Product reviewsBrain Bender (Nintendo Game Boy)

The game is extremely easy and fun.

Brain Bender is a simple game to play with much built in complexity.

The point of the game is to guide a laser beam of light from it’s source to the satellite, which will be destroyed. The light cannon is stationary and never moves, forcing the gamer to turn a series of mirrors to redirect the light in a new direction.

Each level has a series of goals to achieve before the satellite can be destroyed. Many levels also contain gas spheres, all of which need to be destroyed before the level can be completed. Other levels have light bulbs included which need to be deactivated with the laser. Hitting the bulb a second time will turn it back on, which wastes valuable time to turn it off again.

To add to the challenge every level has a ticking timer counting down. Should the timer run out the the level is over.

Also if at any time the laser beam is reflected back towards the source, the timer runs down at an accelerated rate. One wrong move and you may not have enough time left to complete your stage.

There are three difficulties in the game – easy, medium and hard. The levels are the same in the different difficulties, but the time allowed to complete them changes. For example in easy mode you have 40 seconds to complete the second stage of level one, but in medium you only have 30 seconds. Try out hard mode and you are limited to just 10 seconds. The length of time you have to complete a stage varies from stage to stage.

If you do fail to complete a stage you can opt to retry, but doing so will cost you 1200 points. Luckily the more quickly you complete a stage will give you a time bonus to earn extra points. If you run out of points and it’s game over.

Further levels add more challenges:
- Reflective angled mirrors that can’t be moved
- Blocks that grow if light touches them for a few seconds which can block a needed path
- Glass orb which reflects light directly back to the source.Read full review...