GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 06/02/2000
- Updated on: 05/17/2006
- Released on: 06/01/2000
- Originally published on GameSpot: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, 2nd Edition (PC) Review
Die-hard computer gamers shouldn't begrudge Who Wants to Be a Millionaire its phenomenal success on the PC. It may be difficult to watch such a simple trivia game remain permanently atop the best-seller lists when much better games struggle to stay on for even a week. But the fact is that Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is a credit to the industry, as it's infinitely better than the usual $20 Wal-Mart specials designed to sell cheap, underdeveloped games to novice PC users. Similarly, while the follow-up to last year's original Millionaire game adds nothing to the basic gameplay, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire 2nd Edition could have been a lot worse.
The game retains the first edition's two strongest features, developer Jellyvision and Regis himself. Jellyvision is responsible for the brilliant You Don't Know Jack trivia-game series, so it knows how to make a relatively static gaming format lively.
In this case, it means keeping the limited visual elements of the game moving. As on TV, the basic game revolves around that familiar ladder of 15 questions leading to the million-dollar prize. But Jellyvision makes sure the ladder is dynamic onscreen and that the camera view zooms in and out of the hot-seat stage where you and Reeg are supposedly sitting. Questions zoom in from the side of the screen, flip, and fade - the graphics do just about everything to keep you from realizing how incredibly straightforward the game is at its heart. Unlike on TV, you have only 30 seconds to formulate an answer in the game, but there's a lot of tension anyway. The game deliberately keeps you hanging for a few heartbeats before revealing whether you answered each multiple-choice question correctly.
The vocal stylings of the incomparable Regis Philbin are back once again, though it's unclear whether the game's star has added new shtick to the previous volume's horde of emcee asides. "You're confident of that?" "You're getting into some serious money, here." "Don't blow it." All of these Regisisms survive in this edition. Unfortunately, your host doesn't actually read the questions. He just notes your letter choice and announces which rung of the ladder you've reached. However, the game does have over 600 new questions, which should be plenty of new material even for those who played the original game a lot.
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Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, 2nd Edition (PC):
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