Though the latest computer edition of the popular American TV show Jeopardy! is supposed to be the "2003 edition," you'd never guess it from the game's dated look, which features splotchy graphics that are constantly broken up by unattractive full-motion video. However, the game does feature voice work from the show's real-life announcer, Johnny Gilbert; voice work and an appearance by the show's real-life host, Alex Trebek; and a host of challenging questions. So if you can get past the game's lackluster presentation, irritating pauses, and low-quality full-motion video, you may find Jeopardy! 2003 to be a surprisingly challenging and enjoyable pastime.
The popular TV game show Jeopardy! involves three contestants competing for prize money by supplying questions for answers--that is, the contestants choose "answers" to questions on various topics on a game board and then supply the questions to those answers. In its current form, the popular show has been on the air for nearly 20 years, and the game attempts to emulate the general pacing and challenge of the show. In the standard game, you can play with up to two other players on the same computer, or play with one or two computer contestants, though you can also play "solo" and take a qualifier test, much like in the 1998 version of Jeopardy! from Hasbro Interactive (a company that has since been bought out by Infogrames). Just like on the TV show, contestants choose "answers" from six different subjects and attempt to be the first to buzz in to supply the question. The game's buzzer is very responsive, so it's generally pretty easy to buzz in first. The computer opponents can be set at one of three levels of difficulty, and they generally put up a good fight.
Unfortunately, the actual game of Jeopardy! 2003 is broken up by ugly full-motion video of host Alex Trebek. Mr. Trebek is equipped with very few different things to say, and they get old very, very quickly, as do the annoying pauses whenever the game grinds to a halt just so he can tell you you're correct and wave you on to the next question for the thousandth time. Mr. Trebek also appears in several of the game's menu screens and during the transitions between the game's three rounds, Jeopardy!, Double Jeopardy!, and Final Jeopardy!. Unfortunately, in these menus, as in his other appearances in the game, the full-motion video for Mr. Trebek is grainy, ugly, and choppy, and at the end of each of his speeches, he'll simply vanish into thin air. The rest of the game's interface and menu screens attempt to re-create the look and feel of the TV show--in many of the menu screens, you'll be coached by Johnny Gilbert, who directs you to choose your game modes, the number of players in your next game, and so on. Though Mr. Gilbert has only one set of voice samples, and though he doesn't have the offbeat humor of the hosts of the hilarious You Don't Know Jack trivia games, he does a good job of addressing you as though you were a contestant getting ready to go on stage. In addition, the game features much of the same music and sound effects as the TV show. Unfortunately, while you're actually playing, you won't feel like you're a contestant on a game show, but rather like you're playing a computer game with a few static screens. You'll see Alex Trebek only when you or another player answers a question, and you won't see any sign of your opponents at all.
But if you can get past the seemingly artificial nature of the game, and you're a fan of challenging trivia, you may enjoy Jeopardy! 2003. Like the TV show, the game has questions on a variety of challenging topics--including history, music, and science, among others--that most trivia fans will find challenging. Jeopardy! 2003 also has plenty of questions and plenty of topics, so you won't see much repetition until you play for quite some time. The game also has a solo play mode that lets you play an entire game of Jeopardy! with no other contestants, though this mode isn't especially helpful, since for some reason, it doesn't give you the questions to the answers you've missed. The game also has a qualifying test mode that lets you take the same kind of 50-question test that would-be contestants take to get on the TV show. Unfortunately, there's only one test, so you won't get much mileage out of it--at least, nowhere near as much as the standard game's thousands of different questions.
It's unfortunate that there aren't as many new, high-quality trivia games on the market as there used to be. Jeopardy! 2003 may not look like much, but if you're a fan of trivia games, you might be able to forgive the game's shabby presentation, since it does have plenty of challenging questions to keep you busy for some time.
