Big Huge Games' first title was the PC RTS title Rise of Nations. While the game was released over five years ago via Microsoft that isn't stopping it being used for a study to see if it can help improve mental skills in senior citizens.

Accoring to a story on the UK based Times of the Internet web site, the University of Illinois picked the game for their study because it "gives gamers points for building cities and feeding and employing their people, maintaining an adequate military and expanding their territory." The study found that people in their 60s and 70s who played the game were "significantly better and faster at switching between tasks compared with a comparison group. Their working memory, as reflected in the tests, also was significantly improved and their reasoning ability was enhanced."

[Via Kotaku]