Full Review

23 February 2007 - Meaning for Japanese for scream, Gya is supposed to make you do just that, but can this simple puzzle really be that scary?

Get past the marketing hype and this is really just an update to Simon Says. The idea behind the meteorite looking device from Tomy is to beat the puzzles that test your co-ordination, reflexes and memory skills.

There are 10 games in total to master with a final showdown to beat (which at time of writing we haven't as yet). Each game has just five levels of difficulty and the games include memorise the flashing sequence, hunt down the matching pairs, avoid the glowing light source and uncover the hidden buttons.

The games are fairly simple and straight forward enough to understand and normally involve you having to spin the ball around in your hand to see what is going on, on the other side of the ball.

In practice and your kids will either love it or hate it as they spin the ball around in their hands to see where the flashing light has moved to next. The levels all start off fairly easy getting faster and harder as they progress, but with only five levels per game it's fairly straightforward to conquer your way through the earlier challenges.

Accompanying the games is an awful beeping sound and a scream (get the connection) when you get it wrong, which, parents will be pleased about you can turn off. If you don't, it will drive you mad in about 30 seconds flat.

VERDICT
A touch large for kids with smaller hands, the Gya is good, but not great and certainly at £20 a mite too expensive for what it gives back in return.

It might be a modern, more gruelling Simon Says, but we still prefer the classic with its four coloured buttons that went on for what seemed like forever.

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