|
Sierra Attractions, $49. Requirements: PowerPC, 16MB RAM, System 7.5.5+, 4x CD, 70 MB HD.. For more information, visit Berkeley Systems at http://www.operationtrivia.com.
Review by Alex Handy
No, Baby, No!
Austin Powers is everywhere these days. When he’s not starring in the sequel to his runaway hit movie, he’s peddling Heineken, Virgin Atlantic, and Berkeley Systems. Berkeley Systems? Yep, from the makers of the irreverent quiz show You Don’t Know Jack comes a new installment in the Austin Powers merchandising whirlwind. How could you not be intrigued by such a wondrous proposition?
Let’s be honest. This game is essentially a half-assed movie tie-in, which isn’t so bad since the game never takes itself seriously anyway. The plot is the usual convoluted sort: Dr. Evil could easily kill Austin Powers, but would rather match wits with him in a game he calls "Win Lose or Die." Austin and Dr. Evil are forced to compete with one another in a thinly veiled You Don’t Know Jack-style trivia game. The only real difference between this game and YDKJ is the limit of only two players, the insanely high point values (one MILLION dollars, muh hahahaha), and some new variations on the trivia theme.
Along the way, you’ll be peppered with tons of horrible jokes, bad puns, and humorous video clips mixed with 60’s flower montages. The animation and graphics are great. While not as flashy as 3D games, it’s still nifty to see what can be done with art and text. Berkeley has really become a leader in the presentation department.
Complimenting the dazzling artwork are some darn good questions. While not necessarily mind-bending, they are interesting and remain the game’s single best selling point. Unfortunately, some of the questions are about the first Austin Powers movie, and as such are rather hard to answer if you haven’t seen it in a while. Another problem is the simplicity of some of the content. While the majority of questions are relatively challenging, there are some that are ridiculously easy.
Gameplay moves along swiftly, but would probably be more enjoyable if there was room for a third player. It’s understandable that the license put constraints on the number of contestants, but YDKJ is a party game because it can accommodate more than 2 players. This leaves Austin Powers: Operation Trivia in the realm of the evening-at-home-with-the-wife genre. The two-player game play does allow for some interesting new trivia variations, however. Of special note is the new "Crazy Chain" in which each question is related to the first. For example: If the first question were "DJ Jazzy Jeff used to be teamed up with what Movie and TV star?", the answer is obviously Will Smith. The next question would be "Who helped Will Smith destroy the aliens in Independence Day?" Jeff Goldblum, of course. "What did Jeff Goldblum turn into after being trapped in a teleporter with it?" and so on.
The ambiance of the game is well-done as well. Choosing sides is a simple matter of deciding whether you’d rather listen to Bert Bacharach or blow up the Earth. There’s lots of groovy tunes that’ll put you in the Austin Powers frame of mind as well. Unfortunately, this can cause a bit of confusion as the questions are so blatantly un-sixties. While this isn’t a major complaint, there is something a bit disturbing about flowers dancing around a question about "Rain Man."
It’s ironic that the same problem that has plagued the You Don’t Know Jack series should be the major debilitating issue for Austin Powers: Operation Trivia. That problem is the voice work. YDKJ was a wonderful series when Cookie was hosting, but after he left, that certain something was lost. Call it timing, call it talent, call it whatever you want. The fact still remains that Cookie was an infinitely better host than those who came after him. The same holds true for Austin Powers. Had the voices of Dr. Evil and Austin Powers been done by Mike Myers, the game would have improved tremendously. Sadly, the voices are done by a very talented, but none too accurate impressionist. While his Dr. Evil impression is quite good at times, his Austin Powers is blood curdling. Listening to some of the segments are akin to watching an old episode of Batman with Julie Numar instead of Ertha Kitt (in the Catwoman role): it’s good, but nowhere near the original. Even though a lot of the dialog is regurgitated from the movie, it’s all done with the new voices. Why not use clips directly from the movie?
Had Operation Trivia been released under the You Don’t Know Jack brand, the game would have been much more fun. In any case, this game gets a 5 for writing and a 1.5 for acting. If you really love Austin Powers, you're going to be somewhat dissapointed. If you don’t mind some bad voice work getting in the way of your trivia, however, go out and get it, pussycat. |