[NewsPoster]

We grew up playing The Incredible Machine and Gizmos and Gadgets, games that required you to think your way through a series of increasingly complex puzzles with a lot of moving parts. That's why we were excited when we first found out about Brain It – Amazing Adventure, a plucky little puzzler.

In Brain It – Amazing Adventure, you're a small robot who discovers that an evil robot is going to blow up your planet with a bomb, and he's taken your robo-friends hostage. It's up to you to figure out how to save the day, and this is done by doing quick-solve lateral thinking puzzles.

The overall feel of Brain It – Amazing Adventure is adorable. It's got a space-race 1950's color palette that we really dig, the puzzles have a lot of visual interest, and even the music is fitting. Despite the games ominous storyline, it doesn't feel dismal -- the game is sunshiny, upbeat, and fun.

That might not be enough for us, though. Our biggest issue with Brain It – Amazing Adventure is that some of the puzzles are a bit obtuse. We called them lateral thinking puzzles above, but that was because we believe that was what the developers were trying to go for. While some of the solutions become obvious after messing around with them a bit, others are still a mystery, even after managing to solve the puzzle. There's just too much trial-and-error and downright luck involved in the puzzles to make this the fantastic game it could have been.

We don't mind hard puzzle games, and in fact, we often times prefer them to the countless games on the App Store that hold your hand through any given puzzle. Brain It - Amazing Adventure, on the other hand, is like being tossed into the deep end of a pool, except you have no concept of what a pool is, and you've only read about water in books. Sometimes there's just not enough there to solve a puzzle through anything other than chance, which makes it feel less like a puzzle game, and a test of endurance and luck.

Do we hate Brain It – Amazing Adventure? No, but we do feel a little let down. The game has the potential to be a fantastic puzzler that could win people's hearts while challenging their brains, but instead it's largely just a "keep tapping on things until something happens" simulator. If you're undaunted by this, Brain It – Amazing Adventure is available for $2, and is available for both iPad and iPhone.

Who would enjoy Brain It – Amazing Adventure:
If you like cute games, and you're willing to fuss with puzzles until you randomly solve them, we think that you might be into this one.

Who wouldn't enjoy Brain It – Amazing Adventure:
If, like us, you're the type of person who wants some logical progression in their puzzle games, you might want to hold off on buying this one.

-- Amber Neely (@SurferAmber)

Readers: do you have an app that you'd like to see us review? Developers: do you want us to take a look at your app? Send your suggestions to our Tips email.