Good remake of a classic but too much multimedia
Written: Jan 28 '01 (Updated Jan 28 '01)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Good graphics and audio, great if you have someone to play with, good extra features
Cons: Too much multimedia, computer players cheat, fairly limited replay value
The Bottom Line: Good game that's fairly true to the game show - nothing groundbreaking in graphics, sound, etc. Recommended for multi-player use.
|
|
|
| pc41's Full Review: Jeopardy 2 for PlayStation 1 |
I think almost everyone has watched the show at least once so I won't go into the actual gameplay because it's exactly the same with Alex as the host and even Johnny as the announcer. You can play this game with up to three human players with the remainder as computer players. Overall, this is a good and challenging game. The categories are varied, up to date, and with a reasonable level of difficulty. You won't find it too easy or too difficult. My main complaints are as follows:
1) Hasbro has tried to put too many multimedia features in this game that get simply annoying. For example, each time you answer a question correctly, a globe will pop up somewhere in the screen with Alex congratulating you on your fine answer and telling you to choose the next answer. I feel this breaks up the flow of the game. I'd rather get to the next question right away and unfortunately there is no way to skip or turn off this feature.
Along the same vein, there are too many video categories or audio categories. I think most people are no longer impressed by multimedia clips in games. It's not like we're in 1995 anymore when CD-ROM's and sound cards were still rare. If this game wants to remain true to the TV show, they should be kept to a reasonable level.
2) The computer players have a tendency to cheat. The computer has a surprisingly fast reaction time and will buzz in even if you've been trying to buzz in while the question is being read.
3) Quirky buzz-in scheme. It's never explained in the manual or in the program when you're supposed to buzz in - when the question has been read or when the lights come on. I've played players that swear by both and even after many games, I've never really figured out what's the best method.
4) Limited replay value. Although there are thousands or questions included with this game, the categories are not completely randomized so after a while you may end up with a board of questions that you've already played in its entirety. ie each category is paired with a set of 5 others and is not randomized. Therefore, if you happen to get one repeat category, you actually get all six as a repeat. I don't know how else to explain it but I hope you can understand what I'm trying to say. This is just poor game design. It's particularly annoying when you're playing someone else and you get to Double Jeopardy and you find that you've already seen all the questions. If you like to play fair, then you have to admit to the other player/players that you already know all the answers and that you restart the game wasting time. Hasbro should work on this if a Jeopardy 3 should be produced.
Apart from these three problems, this is an otherwise good game. Nothing ground breaking in terms of graphics, sound, or gameplay. At $20-$25, it's a good deal and will give you hours of fun.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
pc41
|
|
Member: Philip Chang
Location: New York, NY, USA
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me:
23 year old, NYU School of Medicine student, BS Chemical Engineering Cornell University '99
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.