, can Dr. Kawashima’s latest creation validate its price tag?‚  Let’s take a look.

The first thing you notice when booting up Brain Exercise is the very clean and colorful presentation found in every menu within the game.‚  If I was told that a sophisticated, educational game heavily used pastels and metallic color schemes throughout its menus, I would have been very skeptical.‚  Nevertheless, Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima makes it work.

After admiring the aesthetics, players must create their own personal, reusable account to login to the game.‚  Each of these profiles allow players to track the progress of their brain training and their improvements “" or regressions, as the case may be “" throughout certain mini-games within Brain Exercise.‚  Account holders can measure their progress through charts, graphs or even by use of a calendar.‚  If you end up deciding to download Brain Exercise, expect to be visiting your profile page religiously.

Once logged into a profile, players can begin their brain training.‚  There are two different ways to do this: either through Brain Training or Brain Age.‚  Each of these modes has their benefits and unique quirks as they test the different regions of the brain with their diverse collection of games.

When starting a brand new profile, I suggest starting with Brain Age.‚  This mode challenges players to complete a certain mini-game at the best time possible.‚  Players will only get one attempt at the game.‚  The more accurate and swiftly one can complete a game, the lower their brain age will be.

The difficult part of Brain Age mode is the fact that a player cannot attempt to lower their age more than once a day.‚  This offers a challenging experience to any player with a competitive, self-improvement mindset.

However, because Brain Age only allows one attempt at a single, brain area specific game each day, a player’s brain age is only determined by testing a single brain region.‚  This would lead to me scoring a low brain age when tested on a certain region, but a higher age when tested on another.‚  It just seems like something as all-inclusive as a brain age should test all regions of the brain, not just one.‚  I would much prefer a “brain region age” with this format.‚  However, I don’t have a PhD and leave much of my education up to the completion of games on iPhone Apps, so I’ll leave the decisions up to Dr. Kawashima.

Once you have established your brain age, it is time to get to work with Brain Training.‚  This is the mode where players will probably be spending most of their time in. ‚ Brain Training lets players complete three different games per day in order to condition their brain for success in their next Brain Age attempt.

Using the Brain Training mode is a great way for players to learn all of the different games that Brain Exercise has to offer such as: Inverted Numbers, a game in which players must type in which upside-down or backwards number they see on the screen, testing the Parietal lobe of the brain; Rolling Shapes, a game in which players must decide position a shape is lying after its silhouette is rolled, testing the Temporal love; and Add 3, a game in which players must do simple math problems while also adding 3 to the resulting answer, testing the Frontal lobe.

The great thing about Brain Training is that it is able to test more than a single brain region at once by letting players complete multiple games.‚  Brain Training also collects all the data from your attempts and adds it to your progress tracker in your profile.

Brain Exercise is full of extra goodies as well.‚  First, Brain Exercise will keep the casual Sudoku player satisfied with an additional bonus game.‚  Also, players can enjoy a multiplayer experience by using the Challenge function, which allows players to duel their friends by playing a certain game on the same iPhone.‚  Finally, players can also download high scores from around the world and also upload their personal profile to the web.

There are very few negative things to say about Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima.‚  Sure, the price might be a little higher than a lot of Apps available for the iPhone.‚  But, given that Brain Exercise is a game that can be used every day, the price is justified.‚  Another potential negative aspect of Brain Exercise is the lack of clarity within the game instructions.‚  The presentation of the instruction screens is great, but it usually takes a run-through or two before a game is fully understood.

Overall, Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima is a great App.‚  It is fun, addicting and, most impressively, educational.‚  This is a great release and has already become one of my favorite Apps.

Brain Training with Dr. Kawashima is available in the iTunes App store for $5.99.

Get your shovels ready. It’s time to get your Dig Dug on.

Yes, once again Namco has come out with another throwback title for the iPhone. This time Namco has reached all the way back to 1982 to recover the popular arcade game Dig Dug, a game in which players control a single futuristic miner whose sole mission is to eliminate the dangerous monsters who inhabit the underground, to create Dig Dug Remix.

In Dig Dug Remix there are two versions of the game. First is the original version, which is identical to what you would find in an arcade in the 80′s, just in a smaller package. Second, there is the Remix version, which gives players a more updated and impressive presentation of the classic title.

(A look at the classic version of Dig Dug.)

Of the two versions, the Remix is quite impressive and is definitely my favorite game to play. Though this version does not closely resemble its more famous, classic counterpart, Remix really brings a different and exciting look to an old-school game.

