Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, by Capcom Interactive, Inc.
$4.99, ****1/2
Pros:
Cons:
The quest for the perfect trivia game. Numerous challengers, many failures?how does ?Who Wants to be a Millionaire?? stack up?
For those unfamiliar with the game show, the premise is simple. A person is presented with increasingly difficult trivia question. Each correct answer gives you a prize amount, working your way up to $1,000,000! Wrong answer and you are out of the game (winning only whatever the last ?safe? amount was). Along the way, you can use various lifelines to help you out with the questions ? Call a Friend (asking for help?although you don?t really call someone, it would be cool if you did!), Ask the Audience (and get their idea of what the correct answer is), Double Dip (where you can make two guesses instead of one), and once it is unlocked ? Ask an Expert (where you can get the opinion of one of the games ?experts?).
In terms of adhering to the TV version of the game show, the app sticks pretty closely. I found the trivia questions reasonably difficult ? starting off very easy (with questions like ?What did the woodchuck chuck??) and getting more and more difficult. I found that unlike many games, as the questions got more and more difficult, there wasn?t always an obvious choice from the multiple choice options ? a nice change from having an obvious answer in some of the easier trivia apps.
The graphics and sounds are pretty straightforward. Any game show fan will recognize the theme music from the show. The graphics are simple ? designed to replicate the screen the contestant sees when actually playing the game. No animated videos of game show hosts ? although there is a startup video each time you play with the host saying ?Let?s play Millionaire?.
On a side note, I was actually on the show?sort of. A friend of mine was a contestant, made it to the hot seat, and had me listed as one of his ?call a friend? lifelines. Sure enough, he asked for them to call me, I answered the question quickly (and correctly), winning him $32,000. In fact, I was so sure of my answer, we chatted for a few minutes, with him asking, on live TV, how my 1 year old daughter was doing.
Anyway, the apps boast over 900 questions, and a recent update included another 100. I have played the app at least 20 times, and have only gotten one repeat question.
Unfortunately, the app doesn?t take the game any farther. It is well designed and fun to play, but we aren?t winning $1,000,000 in real life (obviously) so it would have been fun to add some variants. Perhaps a two way ?race? to see who can get the most money fastest. Maybe a game where you compete against someone, choosing each other?s questions. Yes, those really are ?Who Wants to be a Millionaire? but they would be fun variants to add to the game. I don?t know if they were limited by copyright laws, but I was disappointed not to see anything extra.
All in all, this is a fun port of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire game. It has a good question base, with questions ranging in difficulty as they do on the real show. Unfortunately the app doesn?t ?add? anything to the game, but at $4.99 if you are a fan of the show it would be worth considering. I found this to be one of the better trivia game apps that I have tried. If you are unsure, there is a free version to try out first. Four and a half out of five stars.
Rating scale:
* = No redeeming qualities or features, probably not worth it even if it is free
** = Few redeeming qualities, or is simply isn't worth the price
*** = Some good features but also some clear flaws.
**** = A solid app, worth the money if interested, a few flaws or problems or slightly overpriced
***** = Top of the line app, no problems or drawbacks.
Price is factored into the ratings. Ratings are lowered if I feel the price of the app outweighs the benefits/enjoyment/features it provides. Likewise, an app that is a good value for the money will have a higher rating.
$4.99, ****1/2
Pros:
- Solid port of the game show
- Good range of questions
- Captures the ?feel? of the game show
Cons:
- No additional game modes or options
The quest for the perfect trivia game. Numerous challengers, many failures?how does ?Who Wants to be a Millionaire?? stack up?
For those unfamiliar with the game show, the premise is simple. A person is presented with increasingly difficult trivia question. Each correct answer gives you a prize amount, working your way up to $1,000,000! Wrong answer and you are out of the game (winning only whatever the last ?safe? amount was). Along the way, you can use various lifelines to help you out with the questions ? Call a Friend (asking for help?although you don?t really call someone, it would be cool if you did!), Ask the Audience (and get their idea of what the correct answer is), Double Dip (where you can make two guesses instead of one), and once it is unlocked ? Ask an Expert (where you can get the opinion of one of the games ?experts?).
In terms of adhering to the TV version of the game show, the app sticks pretty closely. I found the trivia questions reasonably difficult ? starting off very easy (with questions like ?What did the woodchuck chuck??) and getting more and more difficult. I found that unlike many games, as the questions got more and more difficult, there wasn?t always an obvious choice from the multiple choice options ? a nice change from having an obvious answer in some of the easier trivia apps.
The graphics and sounds are pretty straightforward. Any game show fan will recognize the theme music from the show. The graphics are simple ? designed to replicate the screen the contestant sees when actually playing the game. No animated videos of game show hosts ? although there is a startup video each time you play with the host saying ?Let?s play Millionaire?.
On a side note, I was actually on the show?sort of. A friend of mine was a contestant, made it to the hot seat, and had me listed as one of his ?call a friend? lifelines. Sure enough, he asked for them to call me, I answered the question quickly (and correctly), winning him $32,000. In fact, I was so sure of my answer, we chatted for a few minutes, with him asking, on live TV, how my 1 year old daughter was doing.
Anyway, the apps boast over 900 questions, and a recent update included another 100. I have played the app at least 20 times, and have only gotten one repeat question.
Unfortunately, the app doesn?t take the game any farther. It is well designed and fun to play, but we aren?t winning $1,000,000 in real life (obviously) so it would have been fun to add some variants. Perhaps a two way ?race? to see who can get the most money fastest. Maybe a game where you compete against someone, choosing each other?s questions. Yes, those really are ?Who Wants to be a Millionaire? but they would be fun variants to add to the game. I don?t know if they were limited by copyright laws, but I was disappointed not to see anything extra.
All in all, this is a fun port of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire game. It has a good question base, with questions ranging in difficulty as they do on the real show. Unfortunately the app doesn?t ?add? anything to the game, but at $4.99 if you are a fan of the show it would be worth considering. I found this to be one of the better trivia game apps that I have tried. If you are unsure, there is a free version to try out first. Four and a half out of five stars.
Rating scale:
* = No redeeming qualities or features, probably not worth it even if it is free
** = Few redeeming qualities, or is simply isn't worth the price
*** = Some good features but also some clear flaws.
**** = A solid app, worth the money if interested, a few flaws or problems or slightly overpriced
***** = Top of the line app, no problems or drawbacks.
Price is factored into the ratings. Ratings are lowered if I feel the price of the app outweighs the benefits/enjoyment/features it provides. Likewise, an app that is a good value for the money will have a higher rating.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram