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"The Jet Gamer" Game Review: Wheel of Fortune
10 years ago
Another casual DS game I got for cheap. Let's see how it is.
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune on the DS. Sounds like something could work well enough. Taking a game that most people are familiar with and putting it on a system to take wherever you want. It sounds like a concept that could work well enough, but how does it hold up today? Let us take a better look at this game and see for ourselves.
Gameplay
The game actually does play like how the show plays out pretty accurately I would say. Each game plays out in the same format as follows: $1000 Toss up Puzzle, $2000 Tossup, the Jackpot Puzzle, A normal Puzzle, $3000 Toss up, Final Spin Puzzle, and then if you can make it that far, the Final Puzzle. It seems pretty accurate in simulating the show that's for sure. However, despite the accuracy of following the show, the game seems sort of average at best here. One of the biggest reasons being that even on the average difficulty, the AI does seem to be a bit on the smart side. That is where I feel is one of the low points of this game. If you put the difficulty on easy, the AI really is that, too easy. They will always pick all the obscure letters first when they spin, and purposely give you more turns. However, if you up it even a little bit, you will find the AI will slowly start guessing better letters and solving the puzzles earlier in the rounds as well. I think I only ever made it to the final puzzle twice in this game, since it does involve a high degree of randomness, and also how well the AI is able to do at the same time. Now, this isn't fully a bad thing, as you expect the AI to try as well. It just does make it a bit more tricky to get the full experience if you can rarely finish the entire game. You do keep the money you earn whenever you play a game as well, which can be use to make your avatar look differently if you like as well. So, if you are interested in dressing up your character, this can be a nice little addition, but that does seem to be the main thing you use money for, so really, unless you just want to play a game of wheel of fortune, that's all you really get out of doing well in the game, that and just the satisfaction that you won a game. But really, the main point of the game is that you just spin the wheel, earn money, and pick letters trying to solve a puzzle. It is as simple as that. It feels simple, but that really is the whole point of Wheel of Fortune. With the few AI troubles in my mind at least, really, it just feels like an average game of Wheel of Fortune to me.
Story
It's Wheel of Fortune. There is no story here. You just play the game.
Graphics
Yeeeeah, ewww. That's sort of what I think about the graphics in this game. It mainly comes down the character models in this game just horrible to look at and that on top of that, they look a little fuzzy as well. The rest of the game seems alright, in that the wheel, the puzzles, and the pictures of the prizes look just fine, but even then, they are just what you would expect. There is really nothing extra thrown in there to make them look all that much better than what they look like. It is more the below average character models that I think make this game look slightly ugly. The Mii style big headed characters just doesn't fit in this kind of game I feel. Yet, I know there are other games that look like this and it does worry me. Maybe this character style fits for some people, but really, the Mii look on games like this just makes them look silly. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if that looked a bit better though. In my opinion though, it doesn't work that well at all. Just don't expect this game to be a masterpiece in the visual department. It is more fun to just play the game than it is to look at it closely for visuals.
Sound
The sound in the game isn't that bad. I'm sure it could be a bit clearer, but for the most part it is pretty good. The sounds of the wheel, the letters being revealed and the incorrect sound are all accurate and sound like the real thing on TV. There is even plenty of voice acting from Pat that is done rather clearly and understandably as well. Which is good to hear. When you hear them voice acting and acting like this is just another show in a DS game, I'm actually pretty impressed. I know most older versions of Wheel of Fortune don't have this, so this is a welcome change. It makes it sound like an actual episode, and that is what the game should be aiming to accomplish, and I feel it does it rather well in the sound department. There could have been a bit more of it, but really, it's pretty impressive for a DS Wheel of Fortune.
Control
Again, I don't have much to say about this as the controls are very simple and do what they should do. You can either pick the letters by poking the letters or by drawing them if you wish to write them out. You use the stylus to spin the wheel and that is pretty much it for controls. The wheel can be a bit finicky at times, so most of the time when you spin it, you will either spin it full blast, or you will not make a full spin and have to spin it again. Really, there isn't much to say here, because that is literally all you do, other than navigate menu's and that isn't a hard thing to do of course.
Replay Value
Honestly, unless you are feeling up for just playing a game of Wheel of Fortune, then there isn't a ton of reason to come back to this game. That right there though is sort of what makes this average really in terms of replayability though. You are going to come back to this game again because you just want to play another game of Wheel of Fortune. You aren't coming back to this game because you want something massively different. You are coming back just because you want to experience Wheel of Fortune again. The game does what it sets out to do really, but adds nothing else in there to motivate anything else than wanting to go through the Wheel of Fortune experience again, which I can't say is likely a greatly wanted feeling by most that often.
Overall, I would say Wheel of Fortune is another average casual DS game. For people that want the Wheel of Fortune experience, this is a good game for those that want that. However, for those that care about good looking visuals, or are hoping for some extras modes or something that changes the game up in any way, they will be disappointed big time. For those that enjoy Wheel of Fortune though or game show games in general, they will enjoy this game. For others, it might just be a casual check out and pass. It is just an average game really. Pick it up for cheap if you can or just want to add it to your collection.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Wheel of Fortune for DS a six point five out of ten.
Gameplay: 6
Story: N.A.
