Trivial Pursuit

PS2, PS3, XBOX 360 (TESTED), WII

By Scott Bartley / Tuesday, May 26 2009

Trivial Pursuit should require no introduction, it was one of the defining board games of the eighties and nineties, after all. Now, however, it’s the 21^st century and Trivial Pursuit gets its mandatory transformation from the analogue realm into a thoroughly more enjoyable and entertaining digital version of itself. Right? Well, yes and no. While it’s hard to muck up the basics of Trivial Pursuit and there’s no denying the game is just as much fun on the telly as it was on your dining room table, there are a few rough edges and omissions that leave us feeling short changed.

For starters there’s no online multiplayer, which is just bizarre. Sure, you can play against people in the same room as you, but everyone knows online is where it’s at these days and Trivial Pursuit is worse off without it.

Also, by virtue of the nature of the console interface, every question must be a multi-choice affair and in turn makes the game that much easier than the real thing.

If I were to be really picky I’d also take a swipe at the horrible animations and childish voice-overs that accompany every roll of the dice. Instead, I’ll take a chill pill and enjoy the fact that, in spite a few glaring shortcomings, Trivial Pursuit is still as much fun as ever.