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The Weakest Link

Score: 85%
ESRB: Everyone
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Activision
Media: CD/1
Players: 1 - 7
Genre: Miscellaneous

Graphics & Sound:

'Who's village lost its idiot?'
Now on a computer near you, The Weakest Link delivers the near-identical performance to the television game show of the same name. The Weakest Link combines a nice variety of 3D computer graphics with live video clips of host Anne Robinson. The computer animation is fairly well done, with real faces textured onto the players. The video clips could be a lot nicer, however. Understandably, the video quality is kept down to conserve disk/CD space. Unfortunately, the audio on these clips has also been sacrificed and Anne's lisp sticks out like a pimple on the end of your nose on Prom day. At least the audio quality of the rest of the game is top-notch, and the game show's music gives you that ever-present feeling of a ticking clock.

Gameplay:

Who's age is higher than his IQ?
Fans of the game show will absolutely love The Weakest Link's gameplay. The creators have made the transition from boob tube to monitor very nice. Just as on the television, The Weakest Link features six rounds of trivia with up to seven human players able to play at once, making this an excellent party game. On the other hand, just like the TV show, you'll soon get tired of Anne saying those annoying three words: 'The Weakest Link.'

Take your stand as one of 24 characters, while answering more than 100,000 questions. Each character has his or her strong points and personality. If you find that some categories are a bit too tough for you, you can simply 'Bend the Rules' and decrease the likelihood of having to answer those questions. At the same time you can increase the categories you do know more about. You also have the ability to turn up the heat and let Anne rip you a new one by increasing the 'Voting Abuse,' where you'll see special video clips of Anne throwing you off the show, all specific to your character.

Basically, there are three modes of play. In Single Player, it's just you against the computer in a one game, winner take all format. Multi-Player boasts the same, but you and up to 6 of your friends can compete against each other. The final mode is the Championship. Here you must win your way through four shows in an effort to win fifty million dollars! As you win each show, you will be given a password that you can use later to return to that point in the game.


Difficulty:

Who failed his exam in Rocket Science?
If you think that appearing on The Weakest Link would be easy, maybe you should try out the video game first. There is a very pleasant (and often frustrating) amount of difficulty involved. You see, just like the TV show, even if you happen to be the strongest link in a round doesn't mean you won't get voted off anyway. This seems to often be the case in the second-to-the-last round, when only three people remain. In your favor, however, is your choice of three difficulty levels. Normal Mode simulates the game show the most by giving you the question and four possible answers. However, only the first letter of the answers is shown. Easy Mode offers the full answers, while Junior mode cuts the answers down to two choices and makes the questions a bit easier.

Game Mechanics:

Who's one banana short of a bunch?
The Weakest Link is a very simple and straightforward game. It's basically trivia with attitude. You'll use your keyboard to arrow up/down through the menus and answers and the space bar to select things. Then, just use the 'B' key to bank, and the 'P' to pass, and you have the total game. Simple, right? Sure. As the questions are being asked, you have a short amount of time to 'bank' money into the next round. Then, either answer your question or pass. Be careful though, too many wrong answers and you will become The Weakest Link!

-Woody, GameVortex Communications
AKA Shane Wodele

Minimum System Requirements:



US English Version of Windows 95/98/ME/2000; DirectX 8.0a or higher (included); Pentium 200 or Athlon processor; 32MB RAM; 130MB uncompressed hard disk space plus 80MB for swap file; 8MB Direct3D/DirectX 8.0 compatible 3D video card; DirectX 8.0 compatible 16-bit sound card; 4x CD-ROM; keyboard and mouse
 

Test System:



Pentium II 400MHz CPU; Windows 98 SE; 256MB 100MHz SDRAM; Creative's 3D Blaster Annihilator 2 32MB 3D-Accellerator AGP Video Card (nVIDIA geForce 2 chipset); Ensoniq AudioPCI sound card; DirectX 7.0a; using Hewlett Packard CD-Writer Plus 9100 (reads 32x, writes 8x, rewrites 4x) as main CD-ROM; 1 gameport; 2 USB ports; ThrustMaster FireStorm Dual Power Gamepad (USB connection); 56k modem

Windows Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Microsoft Xbox F1 2001

 
Game Vortex :: PSIllustrated