For more on Dr. Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises, check out our full Dr. Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises review. Or, for more of the best Xbox 360 games for a 10 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
At first glance, Body and Brain Exercises may seem like a perfect game for a child, giving them a fun, easy way to speed up their mental arithmetic, and helping them boost their problem solving skills in a fun way. And, for older children (8 or 9 plus), it is - we have no doubt that the maths sections especially *will* help children's mental arithmetic. You'll notice yourself that after a few sessions of playing, you'll be able to do basic sums a lot quicker, as you *know* what the figures will add up to.
The only problem is, Body and Brain Exercises also has a pretty steep learning curve that may put some younger children off. The maths questions often didn't give us enough time to figure them out, so you can only imagine how tricky they'll be for younger players. It can also be pretty demoralising at times, regularly awarding you grade Ds, even though you've tried your best - but if you've got a get up and go kid, with any luck they'll just laugh and shrug it off.
Outside of maths, the other games have a fair amount of educational value themselves, mostly in terms of helping to build reactions, memory, and problem solving. While it won't have much lasting value for kids, as a "play ten minutes of this, then you can play what you want" game, it should go down a treat.
Focussing on giving your brain a workout, rather than your trigger finger, Dr Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises is totally free of any sex, swearing or bad language, and contains nothing that parents need to be concerned about.
Dr Kawashima's Body and Brain Exercises is a great family game, supporting up to four players taking it in turns at the various minigames. The game takes on a gameshow format, with Dr Kawashima acting as the host, as you each take on a minigame of your own, before facing off against another player in the finale. Each game has a twist to it, with the intention of making things a bit harder - but whether the game's playing a distracting noise, or dropping avatars down the screen, it never gets too complex. It's a tad disappointing that you aren't all given the same games to play, so it can sometimes feel a bit unfair if you're given a game that you just happen to suck at, while the other players get given games they know like the back of their hand, but for the most part, the multiplayer's a fun distraction.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Xbox 360
