Press Your Luck DVD
by Imagination
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Toys and Games Reviews of Press Your Luck DVD
Customer Review: STOP... on a Whammy!
Summary: 2 Stars
When you walk into a video store and see games that are playable on a standard DVD player, you have to realize that these machines were not designed to play games - just menus and movies. So it's no surprise that there's going to be sacrifices made when trying to incorporate gameplay into what boils down to fancy menu navigation.
The "Press Your Luck" DVD game does remarkably well given the limitations. Todd Newton (who hosted the GSN remake of PYL, by the way), does a fine job of hosting. While you can't buzz in and answer the questions like the original show, the game solves this by giving each player at least one opportunity to answer a question for 3 spins, while the other players attempt to get one. The questions were challenging but not impossible, a treat when you remember how simple the trivia was on the original show.
Where "Press Your Luck" stumbles, unfortunately, is the Big Board round. Forget about using any strategy while playing - it's utterly and completely random. The bouncing lights and shifting slides are only for decoration. What you "land on" is determined by the same principles employed when choosing a card from a fanned-out deck. Would it even be possible for the game to play like the show on a DVD player? You know: one box at a time in a seemingly random but actually complex patterns, prizes and whammies shifting in set intervals. I really couldn't tell you for certain.
Less severe, but still nagging is the fact that you have to remember what the scores are on your own. The game doesn't remind you of opponents' winnings, which may mean the difference between spinning or passing.
Speaking of "passing": the game doesn't (or can't) employ the spin/pass rules that are detrimental to the strategy of past real-life contestants. On the show, when you are passed spins, you must take them until you use them up, earn them though extra spin spaces, or hit a Whammy. In the DVD game, it seems you have the option of passing "passed" spins back to someone else immediately - though there's a limit of one pass per round.
Also, it should be noted - the player with the most money should go LAST according to the show's rules (an advantage). The DVD game makes that person go first. Not detrimental really but worth noting.
On the plus side, the new Whammy animations are quite amusing and it's been something sorely missed from the otherwise brilliant homebrew versions fans have made and posted to the internet.
Overall, if you can get it for around $10, it's worth a look. The trivia is more than adequate and the threat of hitting a Whammy when you're in the lead and have just been passed a spin adds to the excitement and tension. Hard-core fans of the TV show, however, may be griping too much to enjoy it on the same level.
Customer Review: The whammies are out to get you
Summary: 3 Stars
I got this game a couple of years ago. The game board resembles the Peter Tomarken version but has Todd Newton of Whammy hosting here. The game allows up to four people, a minimum of two is required. Players alternate being the first to answer a question to earn spins at the Whammy board. That's where the flaws are.
First off the game has THREE rounds, not two. This means you have to avoid getting four Whammies in three rounds, which is next to impossible. The first two times my friend and I played this, we both "Whammied out" and won nothing. This is anticlimatic and frustrating. You really don't have any control over where you stop on the Whammy board, the pictures showing and prizes you win don't match. It's like random spinning and hoping you don't get a whammy.
Also, when it's your turn, the game will show your score, but not your opponent's, so you have to remember that or write it down. The final downside is that you can only pass spins ONCE in each round. It's possible to win in this game, but it's very difficult to do so.
Todd goes a good job of hosting and there's a lot of questions to avoid repeats. This game has recently come down in price to about ten bucks. The board is recreated well, but this game has its flaws, so beware.
Customer Review: Is a fun game except...
Summary: 3 Stars
After reading the reviews of other DVD games like this one, I was skeptical on buying it. I gave in cause I really like this game. I am somewhat dissapointed it. There are a few things I think they should have done & done better. If you wanna keep track of how much money you have per round, you have to write it down. They should have put it somehow in the game where you can look to see what everybody who playing has before you decide if you wanna spin or pass. The one main thing that I dont like is when you stop to see what you won or if you got a whammy, you cannot tell. When I played this & would go to stop, it looked like there were a few boxes that were lit up at the same time so you dont know which one your gonna get. I dont mind the questions & think they are good questions. The announcer can get to be annoying after a bit but not too bad. I played this game 3 times so far & was nice to see that you didnt always get the whammy's & get asked the same questions over & over. Overall I would recommend this game if you dont mind the few problems I mentioned above.Customer Review: Fun for the kids
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this because my children and I like to watch the show on GSN, so I thought this would be a fun game to play. I was a little skeptical after reading some of the reviews, but I figured I'd try it. For the most part, it was worth it. The game is pretty fun, and my children love to play it! Some of the questions are a little tough, but their favorite part is the big board anyway.
The few problems I have with the game is that it can drag on for quite some time during the question part. The questions also tend to repeat a little, which will at some point ruin the fun of earning spins. These things I can deal with, though. The worst part is that out of about 7 or 8 times of playing so far, 2 of those times I had to restart the game in the middle of it because it declared player 4 the winner when we weren't done, and there wasn't a 4th player!
Aside from the aggravation of that it is fun for my little ones. If I were playing against teenagers or adults I'm sure it wouldn't be as fun, but for my 4 and 9 year old it's fine.
Customer Review: Not great
Summary: 3 Stars
I read the reviews for the dvd game, and still decided to buy it to see for myself. I bought the game at a discount store for $5, so I didn;t feel like I had as much to lose with this.
However, the gameplay goes VERY slow and the host Todd Newton can get very annoying at times. You can;t employ any strategy because the big board is just a wait screen until you hit the button to stop. There are 3 rounds of spinning and only an amount of questions based on the number of players you have playing.
Overall, I give it a C+, being the only upside was paying just $5 for it.