Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

"Crude, would have been forgivable with more game options."

The GBA has got an answer for everything now hasn't it?, unfortunately this can mean simply that all it gets is a stripped down version of a console title with about as many options in play as Osama Bin Laden has when choosing a foreign holiday.
The very first thing I'm going to say in this review is that if you're considering buying this you'd be better off with the PSX/PS2 or DC console version given that those versions are completely authentic, there are smooth FMV's and Chris Tarrant voices throughout which makes for a very authentic version of the classic game show.
But If you must get this version at least try and find it for under a tenner because it is the very definition of scaled down. The same introductory FMV's greet us in this handheld version but look blockier than an old stone wall. But this time there are now no options at startup, fastest finger is gone, team play is gone, instead after multiple pressings of start you are thrown straight into the hotseat.
The GBA isn't quite up to providing Chris Tarrant's voice either so all we have is the constant drone of the background millionaire themes and rudimentary sound effects of compressed clapping when a question is answered.
Millionaire's soundtrack is almost as accurate as the Playstation version but it doesn't make up for the lack of Tarrant, it would have been a tall order for the GBA to feature a full sound library of Tarrant's ramblings as on the PSX, but a few choice phrases could have been managed such as ''audience, vote on your keypads now'' with the ask the audience lifeline for instance.
The phone a friends are dealth with by a ringing phone and the text display of their thoughts.
Questions repeat themselves but this is inevitable, the gameplay is still as shallow as the console games but can be quite good for a party.
Watching contestants on the real show is quite a drama and the tension is real, but now being given as many opportunitites to fail on a question about sport below the 1000 threshold it gets old quick, but the PSX version is forgivable because it does it's job, it's authentic, it's like the real thing, but the GBA game feels more like reading a quiz book.
I've never won the million so I can't tell you what your reward would be, but if it's anything like it is for 32000 you won't be spinning your GBA through the air in joy.
All in all it's a digital quiz which is going to be just about as entertaining on your car journey as playing I-Spy,
So if you want to be a contestant on Millionaire stick to the console versions, they're just as cheap and quite a bit more cheerful.
Sum Up.
GAMEPLAY 3/10
Repetitive, although still an authentic recreation, too scaled down.
STORY 0/10
SOUND 5/10 Millionaire music authentic, but NO speech at all!
GRAPHICS 5/10 FMV's included but a crude approach to the audience and hotseat.

OVERALL 3/10
It might be for the GBA but they didn't have to strip it down this much, go for the all-inclusive version.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/03