Austin Powers Operation: Trivia
Berkeley Systems	Ages 13 and up

Rating Scale 5 = great,    1 = poor

Educational Value 2.0

Kid Appeal 4.5

Ease of Use 5.0

System Requirements

PC / Mac Price Survey

Product Support

This fast-paced trivia game is an Austin Powers version of the popular You Don’t Know Jack, also from Berkeley Systems. Dr. Evil has taken over the computer and kidnapped his nemesis, Austin Powers. Much to his clever son Scott’s chagrin, rather than simply kill Powers, and take over the world, he has set up a trivia game in which the two will vie for world domination. Users choose to cast their lot with the dastardly Dr. Evil, or team up with the refreshingly candid Austin Powers. Questions are presented in five different formats, and test players’ knowledge of pop culture from the '60s to present time. In addition to Austin Powers trivia, topics include one-hit wonder rock bands, John Woo directorial efforts, soft drink brands, Atari 2600 games, Weird Al Yankovic song titles, heavy metal guitarists and much, much more. In true shagadelic tradition, the program also features a ‘hip’ musical accompaniment, Peter Max style artwork, and comic sequences similar to those popularized on the 60s favorite, “Laugh In”.

It’s not easy to outwit the shrewd Dr. Evil, but winners not only succeed in saving the world, they may also be lucky enough to win a “virtucon femmebot”!

Educational Value

Austin Powers Operation: Trivia makes no attempt to disguise itself as educational software. At best it encourages teens to use the computer in an entertaining, non-gaming manner.

Kid Appeal

Our team of testers for this product included girls and boys ranging from 7th to 12th grade. All had previously viewed either one or both of the Austin Powers films. Some tested the product alone, while others played in teams of mixed gender and age. The program received an enthusiastic thumbs-up from all testers, many of whom were anxious to play again with their friends and classmates.

Parent testers enjoyed the program as well. “I would pull this out at a casual dinner party with friends,” commented one mother, while another noted, “I had fun playing this with my daughter - -she was surprised that I knew many of the answers.”

Parents should note that the program includes the same sort of irreverent and often sexually implicit dialogue that earned the Austin Powers movies their PG 13 rating. While it is free from profanity, lines like “The more a person knows about Star Trek the less likely he is to get laid,” may be unacceptable to parents with younger children.

Ease of Use / Install

Austin Powers Operation: Trivia installs without difficulty. It includes a special feature that allows the user to easily check for and download product updates from the related website.

Best for... / Bottom-Line

Although this program lacks any real educational value, it succeeds in providing hours of computer-related fun for the teen and young adult audience.

See SuperKids' Buyers Guide for current market prices of the PC and the Mac versions.

PC: Windows 95 or 98, Pentium 90 or faster cpu, 70 MB hard drive space, 16 MB RAM, Video 640 x 480 resolution with 256 color display, Quad-speed or faster CD-ROM, Sound Blaster 16 or compatible 16 bit sound card.

Mac: 7.5.5 or higher, Power PC or G3 processor, 70 MB hard drive space, 16 MB RAM, Video 640 x 480 resolution with 256 color display, Quad-speed or faster CD-ROM.

Reviewed on:

PowerMac 6400/200 with 32MB and 8XCD

Pentium 166 with 48MB and 12XCD

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