Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

(The GAME, Second Edition)

Click box pic (above) to buy this game.

A Techtite Review

This product is Mac-compatible!!!

Yes, it had to happen; the latest game show hit, made into a PC game. However, not many would have expected the game to come out so soon! The first edition by " Jellyvision" was totally rushed, and had its share of snafus; it just didnt have the spark of the game show it was based on. The questions seemed cut-and-pasted from an old You Don't Know Jack trivia game, and didn't seem in touch with the typical questions on the actual show. It wasn't even Macintosh compatible, simple game that it was! Thankfully, this second edition corrects all the above errors of the first version, making it a nice purchase for fans of the TV show...and yes, that's my final answer.

I won't go into the rules of the game per se; that's explained enough in the tv show itself (or in Techtite's review of the show). What I will mention, is how amazingly the game designers translated the game to CD-ROM. For one, the option to "ask the audience" is instead the results of an online poll conducted by the ABC web site; see the percentages of web surfers who chose each answer. "Phone a Friend" is now similar to the "Celebrity Collect Call" questions in You Don't Know Jack 2; Regis phones one of "his friends" for you, and an audio clip is played of the mock phone call. While the game's meager budget couldn't spring for actual celebrity friends of Regis Philbin, the voice actors do a good job. Their answer suggestions can even be wrong at times, in humorous ways; a nice added complexity to the game, and true to the spirit of the tv show.

One gripe of the earlier version of this game ("First Edition," so to speak), was how much Regis repeated himself. That error seems to have been corrected in the Second Edition, with more Regis blurbs. Video clips of Regis also seem more expertly done, and not as "rushed" as the First Edition's video clips seemed to be. It's also ridiculously affordable, given most game prices these days. In short, if you like the TV show, you'll probably want the game...though make sure it's the Second Edition! The First Edition was rated a near miss by Techtite.com!

In the end, the game is, for better or worse, exactly like the game show in visuals; the music is exactly the same, the light effects, and of course Regis narrates the game as you proceed (an actual video clip of Regis even precedes and concludes each full game). However, there's one thing lacking...no real million dollar reward! Bummer. On the other hand, in typical video game style, your "high score" (winnings) are kept track of, so you have a permanent record of when you won, and how much (until you uninstall the program, of course). Although some companies would call a "second edition" a game patch, there's still more than enough reason to buy this newer version...especially for Mac owners, who can finally play it!

	Final Rating : Large Crater. While the First Edition was a Near-Miss rating, this 2nd edition corrects those errors. Mac compatible, too! Nice simulation of the show.
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Also available for the following game systems (click on system name to order): Playstation

 

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