Same sassy Regis, same protracted pauses, same lifelines, and even the same slick graphic chairs
to stare at endlessly. Get the idea? The organization of the program
appears identical. If you found either of the previous versions appealing, this may hit a similar note, however, the questions
are designed for those who pay more attention to sports than the average
man, woman or child. Topics cover the whole amalgam of
sports -- horse racing, soccer, baseball, tennis, basketball, football, golf,
auto racing and more. The first 1-2 questions are basic enough for an
uninformed, deductive mind to conquer. Beyond that, most amateurs will be
accepting that blank check from Regis and enduring his negative wisecracks.
Educational Value
This is essentially a multiple-guess sports trivia game. Although fun for sports fanatics, the educational
value is minimal -- and less than the general purpose titles, because there is less room for educational discourse while going through the game.
Kid Appeal
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Sports Edition is beyond the knowledge base of the average
sports-oriented 13-year boy (or girl). "This is just too hard," remarked
one group of 13-year boys who couldn't get past three levels with their fair
share of lucky guesses. Most teenagers who appreciate a challenge still need
more positive reinforcement to find a game engaging. How tough is it?
One group of three knowledgeable adult reviewers couldn't get beyond the $125,000
level after an hour's worth of play.
Ease of Use / Install
On our Windows ME test machine, the installation took
approximately 5 minutes. Navigation through the program was straightforward, even
without referring to the written instructions.
Best for... / Bottom-Line
Although the game is marketed for "Everyone", Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
Sports Edition is best for older teenagers, college students, and adults who
have a broad, detail-oriented sports interest (People who read the sports
section of the paper religiously and more than two articles a month in Sports
Illustrated are good candidates). It would be a good icebreaker at a party with the 18 year old
and-up crowd, or a group of sports newscasters and writers where teams could be set up.
Most young adolescents probably don't know enough about all the
different sports the game asks about, to find this gratifying.
See SuperKids' Buyers Guide for current market prices of the
PC and
Mac versions.
System Requirements
PC:
Windows 95/98,
Pentium 133 or faster cpu,
200 MB hard drive space,
32MB RAM (64MB recommended),
16-bit DirectX-compatible 1MB video card,
4X or faster CD-ROM,
16-bit DirectX-compatible sound card
Windows-compatible mouse and keyboard.
Mac:
System 8.6 - 9.x,
G3 processor, 233MHz or faster cpu,
200 MB free hard drive space,
32MB RAM,
24X or faster CD-ROM
.
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