The Wii has a lot of games that could be considered “party” titles. There are also quite a few games that are targeted at the whole family, but there’s not really a party title aimed at the whole family. Now, thanks to the folks at GSN, the Game Show Network, and publisher Storm City Games we have an original concept on the Wii with a family game dressed up like a game show. Despite the popularity of the Nintendo Wii, the one genre that’s been sorely missing is the game show. While titles like Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune were announced earlier this year, the only game show style title to hit the little white console was the very bad Merv Griffin's Crosswords. Thankfully that’s changed.
GSN Presents Family Gameshow is exactly what the name sounds like. It’s a title that gives both you and your entire family the game show experience that everyone’s seen on TV. Four players can take part in a variety of game shows, each with its own personality and style of play. You can of course play any of them alone or in any combination of human and CPU players. The experience is no different except of course you can’t gloat in the face of a CPU opponent.
As mentioned, there’s a variety of game types broken down into three sub-categories. These include Control Freak, which is hosted by Larry Lightfoot and has the players answering three questions to proceed. One of the interesting things about this game type is that it has what are basically “life-lines”. As you answer the general knowledge questions you can for example use a joker card. A fun twist in Control Freak is the ability to turn a question onto one of the other contestants in the hopes of them getting it wrong and losing some valuable points.
The third show type is Puzzle Addict and is hosted by Tom Wordsworth, which sounds like the perfect game show host name to me. Puzzle Addict is the closest thing to a video game with players having lives that they lose when using an incorrect letter in the crossword-style gameplay. Players fill in the words throughout the game and sometimes it’s a little difficult thanks to some very general clues that could result in a lot of answers depending on who you ask. If this sounds boring, don’t worry because rounds are broken up with mini-games like Sudoku to keep things fresh. Puzzle Addict isn’t the most exciting of the three types offered, but it’s still fun.
Needless to say, each of the three modes of play are enjoyed best with some other human competitors. The CPU opponents offer a nice challenge and you never get the feeling you’re being cheated by a super-fast AI contestant, but it’s always more fun to compete against someone in the same room (unless you’re losing).
Visually this game looks good. It doesn’t wow you in any particular way and yet there’s nothing to complain about. Trivia and game show titles are comparable to music and rhythm games when it comes to graphics because the visuals are never the focus. It’s the gameplay, such as questions, controller response time, and depth of play. Because of this, the graphics in GSN Presents Family GameShow do exactly what they’re supposed to and convey the gameplay. Everything is smooth and colorful, so the little ones will get a kick out of staring at the TV. The only gripe I can muster is the lip-syncing of the host’s mouth to the actual dialog. Again, that’s just me searching for a fault.
The audio does a good job of delivering that game show feel with individual tunes and sound effects for each show. This allows for the three shows to feel separate and give a true-to-life feeling like the shows are real. I can’t say the same for the host’s dialog which at times feels a little phoned in and artificial. That makes a little sense when you consider there are over three thousand different questions which means a lot of gameplay and lines to be heard. Overall the sound does a fine job of standing up to the test of your family playing this one for hours.
When it’s all said and done, Storm City and The Game Show Network have a nice little title on their hands that fills a hole in the Nintendo Wii’s library. With no sign of Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy coming to retail anytime soon, I’d have to recommend that anyone who enjoys game shows or trivia to pick this one up. The three types of game shows mean that everyone in the family will find something that appeals to them. And if you have kids in the house, you know they never like the same thing, so this might be perfect for households with multiple children. GSN Presents Family GameShow is a winner on the Wii.
Graphics | Audio | Gameplay | Replay | Genre | Final |
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