Just like the Large Hadron Collider, this experiment should never have been attempted…
Offer your assistance in Professor Ivor Question’s Encleverment Experiment! He’s looking for people just like you to play his 16 exciting minigames, collect 60 available Mascots and create new challenges in his Home-made Game editor! Featuring support for the Big Button Controller and Live Vision Camera, the Encleverment Experiment also includes full Avatar support and LIVE play for up to four players!
Encleverment Experiment is an attempt to bring a Brain Training style game to XBLA. There have been many games like this on other platforms trying to cash in on Nintendo’s big seller, but can Blitz deliver on the concept?
Sadly not, instead what we get is a small number of puzzles that are a very mixed bag in terms of fun and difficulty. It’s pretty obvious that the game is meant for younger gamers who are put off by the more sophisticated puzzle games designed to test the old grey matter. The problem is that some of the puzzles can be damn hard, even for kids…so it’s hard to see what audience the game is designed for.
For the price tag, you would expect more than 16 minigames…especially when some of them are very short. Multiplayer mixes things up a bit and put it on an even playing field, since playing the AI can be very challenging. But, it all feels like a missed opportunity. The puzzles aren’t engaging or that much fun to do and once you’ve played each of them once, you’ll be sick of the sight of them.
It’s not like with other brain training games where you can put up with doing the same puzzles over and over, these ones just lack the charm or enjoyment of its competitors. It’s a shame because the cartoon style of the game is nice and there is potential underneath it all, but it just never gets the chance to shine since there are far better games for the genre than this.
The Verdict
Encleverment Experiment is an odd one. It’s hard to tell exactly who it is meant for, the younger gamer will look the cartoon visuals but will struggle with some of the minigames, while older gamers will find a lot of them easy and not much fun. I would suggest sticking to your favourite brain training game for now and hope that someone makes a game worthy of living in its shadow.
