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47 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Second Edition a Big Disappointment, October 4, 2000
I am a serious "Jeopardy" player--I auditioned in August, passed the test, and am in the pool of possible contestants for the current season. So you can trust me when I say that this game, which I so eagerly purchased as soon as I heard it was available, is actually a step DOWN from the Sony Imagesoft version (1995)that I already had. This "Second Edition" is so overloaded with irrelevant video and audio effects that the sensation that "you are there" in the studio, playing a real game, is actually reduced--and the flow of the game is interrupted! I'm not interested in seeing the game board rotate and the category squares fly around. I don't need to see Alex emerge from magic doors like some character in an action game. What I want is updated questions and improved verisimilitude, since I use these computer versions as training tools for the real thing. This does have the updated questions, but most of the other "improvements" are useless baggage, taking up disc space and SLOWING THE GAME DOWN!One specific (and crucial) flaw: you have no choice of buzz-in keys in any game other than the solo game, which allows use of the space bar. For any game of live and/or computer opponents, you, as Player 1, 2, or 3, are assigned keys A, N, L. These keys, if tapped repeatedly after the signal lights go off, input the letter of the key! Try frantically deleting seven A's, tagged on to the beginning of a right answer because you typed it faster than your overworked computer could display, only to get a "sorry, that's not right," and you'll experience the kind of frustration I'm talking about. Only in the solo game can you use the space bar, immune to the above error, and play with reasonable ease. But the solo game doesn't count--there's no competition. It's too easy--I was able to run it up to $121,000 on the first try. I must admit that my 3-year-old computer is below the specs for this game, as stated on the box--Pentium 166 or higher. But I can state confidently that even if all the features ran at intended speed, this game would still receive a failing grade from me. In this version, Johnny Gilbert, the announcer, reads the questions, instead of Alex! And in the real version, you time your response to the end of the question, not the lights on your console. Michael Dupee, the T of C winner, says waiting for the lights is a guarantee you will lose. One of these days, I'll get the call to go to Sony Pictures Studios, and if I manage to win, it won't be because of this strangely mutated version of "Jeopardy."
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