The Remix edition also shows an incredible attention to detail for such a simple game. From the character animations to the movement of the dirt, the Remix is sure to please even the most fickle of visual critics. Even things as small as the flowers, which are located in an area that is rarely used in the game, sway back and forth in the wind. I found that the small mole that pokes his head out of the topsoil during random instances in the game to be the most enjoyable of these features.

(A closer look at the Remix version of Dig Dug. ‚ Notice the higher quality graphics.)

However, beyond its nostalgic value and great graphics, Dig Dug for the iPhone has one major flaw: the control systems. Dig Dug Remix offers two different ways to control your character. One of these is by use of the basic arrow pad; the other by means of “flicking.” Though both of these control systems have their advantages, neither is particularly useful for this game.

As mentioned earlier, the default control system is by using your thumb to press a basic arrow pad. The pad itself is fully functional. However, the size of the pad becomes very bothersome. When trying to press the up arrow, you end up going sideways instead. Trying to use your index finger to press the arrows is worth a shot, but it feels quite unnatural. Overall, this system was not fun to use. Not fun at all.

The second control system is called flick. With this system, players flick their finger anywhere on the screen in the direction that they want Dig Dug to go. Though it sounds simple, flick is equally as frustrating as the directional pad. All too often my flicks would not register within the game, resulting in many deaths. Also, I would find myself flicking across the main part of the screen in order to make sure my instructions register. However, this would often interfere with the in-game visibility, resulting in more deaths. In a game that relies heavily on precise directional control, these problems are incredibly disappointing.

Dig Dig Remix is definitely a fun app for the iPhone. Namco has been doing a solid job reincarnating the classic titles of the past for use on mobile devices. In the case of Dig Dug Remix however, the control system, which is frustrating enough to make fans new and old very frustrated with this beloved game, makes it quite apparent that there may be more worthy investments for your iCash.

Dig Dug Remix is available exclusively for the iPhone for $5.99.

In the brief time that they have been producing apps, Namco has already become one of the industry leaders in bringing classic games and characters from years past to today’s hottest piece of technology: the iPhone.

With that in mind, it was no surprise to a lot of folks in the business that Namco was releasing another bit of nostalgia with Inspector Gadget.

Inspector Gadget, a character who recently celebrated his 25^th birthday, is up to his old habits as he solves the world’s toughest cases one goofy mistake at a time. With the help of his niece Penny and their trusty dog Brain, players will be able to guide their favorite characters throughout the many complex, maze-like levels while collecting clues and points along the way.

Inspector Gadget gives players the option of playing a New Game, which is essentially a campaign mode that saves your progress, or a Quick Play, which allows players who are short on time to try and beat their top scores in single levels.

The first thing players will notice when starting a New Game is how cluttered the screen is. The game takes you through a quick-and-dirty tutorial (which pretty much involves arrows pointing at the buttons with a two or three word explanation of what function they perform). Once you look past the sheer number of buttons and how visually intrusive they can be, you start to realize that the layout is fairly straightforward and intuitive.

First, on the top left and right corners of your screen (when the iPhone is held in with a landscape orientation) you will find a button consisting of two arrows. This is the jump left/jump right button.‚  You can also use these buttons to change your direction while you are in the air. Right below the jump buttons you will fine the walk left/walk right buttons. Below those are the crawl left and crawl right buttons.

Finally, right next to the walk buttons are the action buttons. These buttons, signified by their red color, activate the various amounts of gadgets made available throughout the game. However, these buttons, though arguably the most important in the game, are also the most disturbing as they are the ones closest to the middle of the screen. So, as easy and intuitive as the controls of Inspector Gadget are, the intrusiveness of their placement really offsets a lot of their value.

You really get your money’s worth with the length and complexity of the levels in Inspector Gadget. Players will have to explore the majority of the levels to unlock certain areas and to continue the investigation. Levels also have some variability in their types. Though most of the time levels will require players to walk, other levels will be put on rails, putting players in a race against time.

One thing that stood out in Inspector Gadget was its lack of replayability. Levels usually took too long to reattempt in short time periods (which, in my experience, seems to be when the majority of gaming apps are used). Also, the built-in high scores are not very challenging, and easy to beat.

Overall, Inspector Gadget is a quality game. It is fun, lengthy and, best of all, will bring you back your days of youth and cartoon watching. You may not want to play it more than a few times, but you will be able to get some decent mileage out of it with the complexity of the levels. At $4.99, it’s a stretch to justify the price. However, if you like maze games and would like a bit of nostalgia, it might be worth spending the extra iCoin.