Graphics: 4
Sound: 8
Control:8
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 6.5
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune on the DS. Sounds like something could work well enough. Taking a game that most people are familiar with and putting it on a system to take wherever you want. It sounds like a concept that could work well enough, but how does it hold up today? Let us take a better look at this game and see for ourselves.
Gameplay
The game actually does play like how the show plays out pretty accurately I would say. Each game plays out in the same format as follows: $1000 Toss up Puzzle, $2000 Tossup, the Jackpot Puzzle, A normal Puzzle, $3000 Toss up, Final Spin Puzzle, and then if you can make it that far, the Final Puzzle. It seems pretty accurate in simulating the show that's for sure. However, despite the accuracy of following the show, the game seems sort of average at best here. One of the biggest reasons being that even on the average difficulty, the AI does seem to be a bit on the smart side. That is where I feel is one of the low points of this game. If you put the difficulty on easy, the AI really is that, too easy. They will always pick all the obscure letters first when they spin, and purposely give you more turns. However, if you up it even a little bit, you will find the AI will slowly start guessing better letters and solving the puzzles earlier in the rounds as well. I think I only ever made it to the final puzzle twice in this game, since it does involve a high degree of randomness, and also how well the AI is able to do at the same time. Now, this isn't fully a bad thing, as you expect the AI to try as well. It just does make it a bit more tricky to get the full experience if you can rarely finish the entire game. You do keep the money you earn whenever you play a game as well, which can be use to make your avatar look differently if you like as well. So, if you are interested in dressing up your character, this can be a nice little addition, but that does seem to be the main thing you use money for, so really, unless you just want to play a game of wheel of fortune, that's all you really get out of doing well in the game, that and just the satisfaction that you won a game. But really, the main point of the game is that you just spin the wheel, earn money, and pick letters trying to solve a puzzle. It is as simple as that. It feels simple, but that really is the whole point of Wheel of Fortune. With the few AI troubles in my mind at least, really, it just feels like an average game of Wheel of Fortune to me.
Story
It's Wheel of Fortune. There is no story here. You just play the game.
Graphics
Yeeeeah, ewww. That's sort of what I think about the graphics in this game. It mainly comes down the character models in this game just horrible to look at and that on top of that, they look a little fuzzy as well. The rest of the game seems alright, in that the wheel, the puzzles, and the pictures of the prizes look just fine, but even then, they are just what you would expect. There is really nothing extra thrown in there to make them look all that much better than what they look like. It is more the below average character models that I think make this game look slightly ugly. The Mii style big headed characters just doesn't fit in this kind of game I feel. Yet, I know there are other games that look like this and it does worry me. Maybe this character style fits for some people, but really, the Mii look on games like this just makes them look silly. It wouldn't be that big of a deal if that looked a bit better though. In my opinion though, it doesn't work that well at all. Just don't expect this game to be a masterpiece in the visual department. It is more fun to just play the game than it is to look at it closely for visuals.
Sound
The sound in the game isn't that bad. I'm sure it could be a bit clearer, but for the most part it is pretty good. The sounds of the wheel, the letters being revealed and the incorrect sound are all accurate and sound like the real thing on TV. There is even plenty of voice acting from Pat that is done rather clearly and understandably as well. Which is good to hear. When you hear them voice acting and acting like this is just another show in a DS game, I'm actually pretty impressed. I know most older versions of Wheel of Fortune don't have this, so this is a welcome change. It makes it sound like an actual episode, and that is what the game should be aiming to accomplish, and I feel it does it rather well in the sound department. There could have been a bit more of it, but really, it's pretty impressive for a DS Wheel of Fortune.
Control
Again, I don't have much to say about this as the controls are very simple and do what they should do. You can either pick the letters by poking the letters or by drawing them if you wish to write them out. You use the stylus to spin the wheel and that is pretty much it for controls. The wheel can be a bit finicky at times, so most of the time when you spin it, you will either spin it full blast, or you will not make a full spin and have to spin it again. Really, there isn't much to say here, because that is literally all you do, other than navigate menu's and that isn't a hard thing to do of course.
Replay Value
Honestly, unless you are feeling up for just playing a game of Wheel of Fortune, then there isn't a ton of reason to come back to this game. That right there though is sort of what makes this average really in terms of replayability though. You are going to come back to this game again because you just want to play another game of Wheel of Fortune. You aren't coming back to this game because you want something massively different. You are coming back just because you want to experience Wheel of Fortune again. The game does what it sets out to do really, but adds nothing else in there to motivate anything else than wanting to go through the Wheel of Fortune experience again, which I can't say is likely a greatly wanted feeling by most that often.
Overall, I would say Wheel of Fortune is another average casual DS game. For people that want the Wheel of Fortune experience, this is a good game for those that want that. However, for those that care about good looking visuals, or are hoping for some extras modes or something that changes the game up in any way, they will be disappointed big time. For those that enjoy Wheel of Fortune though or game show games in general, they will enjoy this game. For others, it might just be a casual check out and pass. It is just an average game really. Pick it up for cheap if you can or just want to add it to your collection.
Overall, in my opinion at least, I give Wheel of Fortune for DS a six point five out of ten.
Gameplay: 6
Story: N.A.
Graphics: 4
Sound: 8
Control:8
Replay Value: 6
Overall: 6.5
