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SCENE IT? BOX OFFICE SMASH Posted by Joe Anderson on Nov 24, 2008 09:03 (Nov 24, 2008 09:03) |
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Scene It? returns with Box Office Smash as Microsoft continue their assault on the casual market and it is certainly an improvement on last year’s version, however is this game good enough to entertain the whole family over Xmas?
Box Office Smash is basically the same game as last year, however there are a few additions that are sure to cause more interest in this game, with the main one being that it supports Avatars. As soon as you pop in the disc you will be asked to update the game, this results in your avatar (and the avatar for anyone else who is signed in) appearing in the game, waiting to take part in the quiz. All throughout the game your avatar will sit there on the couch interacting with the game, anyone who is not signed is will be represented by a random avatar. I have to say that this is the first time I have seen a retail game take advantage of the avatar system and I have been left very impressed, if this is the way forward then I have to say that it’s the right way, because having a familiar character represent you in a game does make a huge difference and I personally think that sales of this game will be all the better for this inclusion.
 The game itself couldn’t be easier to play, each game is divided into three rounds before being concluded by the "final cut" finale. Throughout each of the three rounds, players need to answer movie based questions and solve puzzles such as crosswords, anagrams etc. Points are determined by how fast you answer the questions, therefore hitting the buzzer fast will earn you more points. Up to four players can take part in the game online or offline.
There are two main types of game you can play in Box Office Smash, the Short Game, which lasts about 20-25 mins and the Long game which lasts about 30-35 mins. There is certainly a good mix of questions throughout the game, these are presented usually in visual form, therefore you may have to watch a clip from a movie, some of which are quite hilarious, and then answer questions relating to what you just saw or you may have to guess the actor as the picture before you slowly unwarps, these are only a few examples of what is generally a great mix. The questions are all on a subject (movies) that everyone should know at least something about and therefore it shouldn’t be too much of a problem if you are trying to convince someone to play.
The other major addition to this years game is that Xbox Live mode has now been supported in two ways, first of all you can now download additional material for the game, this is great because it means the game should never get old as you will always have different questions to answer. Also included is the ability to play over Xbox Live against friends, this again adds a bit of longevity to the game, however I personally was unable to find anyone online at the time of writing, this may pick up eventually though once the novelty of playing offline with friends and family has worn off.
 The only real issue with Box Office smash at the moment is that after a few games you do start to see questions you have already answered, this is probably due to the fact that the game only has one subject, movies. Hopefully this problem will be solved when the downloadable content starts to appear though, so for now it is just a minor annoyance.
Box Office Smash is a really well presented and fun game to play, the addition of Avatar use really adds a lot to the games appeal, as does the new Xbox Live mode. If you are looking for a game to entertain the family this Xmas then you will not go wrong if you choose this one.
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