Majesco’s Mind ‘n Motion: First Impressions

When I first saw Majesco’s new Kinect game, Mind ‘n Motion, showcased in their E3 meeting room, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread wash over me.  Seeing the on-screen avatar standing in a lab setting, I immediately drew comparisons to Dr. Kawashima’s Body and Brain Connection.  Not that Body and Brain wasn’t fun to play; It was just the harsh (good-natured?!) name-calling that I couldn’t bear.  Having been emotionally scarred by Dr. Kawashima pronouncing me to be a “Booing Banshee”, I was wary of Majesco’s new Kinect game.

Luckily, the Mind ‘n Motion demonstrator put my fears to rest.  He was quick to explain that the game’s purpose is not to evaluate your brain, but it instead helps you with your motor skills, dexterity and coordination!  Through a series of activities, the game gauges your level of dexterousness and helps you improve your motor skills as you complete tasks and level up.  Each activity has 10 levels, and keeps your body in constant motion as your mind and body work together to trigger the next stage.

One aspect that I thought was quite awesome is that the game also measures which side of your brain is more dominant, and helps you to work on  your less-dominant side as well.  For example, the demonstrator was right-side dominant, so in a soccer activity, he was initially missing the balls aimed at his left side.  But over time, with practice using his left leg, he was able to swiftly kick the oncoming ball using either foot.

We watched the demonstrator play activities such as juggling and hacky sack, and all the while, he talked about the mechanics of the game – which, I thought, spoke highly of his dexterity and ability to multitask!  Essentially, Mind ‘n Motion is a fun game, providing activities in increasing difficulty that helps your reaction time as well as improving your body’s coordination.  There isn’t a panel of judges, and you won’t be given degrading nicknames if you ‘fail’ at a certain task.  If you fail, try and try again.

Mind ‘n Motion definitely provides a good work-out, although a lot more fun than your standard exercising routine!  With the multi-level activities, this game will provide hours of fun-filled challenges for both children and adults alike.  Check out Mind ‘n Motion when it hits shelves this October exclusively on Kinect for Xbox 360!