Smart As (PlayStation Vita)

Very good price

So, what do you think this is? It's the Vita's answer to Dr. Kawashima, right? Well, yes. But the thing is, they've not just done Dr Kawashima. Oh no. They've taken the idea of Dr Kawashima and done a great Vita version of it, using the Vita's touchscreen and online functions to add things that the Nintendo game simply can't do. In essense, the deal is this : Every day you do four random challenges (mini games) from a large set, which mostly use the front touchscreen but also sometimes use the other features, like the cameras or back touchpad. Those four challenges produce a score which rates you brain power. As you build up a history of daily results, the game charts your improvement, or not. You can also practice the challenges you've previously tried in 'free mode'. All this is presented in a very clean, minimalist style a bit like the PS VIta WelcomePark app, but better. And all the while you're being cajoled, encouraged and subjected to the withering disappointment of John Cleese, acting like a genial but slightly over-demanding school teacher. So it's all good fun. The bit that really sets it apart though is the the PS Vita is much more 'connected' device than the DS was, so you're not just training yourself, you're competing against the world. All sorts of demographic data is saved along with your results and that's squashed together with everyone else's. How smart are you compared to everyone else in your town? In your country? In the world? Are men smarter than women? Are left handed people smarter than right handed people? All of this data swirls around the game giving you constant feedback and making it feel genuinely like you're part of the 'game world'. You can also issue 'near' challenges to your friends/people in your local area and there's also a foursquare like 'town' challenge - for every town or city, you can 'check in' and get that place's challenge, then try to beat it and get your name listed as smartest person in Karachi/New York/Walthamstow. It all works as a big merry-go-round of stuff and information, encouraging you to try new games and bringing out you competitive spirit. The best complement I can give it is I can't immediately think of anything I'd have done that they haven't, or that I'd have done differently. They've obviously worked hard and produced a truly first class product. Ideally, I'd like it to be have been a bit cheaper. At £10 it would have been an absolute 'must buy'. At £20, it's still very good value but not entirely essential. Well worth the money though if you fancy something that, IMO, couldn't be done on any other platform than the Vita.

Great

I am bought the game from amazon ad the delivery was very fast i am very happy for the game i play it everyday, just buy it !!

This is a game that is similar to the brain training games on the Nintendo platforms. There are three to four puzzle challenges that you complete daily (approx 5 mins per day). The puzzles involve puzzles such as memorising objects, connecting dots, spelling words and simple arithmetic. There are around twenty different puzzles spread over four different subjects. Each puzzle has four skill levels. Every now and again you 'unlock' a new puzzle. This keeps the game fresh and retains your involvement. Once you have 'unlocked' daily puzzles you can practise completing these puzzles as many times as you require. One brilliant feature is the statistics it keeps and displays. You can see how clever you are compared to other people in your town, country, continent and the world. Now for the bad bits. John Cleese is the vocalist, which is a brilliant choice, but he speaks far too slowly, and he explains things in too much detail. I appreciate that the game designers are dictating procedures, but it really gets annoying very quickly. He needs to speak faster, and use less explanation. Also when entering 'missing letters' you have to write freehand on the screen. 15 to 20% of the time the letter is wrongly recognised and hence you are marked down. My letters are immaculately written but wrongly interpreted which is infuriating. It has particular issues recognising 'a' and 't'. The game does not have enough content to warrant the thirty quid it was initially on sale for, and even twenty pounds is too much. This is a game that when compared to resistance, little big planet and most others should be ten to fifteen pounds. I play most games for twenty to fifty hours and five minutes a day makes it less play for your pound. The game also takes ages to load each section. Why is this? You make a selection and the game takes five to ten seconds to compute your selection. However it does display useful hints. Finally because of the daily five minute play it gets very annoying having to constantly change cartridges, particularly if you are mid play on another game. This game should ideally be bought digitally, so you are not messing around with cartridges every day. In summary a 'fair to good' game that if bought at the correct price will retain your interest for many weeks. Although you will get very frustrated at the game for recognising your letter 't' as a 'j', and hence getting 60% instead of 80% (there are four or five questions per day). If you have a list of games you want, then perhaps choose another until this comes down in price.

I am genuinely surprised this game has such a positive set of reviews - I found it a tremendously weak effort, and I really liked Brain Training on the DS. I dislike the interface, the games are shockingly lacking in replay for something that you're meant to play for a few minutes every day, and things like the "word wheel" are just as awkward as drawing the letters out. Games on average last 30 seconds. There's about 20 games which amounts to ten minutes of gameplay, but the loading screens will bump that up to about 25 minutes. On harder difficulties the same puzzles may take longer, but the timer for 3 stars becomes so generous that it's quite silly. I suppose this is where the "compete against the world" part comes in, because the challenge is not present in the game itself. I found you can turn John Cleese off in the settings - but then the game forces you to turn the voice back up to do at least one of the minigames (It's not even his voice in the game!) - and that means John Cleese comes back, too. That's the point I decided that this game was not for me. It's actually just £9 if you buy it digitally, and even at that price I felt cheated.

Didn't pay the "full price" went for a pre-owned for about £5 !! cool game, I love the Vita although not quite sure where Sony see putting it, so my use of it has been minimal, radio player, rare gaming, 2 small for a PS4 link...so this Smart As has made me reaching for it daily. My initial score was 77%, not got near it since, my scores are up n down like a new bride;'s nighty !! New games added often to keep you going back ...love it !!

l have not got it so far! l am really disappointed!!! l am going to ask the seller what happened!