Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Review

For PlayStation

Rating: Good
   As entertaining as this game is, a video game based on a game show has 
to do more than simply be entertaining.  It also has to be faithful to the 
TV show and make the gamer feel like he or she is really playing an 
interactive version of the show.  This is where the video game version of 
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire falls short.
   Only two things were faithfully translated from the TV show to the video
game: the music and the general format.  I realize that you can't really 
phone a friend in a PlayStation game, but the developers of this game 
didn't have to make all the Phone-A-Friend's overbearing and obnoxious.  
They all try so hard to be funny (and fail so miserably) that it really 
takes you out of the game.  
   The questions themselves are incredibly dry compared to the You Don't 
Know Jack series.  Also, I'm not sure whether or not I'm just imagining 
this, but it seems to me that the questions in the video game version of 
Wants To Be A Millionaire are a lot harder than the questions on the TV 
show.  (Either that, or I'm just really, really stupid.)  
   This game also has lots of loading time considering the fact that there 
aren't many real graphics to speak of (just the "hot seat" from the TV show 
and the graphic that goes from $100 to $1 million).  The game moves at a 
very slow pace, with a ridiculous amount of lag between questions.  Rather 
than adding a sense of drama to the game, these pauses are just annoying.  
Why does Regis have to say something like, "So, you're going with B?" after 
every single time you answer a question?
   The only multi-player option in the entire game is having two people 
compete in a Fastest Finger question, and then whoever wins gets to keep 
playing the game while the other watches.  The Fastest Finger questions are
the kinds of questions that you either know or you don't.  If you come 
across one that completely stumps both you and your friend, you'll be 
sitting there for a very long time guessing until one of you guesses 
correctly (or until the game finally moves on to another question after 
what seems like an eternity).
   Another thing I found disheartening was the lack of real incentive to do 
well in the game.  I sent Sony an e-mail that read, "I just won a million 
dollars in the Millionaire game for the PlayStation.  Please send the check 
to this address..."  I have not heard back from Sony and I have not gotten 
my million dollars.  Maybe it's in the mail...  (All right, this last 
paragraph is just sarcasm.)
   Despite all of these flaws, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is still 
mindlessly addictive for a while because it's fun to play through the 
single-player game with a friend using your combined knowledge.  Still, 
there's no way this game is worth $40.  It takes a really greedy company to 
charge $40 for this game when the nearly identical PC version can be 
purchased for under $20.

Send your thoughts on this review to ivan@mastergamer.com

     

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