Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

by Disney

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002S6CC
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: November 23, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (134 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,896 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #78 in Video Games > PC Games > Trivia
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PC | Edition: Standard

Amazon.com Review

Faster than you can say "cha-ching," Disney has released Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: a terrific realization of the wildly successful television game show. Boasting voice work by Regis Philbin himself and a game engine by the makers of the well-respected You Don't Know Jack series, this is the perfect family title.

We originally reviewed the title for about an hour and a half before surmising its rating. By all means a good title, there's one big problem that arises only after repeated hours of play: the questions repeat, and repeat ... and repeat. Frankly, the resurfacing of questions--there are only about 200 total--was the only way we made it to a million dollars, but we can see that not everyone sees this as an enjoyable "asset." The justification from the manufacturer is that the package is at a low price and was never meant for hard-core gamers (or people who install the game on multiple machines). But even for just twenty dollars, you'll wind up being really sure how many stock make up the Dow 500 after five to ten hours of game play, and may walk away annoyed. People looking to purchase this game for multiplayer action also won't be pleased, since players who have spent time with the game will be at an advantage to climb to higher dollar amounts.

The best elements of the real-life game show through: in particular, Regis and his friendly-yet-sarcastic commentary. The software even mimics the pauses Regis takes, building tension as the (virtual) dollars mount up. "You think it's D?" he asks. With more inflection, and as if you're nuts, he adds: "That's your answer?" Then he bellows: "You are correct!" With touches like these, players really do feel like they're in the hot seat. (Regis even makes fun of you when you flunk out, exhorting you not to spend your zero-dollar check in one place.)

The game begins with the same painfully simple hundred-dollar-increment questions, revolving around pop-culture topics like Pac Man, the Jeffersons, and "Who's known as the 'Chairman of the Board'?" Just like the show, the easy questions soon dissipate into the more challenging, with topics revolving around things like the United Nations Security Council. The same lifelines are also in place, but instead of calling on your own support person--who's most likely standing behind your shoulder, ready to play the next round--you're saddled with Regis's own friends. (He seems to travel in a pretty uneducated crowd, since they provided wrong answers much of the time, tripping us up.)

Another warning: this isn't really a multiplayer game in the true sense of the word. All the parties try to buzz in on one question, ranking certain choices, for example, in numeric order. Whoever is quickest with the right answer wins the chance to see the questions through to the full million. That translates to a lot of time spent watching someone else play, but with this game, it's somehow excusable.

With great, simple graphics influenced by the show and the same violin-and-heartbeat soundtrack, Millionaire deserves to be a runaway success. The creators worked quickly but well, creating a game that everyone can enjoy, provided you can accept its considerable glitches. For fans of the TV game, time spent with this game will have you smiling as broadly as million-dollar-winner John Carpenter--without all the tax headaches in the morning. --Jennifer Buckendorff

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

258 of 262 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Final Answer: "Millionaire" Is Disappointing, December 10, 1999

By 

Ronnie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (CD-ROM)

I looked forward very much to this game. I'm sorry to say I was very disappointed in it.

It's not a total washout though. The sound and graphics are superb. The music and the "Virtual Regis" do indeed give you the feeling of being a part of the show, even though the best you can accomplish is becoming a "Fake Milliionaire."

Unfortunately sound and graphics alone do not necessarily make for a successful game and, to be quite honest, they stand as the only high-point of this product.

There is obviously a very limited amount of questions in this game. The question repeat after just a few plays. And then they keep repeating. It is so bad that you can play one game and then start another, only to find that one or more of the questions from the previous game repeat.

If you're expecting the easy question to be as simple as the TV show you're going to be very unhappy. There are relatively few "throwaway" answers (in comparison to the TV show) and some of the "easy" questions are, in fact, extremely difficult.

There is a 30-second time limit on each question (unlike the TV show which allowed virtually unlimited time).

The lifelines are similar to the TV show. The operative word here is SIMILAR. 50/50 is exactly like the boob-tube version; two wrong answers are eliminated. The "audience match" is based on a survey of 50 people polled on the Internet ..... amazingly many of the percentages shown are ODD numbers, which is a mathematical impossiblility. That can be forgiven I guess. But the "phone-a-friend" lifeline is extremely poor. The "friend" in each case is "one of Regis's friends" and each is far from being a reliable knowledge source, except on the easiest questions. On the harder ones you might do better using one of your own friends or a Ouija board instead! (The fact that you hear a simulated phone call is entertaining, I suppose, but this is a triumph of style rather than substance.)

Another negative ..... you only get the "Is this your final answer?" question from "Regis" on some of the later questions. On most of the questions if you inadvertently select "B" rather than "C," for example, you are stuck with that choice. This is a real downer.

Another problem ..... you are supposed to press "L" to select a lifeline and then "5" "P" or "A" to indicate which lifeline you want. Unfortunately it is all too easy to forget to press "L" and to immediately press "A" (for "Ask the audience" ..... what happens then is the game assumes you are answering the question with selection "A" ..... at which point there's a 75% chance you will be eliminated from the game!

The game's shortcoming are all too obvious and once the novelty of the music and the "Virtual Regis" wears off there's very little that's that's enjoyable.

451 of 465 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed, November 25, 1999

By 

m. stern (cincinnati, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (CD-ROM)

I was really excited about getting Who Wants to Be A Millionaire. The graphics are well done, and the game is much like the television version. Yet, after just a couple of hours, we began to get a repeat of questions. After just two days of owning this product, I'm lucky to get any new questions. Needless to say, I'm a Millionaire!

126 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Repeat, after repeat., December 8, 1999

By 

"8869" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (CD-ROM)

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, is lacking the one thing that could make it a mega-blockbuster. After just two hours of playing the game I started getting repeats. They need to come out with a add on pack with more questions. Ether that or give everyone their money back. If you our looking for a game that is good for just two hours of fun then you have found the game for you.

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