Hasbro Family Game Night (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

The Wii has been applauded by many for being the console that has brought families together and brought a whole new meaning to the term 'quality family time'. With Hasbro Family Game Night, EA have set out to capitalise on this and the new found area of the gaming market for family friendly games. With this, they have brought 6 classic board games to the Wii, effectively doing away with the need to on such board games ever again.

Gameplay

The game consists of 6 classic board games which have been recreated for play on the small screen with the family or friends. The games included on the disc are the likes of Battleships, Connect 4 and Yahtzee and each can be played in their original forms or in a number of new modes created just for this game. For example, in the likes of Connect 4, you can play in a battle mode type game where the objective is still to get 4 of your counters in a row. But you are given various power-up counters that can be used to knocked your opponent's counters out of the bottom of the rack or blow them up. The whole game takes place in your 'room' which has been stylised into modernity and this can be changed and upgraded the more you play as EA have instated their own achievement style scheme in the game that rewards the player/s for winning the games they take part in or for fulfilling certain criteria. It's a nice touch and is something that perhaps could be added to other titles. However, the rewards merely fall to new items and objects that are placed within your room and you don't have the ability to move these around so it sort of defeats the object of having an achievement system that rewards players in this way. If the system had been designed to give the players new games or modes then it would have been better.

The new modes and the achievement system add a sense of longevity to the title and its paltry selection of board games included but this longevity isn't as great as it initially seems. While it's great being able to play these classic board games without having to search out the box and set everything up, having only 6 games seems like a real cop-out and a cheap shot to those unsuspecting consumers who'll pick this up in the hope of getting the family together. That being said, all of the games play out well with no major niggles.

Controls

EA have done their best to recreate the feeling of accessibility that is found in real life with the board games in the game. And for the most part they have achieved this. Playing the games focuses on the use of the Wii-mote and using the IR pointer for selecting in menus and in games. They work amicably however it evident that more work could have gone into improving them. At times, the IR tracking seems lag and just generally be slow which is strange considering it's one of the main proponents in the controller and should be incorporated properly for players to get the best out of it. It's not terribly done but titles like the FPS' Medal of Honor and Metroid Prime 3 have shown how well the IR pointer and tracker can be done and it just feels strange that EA, who made Medal of Honor, didn't try to keep them to those standards.

Graphics

In this type of title, the graphics don't really hold much bearing. As long as the player can make out which board game it is he or she is playing then it is fine. But here it seems EA have spent a bit more of their time creating what is a pretty decent graphical effort. Everything looks sharp, from the board games and counters to Mr Potato-head who accompanies you in the games. Your room looks good, with a highly modernistic visage that taps into what is becoming common place in many homes nowadays, and the menus are clean and nicely designed, if a little on the bland and static side. There are some lower quality pieces of work, such as the effects that appear during Battleships, but these lapses in graphical quality are few and far between. It's not a Mario Galaxy beater in terms of graphics but it can sit proudly as one of the better looking family titles.

Sound

Much in the same way that you wouldn't expect much from the graphics in this type of title, you don't expect much from the music. And that's what you get: not very much. What accompanies the games is a collection of ambient sounds that never intrudes upon the gameplay, which is a good thing, but also never stands out and makes you take notice. But this isn't the kind of title where music or sounds matters as you'll be playing it with friends and family and so it'll be noisy and as a result, the already quiet music will be easily drowned out.

Final comments

I got a strange feeling from playing this. On one hand, it's great being able to play these classic boards games without having to look out the boxes and set up. On the other, the lack of content and the fact that many people will already have these board games lying around makes this an unnecessary title. While the graphics are good, the controls have some small problems due to poor IR tracking, a result of poor programming. It is baffling as to why the title has been released because it lacks in many departments and the games themselves can be bought for a pound or two at car boot sales. But as it is, the title fulfils some of what EA set out to do, and playing it with friends and family, it can be fun. But £20 seems a lot for the 6 games you're given.

Pro: Graphics are above average, a nice but small collection of games
Con: Lacks in many departments, very little in the way of longevity even with the achievement system
Final score: 5.3

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