April 29th, 2008 by PCG

Game Review: Wheel of Fortune 2

One of America's most popular TV game shows goes interactive - again - in Wheel of Fortune 2, the latest computer game that lets players be a virtual contestant and win virtual cash.

This downloadable digital diversion offers a couple of improvements over its predecessor - such as multiple game modes, contestant creation and winnable trophies - but the absence of Vanna and Pat (and any voices at all, for that matter) takes players out of the all-important suspension of disbelief.

As with the television game show it's based upon, Wheel of Fortune 2 lets you partake in a kind of "Hangman"-like word game, where you spin a wheel, land on a dollar value (such as $500) and guess a consonant from the alphabet. If the letter appears in the word(s) you're supposed to guess, which are turned around so you can't see them, you receive that dollar amount for each time. For example, finding three letter Rs in the phrase "BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY" will net you $1500. You can then spin again, buy a vowel or try and guess the phrase. Be forewarned, however, you might land on a "Bankrupt" or "Lose your Turn" spot on the wheel if you choose to spin again. The object of the game is to solve the puzzle before your opponents, and make as much money as you can.

The spinning wheel and letter board look just like the television show, plus the sound effects are pleasantly authentic, as well. But without Vanna -- who did appear in Atari's 2003 version of Wheel of Fortune for the PC -- it's simply not, well, Wheel of Fortune. Note: Vanna and Pat were also not in Sony Online Entertainment's first Wheel of Fortune. At least in this sequel players can now customize the look of their contestant with skin color, facial features, hair styles, and clothing, though it has nothing to do with the game itself...

...After playing Road Trip for quite some time (the game feature where you get to travel on different parts of the USA), I honestly found the Wheel of Fortune 2 game more enjoyable than that of SOE’s JEOPARDY! 2. While the graphics are pretty much the same awesome 3D animation, the game play can get quite addicting and I’m guessing that review holds true only because in my opinion, Wheel of Fortune is really loads better than Jeopardy. And I would like to commend SOE for doing well in capturing the game’s overall enjoyability.

One thing I noticed though is that this game also lacks any music just like JEOPARDY! 2. While the sound effects are really nice, I honestly think that any casual game is incomplete if it doesn’t have any background music. Besides, the game can get real boring too when you’re just waiting for your opponent to finish on his/her turn, and from my experience, music always tends to be the savior when these kinds of things happen...

Wheel of Fortune 2 is a captivating game that brings tons of fun and help to develop logical thinking. It features high quality graphics, diverse sound effects and suitable instrumental music. As for graphics, it is well done and rendered; characters are highly customizable and animated realistically. You surely like their gestures and behavior, when they win or lose. You can customize any character selecting gender, skin color, hair color, hair style, clothing, facial hair and glasses. Another neat feature is the ability to earn trophies while playing - if you play well you can win up to 36 trophies that include "Biggest Bucks" (win $70,000 in a single game), "Bonafide 5 Play" (win the bonus round five times) or "Gameplay Captain" (play for 25 hours), etc. The spinning wheel and letter board look just like the television show, plus the sound effects are pleasantly authentic, as well. Unfortunately, there are no Vanna and Pat, who make the game much original and realistic. All in all, despite of new interesting features, namely the Road Trip mode and trophies, Wheel of Fortune 2 isn't really different than its predecessor...