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Who Wants to be a Millionaire? 2nd Edition
Score: 87%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment America
Developer: Sony Interactive Entertainment America
Media: CD/1
Players: 1 - 4
Genre: Miscellaneous

Graphics & Sound:
The graphics are taken straight from the television game show of the same name, from the meticulously detailed set to the digital Regis that asks 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' Scads of Regis sound bites pepper your gameplay, as he either encourages you or mocks you, depending on how well you are doing. And if you are doing badly, he will not hesitate to let you know it! The same theme music from the show is here as well, and it certainly helps to heighten the excitement as you climb towards the 1 million.

All in all, Who Wants to be a Millionaire: 2nd Edition nicely mimics it's television counterpart and fans of the show will feel right at home.


Gameplay:
Well, this is a game show, so of course we are looking for gameplay here. Well, Millionaire 2 has definitely got it. Again, I hate to repeat myself, but the game is exactly like the television series of the same name. But that's a good thing. You are presented with 15 questions, and your goal is to answer all of them to 'collect' the 1 million dollar prize. Each is a multiple choice with 4 possible answers to choose from. Along the way to help you out are three Lifelines: 50/50 which will eliminate half of the incorrect answers; Phone a Friend where Regis phones a friend of his and asks for advice (in my experience, these have always been correct); and finally Ask the Audience where the audience is polled (the audience screwed me over once - so be careful). As you make your way up the list of questions, you will find safe havens at the 5 and 10 questions, so if you screw up, you don't lose every dime (figuratively speaking, of course). And if you are smart (or lucky) enough to make it all the way to the million dollar mark, good ol' Regis will tell you congrats, but that the money stays in the vault. 'You are a pretend millionaire'. Har har. Of course, this is preferable to that wonderful check made out in the amount of a big fat zero that you get if you lose.

There is also a multi-player aspect to Millionaire, but I find it more of an annoyance than anything else. It's a fastest finger race where each player races to put a list of things into the proper order. The winner just goes on to play a regular game. Although Millionaire truly shines as a single player effort, I have found multi-player fun in just simply playing a one player game with someone else and just answering alternating questions. (Ok, and if you play dirty, it's like having your Phone-a-Friend right there. Hehe.)

Basically, if you have ever said 'I could do that' or 'You dummy, it's D, not A!' (of course, you'll be using the X, O, triangle and square here), then pick up this game and give it a whirl. Fans of the show are sure to enjoy the game. Snag Millionaire: 2nd Edition for a whole new group of brain teasers.


Difficulty:
Hmmm. I guess that all depends on your trivia proficiency. Gods of mindless trivia will breeze through this just as they quickly tire of all the 'easy' questions on the game show itself. Normal people will find that the questions ramp up in difficulty quite nicely as the money stakes increase. Again, exactly like the show.

Game Mechanics:
Basically, you just press the appropriate button on the PSX pad that matches the answer you choose. Very simple mechanics here, folks. To access your Lifelines, press R1 and the corresponding button to choose the lifeline you want. It's all laid out in front of you, if you are the type that freezes up and forgets. ;) My one and only gripe (and it's really not even a gripe, but more of a wish) is that Regis does not verbally ask the questions. They are printed on the screen and you read to yourself. I know, I know - they would have had to pay that 1 million dollars to Regis to have him actually read all the questions, but I would have liked it more. :) Ok, one more gripe. There's an icky load screen before the game begins. Alright, so I'm being too picky.

The PSX version is very nearly identical to the PC version, with the obvious exception of the PlayStation controller buttons instead of using the keyboard. If you don't already have it for the PC and you are a Millionaire fan, pick it up. It's pretty good. Millionaire: 2nd Edition is a spiffy addition for fans of the game show genre, and one which I have found to be a nice diversion on many occasions.


-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ashley Perkins

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