There can be few people alive who have not heard of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?; given that at its height it was probably the most enjoyed global television phenomena. That said it was only a matter of time before it success was translated into a computer game.

At the heart of the game is a simple trivia quiz. Each question is presented with four possible answers, from which you, the contestant, must choose one. If you get the question right you gain a fictitious financial prize, all the way up to one million pounds. You do get breaks at £1000 and £32000, where even if you get a question wrong you only drop back to these amounts.

As you ascend the financial ladder the questions become increasingly harder, so the game has a number of options for you which may help.

Ask the Audience is based on actual audience votes, the votes are shared between the four answers. In theory this gives you an answer on the balance of probability, but it only works if the majority of the audience has a better idea of the answer than you do.

You have the option of taking a 50/50 chance where the computer will take away two wrong answers, although in my experience, it invariably leaves you with the two you were torn between. Phone a Friend, allows you to talk to someone who hopefully has a better idea than you do, though this is not guaranteed.

The game worked well as a television program, where real people were playing for actual cash, creating the game has preserved much of the structure of the show, but lost some of its spontaneous fun.

Graphically the game is presented in the same manner as the show, with you, the contestant, being asked questions in the Millionaire studio. This only changes in some of the add on modules, like the Star Trek questions, where you get to sit on the bridge of the Enterprise.

The basic game is a good all round trivia quiz; a round should only take you ten minutes or so. The add on modules expand on this, into specialised areas, including South Park, Movies, Star Trek, Music, more trivia, Football and Sport.

One of the things I liked very much about the game was the range of questions available, this is more noticeable in the sport and movie sections, where you would expect that they would be limited to the last ten years or so, but nope, the questions cover the whole history. With sections like South Park and Star Trek, what the game lacks in historical length it makes up with some of the most obscure questions ever. I thought I pretty much knew everything about Star Trek only for the game to pull some really weird questions which left me scratching my head. The very least you want out of a trivia quiz is a challenge and Millionaire certainly provides this.

So the game is not likely to set the world on fire, but its combination of good questions, simple interface, potentially short play time and almost pocket money price, means it’s a real winner. The inclusion of some real online action would have made millionaire a better game, but then it would have cost more.

7

Charles Packer