Good Will Hunting, Airplane, Meatballs 4 – all
movies that had clever double meanings in their title. And at least one
of those top shelf feature films is featured in this new game, Scene
It?, which is yet another crafty use of the English language.
Scene It is an easy-to-play movie trivia game that
tasks contestants to answer thousands of different questions about
movies from all different genres and eras.
I didn't really know what to expect with this game
after learning that instead of Borderlands and Modern Warfare 2 I'd be
reviewing this. Adding insult to injury was the fact that some smarmy
git has pinched the cool buzzer peripherals...
After unleashing my explosive anger on next door's
fence via a selection of deadly jabs and haymakers, I went inside and
had a glass of delicious full cream milk to calm me down and proceeded
to load up the game. It's got a cheap but cool intro.
Next up I choose a character and getting my
kind-but-dim step brother ???? to join the game, I found an enjoyable
and mildly rewarding trivia game that doesn't treat its audience like
retarded gophers.
Before you start playing you can choose long or
short games – short games go for about 15 to 20 minutes while long
games can go for double that if there's a lot of players involved. A
maximum of four players can compete, and though there's no online mode,
you can play solo which is kinda weird/cool.
There are lots of different types of questions,
and the player with the best movie trivia knowledge will usually win.
But a fast twitch reflex can also contribute to a win, as the first to
buzz in gets first bit of the cherry.
As such it's not a game that relies on control pad
skill or a deep understanding of resource management to win. You just
buzz in if think you know the answer and if your collective movie
wisdom is up to scratch you'll be a contender.
Graphically the game is not complex, but it
doesn't need to be. There's a lot of text and plenty of questions and
menus and these are well laid out and colourful enough not to dissolve
your eyes after a couple of hours game time.
Sadly, I found myself quite addicted to the game,
and for many hours did I play, because by Triton's Spade I am a movie
buff dammit!! A first grade buff with the kind of knowledge that would
scare you and your entire family.
Pop quiz: Who was the leading lady in the Michael
Douglas action flick Romancing the Stone? Nope, wasn't Queen Latifa.
Wasn't Bjork or Cate Blanchett.
Many of the questions, which are split into rounds
consisting of half a dozen or so related quizzes, involve short clips
from movies followed by a raft of questions.
So after watching a short clip you'll be asked
what is the name of the movie? Who played the lead role? What was the
vampire clown wearing just after he exposed himself? These questions
are a lot of fun when you've got a bunch of friends around.
All told there are more than 2800 questions
spanning 23 categories. These include the above mentioned movie clips,
credit clues (guess the movie from the director, lead actor etc),
drawings (guess the movie title via a cartoon), invisibles (guess
missing object from a movie image), song and slogans (guess the movie
via a memorable quote or song) and too many more categories to mention.
Suffice to say there's heaps of variety which keep things interesting.
Sometimes a raft of questions stay on a certain
topic or movie, which I sometimes find frustrating. Yes, I like Owen
Wilson, but I never saw Marley and Me because it looked really really
shite, so stop asking questions about it!! And no, I don't care if it's
got redeeming qualities. Owen had a bad patch of movies and we don't
need to rehash why that happened...
After a couple of weeks playing Scene It, I've
come to the conclusion that this game deserves to stay in my
illustrious videogame library. Granted, I won't be cranking it up every
night, but it's the kind of game that will be perfect entertainment
after a few brews. It's also one of those games that non-gamers will
dig, ideal for not looking like a total nerd when company arrives
unannounced.
Game: Scene It? Bright Lights! Big Screen! System: Xbox 360
Players: 1-4 Online: No Developer: Artificial Mind &
Movement
Distributor: Warner
Bros. Interactive
