MTV TRL Trivia
Score: 40% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Take2 Interactive Developer: Hypnotix Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 4 Genre: Trivia/ Party
Graphics & Sound: Years ago, the original You Don't Know Jack set a new standard for PC-based trivia games. Countless sequels and add-ons were created, popularity skyrocketed, and now there's even a TV game show (albeit a lame one) based on the PC series. Since its conception, of course, several spinoffs and clones have popped up now and then in hopes of swiping the coveted Party Game Throne, with little to no success. Out of these many contenders, though, MTV's TRL Trivia just might take the Worst Newcomer Award by a landslide. As with most trivia games, presentation is everything. Unfortunately, all we get happens to be a badly rendered TRL set and VJ Brian McFayden's repetitive banter, over and over again. The soundtrack doesn't come across as too stimulating either -- and with some of the categories lasting upwards of five minutes, one can only take so much of the same mindless ditties looped in the background before insanity sets in.
Gameplay: Ouch. While the developers clearly set out to copy YDKJ's classic style, things just didn't work out in the long run. Part of a trivia game's biggest appeal should be fast-paced action with little downtime, and TRL fails miserably in this department. Players choose from either the 'short' game (6 categories) or a longer version (9 categories), receiving three Lifeline-style devices to help bail them out on tricky questions. Thing is, unless you're around 10-14 years old, you'll have a hell of a time answering any of the non-movie questions correctly. For those in MTV's target audience, however, perhaps a few hours of entertainment can be had before the same questions, categories, and sound bytes begin showing up time and time again. Subject matters range from big-budget movie factoids and boy band nonsense to unique queries about the actual TRL show, all geared toward the teen fanbase tuning into the program every day. As a younger, less relevant version of YDKJ, TRL Trivia fills its shoes; as a solid party game worth keeping on the hard drive after a week... well, that's a different issue.
Difficulty: Just about anyone over the age of 18 doesn't stand a chance here. It's not a difficult game to play -- quite the opposite, actually -- but some categories are so obscure that most die-hard TRL teenyboppers may have some trouble coming up with a few answers. Dexterity occasionally comes in handy, though; for instance, the Speed Round (creepily similar to YDKJ's Jack Attack) requires literally lightning-fast reaction skills to match up corresponding clues with the category's subject. At about a quarter of a second to get the message from your brain to your finger before the clue fades from the screen, old and new-school gamers alike may find these next to impossible -- but at least the action doesn't slow to a crawl like the rest of the game.
Game Mechanics: Ugh. Too many silly problems with sound selections alone can drive any player crazy after a few games. Nothing against MTV's Brian McFayden, but I found it severely annoying when he called Player 2 'Doctor Deuce' at least eight times during a short match. Other delightful phrases, like 'I can't believe nobody knew that one!' during a single-player game, or 'Wow, you ALL missed that!' in a game with only two players really shows how much attention was put into the announcement side of things. Ignoring these and other glaring faults, having the option of playing full screen or windowed is kinda nice, and full use of the mouse AND keyboard in-game can be useful with four players crowded around the PC. Still, with such a narrow target age group and not much substance to keep it together, TRL Trivia falls quite short of becoming solid party game competition. If anything, it would be nice if these games reminded jaded gamers of their teen years -- but I remember playing some of the best games of all time when I was 12, not junk like this. Go figure.
-Ben Monkey, GameVortex Communications AKA Ben Lewis
Minimum System Requirements: Pentium II 233, 32 MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, 90 MB HD space, 16-bit video card, DirectX compatible sound card   Test System: Pentium III 800, 256 MB RAM, 52X CD-ROM, GeForce2 MX video card, SoundBlaster Live! Platinum sound card
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