Review: Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune, one of the most popular and longest running TV game shows, it was no surprise when Sony Online Entertainment acquired the rights to port it over onto the PlayStation Network.

Did their spin of the wheel land on the ‘Jackpot’ or ‘Bankrupt’ wedge though? You’re about to find out.

Graphics

The graphics for the game are good, but nothing special. The several sets add a bit of variety to the backdrop, and stay true to the ‘extravagant’ theme of the show. The character models look decent enough, but there are several issues with the animation, such as the player’s hand cutting into the wheel as they spin it. On the subject on animation, there is not much variety in them at all, and you will soon grow tired of seeing your character ‘raising the roof’.

Gameplay

The game portrays the core gameplay of the show pretty well, when spinning the wheel you are shown a ‘power’ meter, which sets how hard your character spins the wheel. The wheel has cash amounts and also other wedges such as the million dollar and mystery wedges from the show. You then pick a consonant or can purchase a vowel and try to guess the letters in the puzzle, once you know what it is you can try and solve the puzzle.

There are two other contestants at all times; they can be controlled by either the AI or by players in local or online multiplayer. You can choose to play a single round, which is pretty self explanatory, or a travelling tour. In travelling tour, you play three games against the same opponents in different locations. There are 11 cities featured in the game from across America each one with a differently themed set.

The game does have some customization options for your avatars, albeit on a very limited level. There a few facial, hair and clothing options for both male and female avatars, along with naming your character the customization ends there.

For some reason, I will have to assume licensing issues, the current hosts (Pat Sajack and Vanna White) are missing from the game, which certainly does take away from a game based on the show.

Conclusion

Wheel of Fortune certainly is not a game without issues, several of them infact, that could have been avoided and make the game feel incomplete; $14.99 does definitely seem a bit steep for what is on offer. Puzzle lovers will find something here for them though, with over 9,000 of them to solve, but you will have to deal with the poor animations, limited customization, and complete lack of hosts.

Answering the question at the very beginning of this review, SOE did not land on ‘Jackpot’ or ‘Bankrupt’; I would have to put this game on the ‘Mystery’ wedge.

6/10

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