‘Trivial Pursuit’ Review (Xbox 360)

What is it that makes answering a bunch of questions to prove that your brain holds more random knowledge than the next guy’s so damn appealing? Maybe it’s that sense of superiority in making another person feel inadequate. Or, maybe it makes us feel like deep down, despite sucking in school, we have some overwhelmingly profound purpose in life that trumps academia. Whatever the case may be, games like Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy have survived the test of time and proved that we love games that make us superficially feel like intellectual behemoths – just like Cliff Clavin on “Cheers.”

EA has brought the fun of competitive Trivia home with the Trivial Pursuit for the Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii. The game sports no bells and whistles. No flashy design. Trivial Pursuit for the home console is simply that. Trivial Pursuit.

The game features three modes. The first is “Classic” mode. This game type is the most similar to the Trivial Pursuit board game you grew up with. The game features your six basic categories: Geography, Entertainment, History, Art & Literature, Science & Nature, and Sports & Leisure. Gamers compete locally against one another in a struggle to get every piece of the pie and answer the final question to win the game. There’s nothing like repeatedly rolling a four then a three and moving back and forth between “Roll Again” spaces as you struggle to land on the pie.

The game has a robust collection of questions, most of which are multiple-choice. Sticklers for the board game may find this to be annoying since it takes away a certain degree of difficulty from the game. However, in doing so the game also becomes faster and more fun to play. So, instead of playing for hours on end and inevitably having that bitter person who loses and swears to never play again, the fun can be fast paced and entertaining for all.

The classic mode has one other difference that varies from its board game counterpart. For the final question you get to select the category instead of an opponent. This was my only point of contention with the Classic gameplay. Since it is a local multiplayer game, the other users should have the opportunity to pick your question so that they can join in on the fun in stumping their opponent.

The second mode is a single player mode called “Clear the Board.” The game is pretty much a race against the clock and your best score. You only get to land on each space once, and after you pick up a piece of the pie, that category disappears from the screen. The board gets smaller and smaller with each pie piece you claim. This game is fun for maybe one or two games, but Trivial Pursuit is inherently a multiplayer game, and “Clear the Board” just doesn’t provide enough fun on its own, especially with the announcers redundant commentary.

The final mode in Trivial Pursuit is “Facts & Friends.” This is easily the most fun addition to the Trivial Pursuit console game. Gamers battle for a single piece of the pie on their way to victory. Along the way you can bet against other players as to whether or not they know the answer to gain points. What’s even more fun is the use of “Bonus Events” instead of “Roll Again.” You’ll get the opportunity to actually steal pieces of the pie from your opponents. This makes for some excessively fun moments as you rob competitors of their smug smiles.

Trivial Pursuit for the home console has been upgraded with several picture-based questions, which adds some visual depth to the board game. Some of the geography questions tend to get a little boring after a while, especially since the grey locator mark tends to blend in with the landscape. This makes you feel like there are actually only two places to select from instead of five.

The announcer narration is one feature that needs a severe overhaul. The announcer dialogue quickly feels redundant after about ten minutes of gameplay. Plus, several of his lines just feel absurd. There was a pretty easy pop-music question I answered, and he said, “That was a lucky guess. No one could have known that.”

The major downfall for Trivial Pursuit is the lack of online play. The fact that this game is a multiplayer game makes you think that multiplayer would be designed into the title, especially since smaller games for Xbox Live Arcade allow for online multiplayer. The fact is it was just left out for whatever reason. This will be a harsh blow for people who just want to test their skills against random players instead of forcing a game night where they have to invite people over to play.

Overall, Trivial Pursuit is a fun game that will be a delight for trivia game fans. The lack of online multiplayer will have you thinking twice about how much actual game time you can get out of this title, without resorting to having visitors over on a regular basis.