Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2? (Game Boy Advance) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

There's always been a problem with Trivia Games on any format: the questions. Once you've played even a few rounds you're likely to see them repeated which does tend to make the challenge slightly easier. It doesn't matter how many questions there are either because although the GBC version was criticized for only having 500 questions, fans of ZOO Digital's first installment of the famed quiz show soon realized that even double that still wasn't enough. The 2nd Edition offers 1,000 brand new questions but will it be enough to tempt all you 'wanna be' Masterminds again?

Gameplay

For anyone who's managed to completely miss out on the phenomenon that is 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' the show goes like this. An individual member of the audience must answer 15 progressively more difficult multiple-choice questions (with four answers) in order to win a million. The popularity of the show is linked to two important factors. Firstly everyone believes they could win and secondly there is the choice of whether to attempt to answer a question or simply take the money and run. The show has been franchised in almost every country in the world and the million in question changes value radically depending on where it's played.

One thing that separates it from run of the mill trivia shows is the introduction of 'lifelines'. There are three of these, which act as a kind of helping hand when the contestant doesn't know the (sometimes obvious) answer. The first is '50-50', which removes two of the answers giving you more of a fighting chance to get it right although an awful lot of people still guess the wrong one of two. Next is the 'Phone a Friend' option where you've pre-selected your most intelligent friend to give you some much-needed advice. The final one is 'Ask the Audience' which is wholly dependent on just how intelligent the audience actually is and, as a result, is probably the least reliable of the three.

This GBA version puts you straight in the hot seat as soon as you press 'start'. In some ways this is a bit of a shame and it's obvious that the increase in the number of available questions has been achieved at the expense of some of the finer gaming aspects that featured in the GBC version such as the winning of a WWTBAM cheque made out to you. There's no high score chart either nor is there a save feature although this is no real loss as anyone who plays is only really interested in the ultimate prize and nobody remembers the contestant who won a mere thousand.

Controls

As this is a multiple-choice quiz show the control is incredibly simple so the 'D-Pad' and 'A' button (for select choice) are used almost all the time. Everything else follows suit and the various menu systems are also logical in their layout with very user-friendly navigation. That's all there is to it. No complicated sprite detection or graphical updates to worry about, just answering those questions correctly.

Graphics

The actual presentation is an almost perfect replica of the TV series visuals with the slightly larger GBA screen making the text even easier to see. This is a gaming type though where the on-screen appearance is secondary to the actual content and most quiz addicts still find a title with little or no graphics thoroughly enjoyable. There's also a generous amount of FMV to link the various parts of the show and despite the studio appearing to be completely empty it is a welcome addition to the overall presentation.

Sound

The game's soundtrack has been ported directly from the TV series and although it's apparent that a much of it is on a loop it works very well. The audio is also used incredibly well to build tension once the contestant is past the thousand mark so that even when you're convinced you're correct you start to doubt yourself simply because of the sound. Obviously there's also the audience who applaud your successes and sigh at your incorrect answers. Overall, a good use of audio intelligently used to enhance the overall gaming experience.

Final comments

The second GBA version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire again replicates the show perfectly, the only real absence being the presenter continually asking 'now are you sure that's the right answer?', which of course you were until he asked you. Questions are also bang up to date; we were thrown a few brainteasers that only occurred during the summer, as far as we know anyway. This version is likely to be the last in this format because developers will probably seek longer term solutions on the DS especially as GBA carts are not getting any cheaper to produce. For the gamer this could mean an endless supply of trivia thanks to the new handheld's download capability. This may incur a small charge but the fact that your cart can be updated on a regular basis will surely increase its longevity. For now though this is as good as it gets so if your brain needs a workout when you're on the move this could be the solution.

Pro: Same User Friendly Design.
Con: You Don't Win Real Money.
Final score: 7.2

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