One of the highest rated TV quiz game shows (is it still on?) is back in video game form! Downloadable for PS3, 360, and Steam (reviewed on PS3 here), try your hand at over a thousand trivia questions to win a million dollars. Download special themed question packs (like movie trivia) for even more fun.

The basic gameplay is the same as the TV show. Answer progressively harder trivia questions to win more money, with the climax being one million dollars. But those questions are pretty tough near the end. If you make it past certain tiers, you can always walk away with the money you’ve won in the previous block. Luckily you have three lifelines, which you can use once per game. You can ask the virtual audience what they think is the right answer, or take away two wrong answers, leaving one wrong and one right. The last lifeline, where you call a ‘friend’ to help you answer the question, isn’t as useful. It’s just a pre-recorded message and most of the time they just talk about how much of a doozy that question is, and then hang up. Of course, since none of these questions are timed, you could always play the game and have your laptop or tablet open to Google…

You can do the single player mode or try multiplayer for up to four contestants. Each player takes turns answering questions. You can use multiple controllers or just a single one, although it’s kind of pointless to use more than one controller since you have to take turns anyway. It would’ve been neat to have a mode where everyone answers the same question at once and whoever is fastest wins, but I guess that would totally change up the rules of the game. Plus if you miss a question in multiplayer, you have to wait around for the others to finish, which isn’t very fun.

The sounds and visuals are very authentic and true to the TV show, but the announcer looks a little weird, with his tall body, skinny arms, and giant hands. But otherwise, it’s still a decent game if you like trivia quizzes and the game show it’s based off of. You can download the main game with a variety of over 1,000 questions, and over time they will release DLC theme packs with more questions related to a certain topic. Right now they have one on movie trivia available, with more to come in the future.

Kid Factor:

Reading skill is a must for the questions, and most trivia may be too hard for very young players (it would be cool if one of the downloadable packs was a kids’ edition, but we don’t know yet). Since there are questions about history, science, and other topics, the game could be considered somewhat educational for older kids. Who Wants to be a Millionaire: Special Editions is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews, Television