Trivial Pursuit: Millennium Edition

Rating:
Summary: Great Graphics, very versitile, challenging questions fun
Review: I had the old version of Trivial Pursuit and didn't like it. This one is a huge improvement. You can play alone, to beat your scores, or with friends or online. You can choose multiple choice or type in answers and the questions won't repeat till all 2000 have been asked. The graphics are very good on this game as well. It is a winner all around.

Rating:
Summary: A "must-buy" for Pursuit fans; an "okay-buy" for trivia fans
Review: If you like the original board game, you'll no doubt love this surprisingly expanded computer version. Though traditional play is well-emulated, two other forms of the game are included here, which are different enough to be considered unique. In "Party Play", contestants huddle around a keyboard, trying to buzz in before their competitors, rewarding not just the smart, but the quick as well. "Point Pursuit" also gives the possibility of multiple player action, but is perhaps most fun for single players looking for a quick, 20 question version that involves a bit of strategy.

With 2000 different questions, and several game play options, you'll no doubt be playing this game for a long time. To be sure, the low selling price makes this game an excellent value for money.

Having said that, there are problems.

First, as another reviewer has pointed out, it DOES crash a lot if you do anything less than a full install--an operation that takes half a gigabyte of hard disk space. And, unlike other software titles where a full install puts a lot of rarely-used cinematics on your hard drive, you pretty much need everything in the full install to play the game. There is, therefore, a noticeable slowdown during normal play if you haven't done a full-install. So even if Hasbro comes out with patches that'll fix the crash problem, you're still stuck needing a pretty big chunk of free hard disk space to play the game at its best. People with limited hard disk space might therefore find themselves in a frustrating position.

Second, Macintosh users are completely left out of the fun. Though the game appears to use technology easily enough converted to Macintosh use, there's not currently a version catering to that market.

Third, if you're a fan of computer trivia games, there's a sense of "too little too late" about this product. While it arguably has the most trivia questions of any major trivia brand, its use of multimedia technology isn't terribly innovative. It's all been done before, and better, by You Don't Know Jack and its many brand name cousins.

Ultimately, then, your potential enjoyment of this game depends largely on whether you're looking for a good trivia game or looking for Trivial Pursuit. If you love Trivial Pursuit (and have a lot of hard drive space) you'll be surprised at how much more playable this CD is than the board game. But if you love trivia in general--and want a game that's totally different from any other trivia game you know--you'll probably be happier with the You Don't Know Jack series.

Rating:
Summary: A "must-buy" for Pursuit fans; an "okay-buy" for trivia fans
Review: If you like the original board game, you'll no doubt love this surprisingly expanded computer version. Though traditional play is well-emulated, two other forms of the game are included here, which are different enough to be considered unique. In "Party Play", contestants huddle around a keyboard, trying to buzz in before their competitors, rewarding not just the smart, but the quick as well. "Point Pursuit" also gives the possibility of multiple player action, but is perhaps most fun for single players looking for a quick, 20 question version that involves a bit of strategy.

With 2000 different questions, and several game play options, you'll no doubt be playing this game for a long time. To be sure, the low selling price makes this game an excellent value for money.

Having said that, there are problems.

First, as another reviewer has pointed out, it DOES crash a lot if you do anything less than a full install--an operation that takes half a gigabyte of hard disk space. And, unlike other software titles where a full install puts a lot of rarely-used cinematics on your hard drive, you pretty much need everything in the full install to play the game. There is, therefore, a noticeable slowdown during normal play if you haven't done a full-install. So even if Hasbro comes out with patches that'll fix the crash problem, you're still stuck needing a pretty big chunk of free hard disk space to play the game at its best. People with limited hard disk space might therefore find themselves in a frustrating position.

Second, Macintosh users are completely left out of the fun. Though the game appears to use technology easily enough converted to Macintosh use, there's not currently a version catering to that market.

Third, if you're a fan of computer trivia games, there's a sense of "too little too late" about this product. While it arguably has the most trivia questions of any major trivia brand, its use of multimedia technology isn't terribly innovative. It's all been done before, and better, by You Don't Know Jack and its many brand name cousins.

Ultimately, then, your potential enjoyment of this game depends largely on whether you're looking for a good trivia game or looking for Trivial Pursuit. If you love Trivial Pursuit (and have a lot of hard drive space) you'll be surprised at how much more playable this CD is than the board game. But if you love trivia in general--and want a game that's totally different from any other trivia game you know--you'll probably be happier with the You Don't Know Jack series.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Game for Non-Gamers
Review: My girlfriend's favorite computer games are Pandora's Box and a shareware version of Pac-Man. She's also a big fan of Regis' Millionaire TV game show. When I wanted to buy her a present, I wasn't sure which between Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and this Trivial Pursuit game would be easy to for her to get in to without a lot of set-up. Turns out this was absolutely the best choice between the two. We love playing against each other, and with the 2,000 non-repeating questions (see the great review below) we don't have to worry about the problems all the reviewers of the Regis game seem to have. Not to mention that the questions are pretty tough, too-no Millionaire-like throw-aways. There are three different ways to play this Trivial Pursuit, depending on how long you want to play, and fans of You Don't Know Jack will love the option of having three friends compete at once. But YDKJ fans might miss the acerbic voice acting-Trivial Pursuit is a little hammy but keeps a comparatively straight face. Finally, I recommend doing a full install, since the game crashed a few times when reading from the disc. A big thank you to the reviewer below-since their comments made the choice so much easier. My non-gaming girlfriend is happy, so brownie-points for you and me.

Rating:
Summary: Educational, Challenging and Fun!
Review: Whether you want trivia just for a fun challenge or are simply wanting to expand your mind to things you're unaware of, this game is perfect for it! My favorite feature is that many questions are supplemented with "additional" information after a question is answered by using visuals and audio to further enhance your knowledge and understanding. There are 2000 questions which do not repeat until all have been used, and you can play solo. The questions are fun, interesting, challenging and quite diverse within the categories. The game design and graphics are great, and the game moves quickly from question to question. The music is fun as well with different music for each category. Overall? A very enjoyable, high-quality game that has education and entertainment all wrapped up together!