Box Office Smash or Box Office Crash?
Last year’s Scene It game was met with some pretty harsh criticisms. I personally enjoyed it and for the first time since I got the 360, me and my family sat down and played a game, that game was Scene It. So it may not have the camp styling’s of Buzz but it did have a vast amount of questions. The only thing that hurt it was the fact that questions repeated too often and there was no online play.
Box Office Smash adds online to the fold but suffers the repeating questions issue. After playing 4 full games of it, I have seen a few questions repeat already. It’s a little disheartening to see the same questions so early on, Microsoft has said that packs will be added later as downloadable content but pricing could be an issue that stops people from getting it, what with the economic climate we now live in.
The game adds in Avatars from the New Xbox Experience so it gives it a more personal feel than last year’s game. It also includes the same modes as last year’s game but with new interfaces and questions to answer. Here’s a long list of the different types of questions you’ll have to answer:
Anagrams – Unscramble the letters to reveal the name of an actor or movie.
Celebrity Ties – Answer the questions to see how the actors are linked.
Child’s Play – Figure out the movie title from a childlike drawing of a famous scene.
Credit Roll – Guess which movie’s credits you’re seeing.
Crosswords – Determined the movie title (highlighted) by using the intersecting clues as they gradually appear.
Distorted Reality – An image from a movie slowly forms and you have to guess the correct movie title or actor’s name.
Genre X – Answer the questions grouped by movie genre.
Invisibles – These questions, which are based on movie stills, come in two flavours: if an actor is missing from the shot, identify the movie title, if an object is missing, identify the missing object.
Movie Clip – View a short movie clip and then select an answer for each of the five questions that follow.
Now Playing – Guess the movie from the poster.
Pictograms – Figure out the movie title or actor name from the clues in the pictures.
Pixel Flix – Name the movie from the scene depicted in the animated clip.
Props – Guess the movie title by looking at an image from the movie.
Quotables – Fill in the blanks to complete the famous movie quote.
Sequentials – Place the four movies in the order they were release.
Sketches – Name the movie title from the clues in the sketches.
Songs and Slogans – Answer the questions about famous movie songs or taglines.
Soundclips – Listen to an audio clip from a movie and then answer questions based on it.
Visual Puzzlers – Name the movie from the clues in the images.
Which Is Which? – Figure out which of the two movie stills is from the given movie.
Who Am I? – Four clues to an actor’s identity gradually appear on the screen. Identify him/her from them and grab the points!
As you can see there are plenty to get into, although some of them are from last year’s game. The new ones add a bit of variety. Online play can be supported upto 4 players, which is pretty good…although I had a devil of a time finding any games. Box Office Smash could have benefited from some more questions so they didn’t repeat so often, but at least it gives you a chance to learn the answers and get all the achievements out of it.
Speaking of achievements, the game dishes them out quite quickly. Even if you play 3-4 games, you can gain a good 200-300 points easy. The rest are obtained from online wins and getting answers right in each puzzle type. It’s a good package overall, it’s a shame that it just doesn’t last as long as it should do.
Video clips are still in standard definition, which is unfortunate. I would have liked to see them in HD this time. Commentary between rounds has taken a surprising British turn this year, but it seems out of place when most of the questions and sound clips are from American films. The interface is easy to get to grips with and the small remotes work a treat, even though you can use the standard controller if you want.
The Verdict
Scene It?: Box Office Smash! improves upon the original with online play and some new puzzle types, but the questions repeat far too often to be any challenge. It’s good to have the personal touch of Avatars in the game, but the package seems rather limited when compared with other quiz games.
