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November 28, 2006
brain exercise and another puppy
Mike gave me an early Christmas present last Tuesday - a black Nintendo DS Lite and a case for it, and he had me pick out two games. I chose Nintendogs (Dachshund and Friends, of course) and Sonic Rush for my two games and ended up getting Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2 and Brain Age myself. I like all the games, but Nintendogs and Brain Age are the two I've been playing the most.
Brain Age is a lot of fun. The sections I've played so far aren't challenging by themselves (basic math, reading out loud, counting syllables), but you're timed on how long it takes you to do them which is what makes it a challenge for me. My current favorite sections are Calculations, which gives you either 20 or 100 various math problems, and High To Low, where you're shown numbers in a random pattern for a second or two then have to remember where the numbers were and click on boxes in the appropriate order.
I love Nintendogs. Mike said all along that it seemed like a game I'd enjoy, but I wasn't sure. I thought it seemed a little gimmicky until I actually played it and realized that it's a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The game lets you have more than one dog at a time, but the only one I have right now is a black and tan dachshund named Jax. The game has you give the dog food and water, take it for walks, and teach it tricks so you can enter it into agility, obedience, or disc catching competitions. You have to pay for the food, water, grooming items, and accessories, and you can earn money by placing in the competitions or by selling things at the secondhand store. As you go on more walks, your dog's stamina increases and it interact with other dogs along the way. Sometimes during the walk your dog will bring you presents, which are usually items for them (Jax has brought me a Mario hat, various colored collars, a rope toy, a bouncy mushroom, sunglasses, and a lion's mane) or various items like a statue, vase, or tissue box, all of which can be sold at the secondhand store.
Posted by oracle at November 28, 2006 8:19 AM in the third year