Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Special Editions Review

Game: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire – Special Editions

Developer: Doublesix

Publisher: Deep Silver

Available on: Xbox LIVE Arcade & PlayStation Network (Reviewed via PlayStation Network)

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire isn’t the biggest quiz show of all time, it is the biggest TV SHOW of all time. It is a show that transcends its medium and even spawned a successful film in Slumdog Millionaire. It has aired in over 100 countries (as the game’s “Did you know?” loading screens will inform you) and has been a worldwide power house in television since its inception in 1998. So basically, it is a franchise that is pretty well known.

Like any well known franchise, it is only right that it has spawned a video game in the guise of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? – Special Editions. It’s just a shame that the tension of the TV show couldn’t be replicated in this PSN/XBLA download.

The game follows the same principal as the show, answer 15 questions and you get a million pounds. Fastest finger, the 3 famous lifelines, the “live studio audience”, pretty much everything here is as it should be. The graphics aren’t anything ground breaking, nor are they even that nice to look at, but they do their job and they do that job in a mediocre fashion. Like so many other things in the game.

From the moment you start the game, the music is authentic and adds a nice touch of realism to the proceedings. The high tempo, dramatic tunes that we’ve all heard for years whilst Chris reads out the question are all there…Oh yes, “Chris”. That’s a big gripe I have with this. The presenter is obviously modelled after Mr. Tarrant (maybe more TisWas than Millionaire with his fresh face), but lacks the vocals of one, Mr. Tarrant and that can’t be overlooked. It’s an instant break away from the gravitas of the event. The voice actor who replaces Chris does an ok job, but his job isn’t too taxing anyway. The presenter’s dialogue gets repetitive from the word go as he repeats phrases such as; “You don’t have to play”, “You might as well have a look” and his general “Hmmm” noises are grating and honestly, creepy at the best of times. When a question appears on screen, the presenter doesn’t read it out and just inserts a nasal sniff or suggests your avatar use a lifeline in a condescending tone whilst you read the text displayed.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is based on tension, as there are no time limits on questions, but the game suffers because of this and leaves itself open to players googling answers and I have no doubt the online leaderboards are rife with the like. From an online point of view, it’s disappointing there was no online multiplayer implemented as that would add some excitement to such a mundane affair. The local multiplayer in the game is nothing spectacular as it just becomes a game of, “You take your question, then I take mine, then he/she takes theirs”. It simply turns into a longer game of single player.

The questions themselves are actually quite difficult and sporadically so. The £300 question may be an absolute puzzle whilst the one for £4000 might be a dream. That’s not because of the old adage, “They’re only easy if you know them”, that’s because of poor structuring within the quiz and, at the end of the day, that’s what this is. The fastest finger first part of the game is also a waste of time. Regardless of your answers in that part of the quiz, you move onto the £100 question…that’s not how I remember it. Fair enough, it may be difficult to go about making fastest finger seem like it means something if you’re playing in single player as it’s a requirement to move on to the next stage, but it would be nice if it meant something in multiplayer. It doesn’t. You all still move on to the £100 question. Lifelines are as you would expect; Ask The Audience, 50/50 and Phone A Friend. Phone A Friend provides a bit of an unintentional laugh as the voice on the other end of the line repeats, “umm” & “aaahh” until “Chris” somehow deciphers their speech and tells you what their answer is.

The movie expansion pack adds another element to the game, but the South Park DLC was a really nice touch. You choose a generic South Park looking avatar and all the members of the audience are replaced with people who look like they’ve wandered in from the little Colorado town. There are some Cartman & Co. sound bites inserted in to the game as you get a question right or wrong and South Park fans may crack a small smile at this and the South Park themed Phone A Friend. But that’s it. If you’re a fan of South Park, you’ll relatively enjoy the DLC.

VERDICT: Millionaire is sadly rather dull. The lack of options make it a task to play. When compared to other quiz games on the market, it doesn’t hold up and that is a shame as so much more could’ve been done with it. Questions rarely repeat themselves, which is good, but this still doesn’t succeed in saving this game.

Our Scoring Policy