Many health fanatics and yoga-dabbling sorts will tell you that their ultimate goal is to achieve a perfect balance between body and mind. Glu is striving for a similar balance with its latest 2-4-1 release, offering as it does the energetic action of Sonic Jump and the more cerebral exploits of Brain Genius.
Sonic Jump is the weaker of the two games, presenting a fun but frustrating take on the platform genre. You have to guide Sonic on a vertical trajectory, collecting golden rings, destroying bad guys and making sure not to drop off the bottom of the screen.
It still looks quite good - probably because it apes the timeless style of the 16-bit Sonic games. The problem comes with some slightly overly sensitive controls, which pitch you into instant death a little too often. As Stu said in his original review:
“As a casual one-thumb game, it should appeal to a wide base of mobile users, who might find traditional Sonic games a bit hard. Yet the difficulty level is pitched way above their heads.”
Brain Genius fares considerably better. Yes, it’s one of countless brain training games, which are a little old hat nowadays. But it was one of the better examples on mobile at the time, and so it remains. There’s been a slightly superior sequel released since, but other than that there’s not a lot to touch it.
You get scored and tracked on your performance across a series of mental tasks, each falling into one of four categories: Visual, Memory, Calculation, and Logic. It’s the sense of progression that really marks Brain Genius out, providing a lasting experience that few in the genre can match.
“Brain Genius is excellent, in terms of its presentation, its gameplay, and its lasting challenge, particularly as you open up those difficulty levels” said Stu at the time.
Whether you want to bother paying for the privilege of playing the mediocre Sonic Jump in addition to this fine game is another matter, however. If you can find Brain Genius on its own for a cut down price, we’d be more inclined to go for that in addition to one of the original Sonic conversions.
2-4-1 Brain Genius & Sonic Jump
A bit of a mixed bag in terms of both genre and quality, the decent Brain Genius sits uneasily with the mediocre platforming of Sonic Jump
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.