Family Gameshow (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

At this time of year, when all the festive stuff is out of the way, it's now becoming more common to take a break from it all and sit down with family or friends a play some games. And with the Wii, there are plenty of party games that can be enjoyed. But there hasn't been very many titles that focus on recreating the game show experience seen oh-so-many times on TV. Luckily, Puzzle.tv have teamed up with publishers Zushi Games to help provide you with one such experience which is entirely original to the Wii. But without any licensed backing, does this fail to reach the second round?

Gameplay

Family Gameshow, as the name would suggest, is all about providing you and the family with the quintessential game show experience that we've become accustomed to seeing on the TV. The game itself sets out to provide an experience that mirrors that on TV and from the outset, it looks as though it'll achieve that easily. Splitting itself into 3 distinct game shows, each of which has its own overbearing host and game style, there's plenty on offer to keep you playing, both in long and short spurts, in the single player or the multiplayer, with 4 players supported simultaneously. There's no difference between the shows when extra players are introduced but that's not a big deal as the game remains fun regardless of how many are playing.

The first game show on offer is called Control Freak and is introduced by host Larry Lightfoot. The order of the game here is to survive through a series of 4 rounds, each of which has 3 questions that must be answered correctly to progress, gaining points as you go to stay in control of the game. The questions centre on a selection of general knowledge topics such as music, history or art and literature with there being a good variety of easy, medium and hard questions to answer that will keep you on your toes as you play. It shows some semblances to the likes of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, providing you with lifelines and joker cards to help ease the trouble you may face with some of the more difficult questions. When multiplayer is introduced here, you can nominate your fellow players to answer your questions in the hope that they will get it wrong and lose some points. The second show on offer is called Puzzle Addict and is presented by Tom Wordsworth. Here, you'll have to solve a crossword progressively, filling in the answers to sometimes very ambiguous questions. Again, this takes place over a series of rounds with you having lives which you'll lose for every wrong letter you put in or incorrect answer. It would fall quickly into the realms of monotony but the game provides some alteration to the format at the end of each round by having you take part in either a word search, Sudoku or word shuffle puzzle that breaks up the gameplay and provides some relief from the ambiguity of the crossword.

The third and final show is called Brain Strain, hosted by Professor Plank. In this show, you'll take part in a selection of short game tasks with a score target needed to be met in each round. Fail to reach that target and you can still continue but in the fourth and final round, it'll mean you have to take on more tasks in the hope of reaching your score target. It's through this show that we see what the overall game is trying to achieve, by providing short and simple sections of gameplay for you to indulge in and for this, it's enjoyable throughout. Each of the shows has their highs and low points but they are all ultimately enjoyable. There isn't anything particularly stand out here in comparison to the TV game shows that the game tries to imitate, yet they never were going to reach that level. But for a simplistic party game, which is much more enjoyable with the extra 3 players accompanying you, it works well. Each of the shows have a series of difficulties as well, which is great for providing kids and adults with questions more suited to each group, with each difficulty having a series of levels that you'll progress through for completing the full set of rounds in a show but there isn't anything unlocked through this. There are high score tables though which will provide some heated competition as you try to beat your friends.

Controls

You'll only have to use the Wii-mote to play the game, making use of the IR pointer capabilities for navigating menus and the in game options. It's simple and incredibly accessible; so much so that even if you have your grandparents round, they could pick up the control and play with ease. The interface and menus work well together with it never proving difficult to select items or input letters for the crosswords, and this extends to the multiplayer.

Graphics

The game employs a simple yet effective aesthetic that helps to recreate the feel of a TV game show. While not holding any resemblances to real world sets, the in game ones work for the three forms of games you can take part in and, although there is a slight lack of attention to detail, everything looks decent enough for the purposes of a game which would be played in short bursts with friends. Character models look well done, especially the hosts, yet appear to be covered in gloss as they look shiny all over, which is a strange visual styling as it pulls back the experience somewhat. They are animated well for the most part but the lip synch for the hosts is off considerably and just doesn't match up at all to the voice work.

Sound

Each show has its own introductive tune but it's not anywhere near as memorable as anything you'll hear when watching TV. The crowd is constantly cheering and jeering based on your decisions and while it works, it doesn't quite feel as natural as it could have been. Likewise, the voice work for the game's three hosts feels more automated and robotic than being a genuine host to bring you into the experience. It therefore sets up a barrier that you'll never quite be able to get around because these particular things just reduce the feel of the game. So while the music and voice work aren't particularly great, the use of sound by the developers is extremely well done, adding to the tension and atmosphere that makes a good game show good by using small sound bites throughout.

Final comments

Family Gameshow is a game which will provide ample entertainment for all those that play. It makes a decent attempt to provide a realistic showcase experience but ultimately falls short of reaching that top spot because there is nothing stand out in the game. But even with this being the case, the game is far from a bad egg and is definitely worth a punt if you're looking for something to help get through the festive season and to entertain company.

Pro: 3 distinct show types give just enough variety, use of sound really helps to deliver the game show experience
Con: Visual presentation is a little on the basic side, some of the sound is of a poor quality
Final score: 5.5

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