Trivial Pursuit (X360)

“This game was a nice surprise. Was a fun way to hang out with a friend who loves trivia. And it's cheaper than some used games! While the questions have been updated (from the original board game) to appeal to a younger, more contemporary audience, the spirit of the original is here. There are a few gameplay issues I find annoying, but overall the game is fun, even alone. The single-player game and the two versions of multiplayer make for a nice variety no matter who's around.

They implemented some cool gameplay to change up the TP formula and adapt it well to a video game, like occasionally choosing from photographs instead of just phrases, or illustrating a question with a photo, which livens up the game from just a wall of text. The tokens/gamepieces and the board itself are animated, and on two modes, the board itself shifts and changes, which is neat. The announcer was a bit repetitive after a while, so we turned him off in the options.

I do have a few issues with the game, however. There is no way to pause a game. None. Good luck to you if the dog needs to go out while you're playing anything but Classic mode. Also, vibration seemingly cannot be disabled in the options.

I am annoyed that the timer in the single-player mode does not stop or even slow during the token movement animations, some of which are slower than others, and that, after a wedge is won, the timer resumes countdown before the player regains control of the dice to roll. If you're playing the timed single-player mode, Clear the Board, your lack of control over the board during the game's animation sequences add to your time.

My other big gripe is that the map questions are erratic; without maplines, the cities and locations in question seem to move depending on the question, and on some maps you get to choose the "pin" and sometimes you have to place it yourself, so if you don't get quite close enough (good luck trying to see it well enough to suit on a CRT television), you lose. Also, in the numerical slider bar questions, being five years off will get you a wedge, but coming within .04 percentage points won't. The winning criteria range seems erratic at best, and we've not yet figured out how it's calculated. Apparently, it depends on which stickler wrote the question. Incidentally, Will Smith is 6.16 feet tall. 6.20 won't do it.

I do, however, love the bonus gameplay in the F&F mode, and the way that, unlike Classic mode, turns alternate and your turn involves your friends, so nobody is ever really out of the action and getting bored while someone runs the board on a good streak.

We have started to see questions repeat after only playing for a couple days, so the question database isn't nearly as robust as one would think, certainly not as much as the two boxes of cards in the physical version. There are only two content packs currently available for download, the movies freebie and television for 400 MS points. Be nice to see something less pop culture-y up there.

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