This time next year, we'll be millionaires...

Introduction

Well folks, it's that time of year so here we go again.....

Christmas is coming,
The geese are getting fat,
Please put a penny,
In the DVD makers` hats.

This is the sixth version of the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? DVD game.

But this year, there's a new twist, and one which might just elevate this disc way above all of the other versions and any other quiz DVD previously released. More on that in a second, but first I will once again ask you to picture the scene....

It`s Christmas Day, everyone is well fed and sleepy after gorging on the monstrous Xmas dinner. What to do next? Watch the Queen`s speech? Unlikely as it will already have been leaked to the tabloids. Watch the alternative on Channel 4? Unlikely, as that might upset other members of your family with its controversial content.

So what do people do apart from fall asleep and snore until teatime? Play a game to stave off boredom of course. The actual game has evolved over the years, from charades to cards to board games, consoles (how many millions will be making fools of themselves with Wii Fit this year) and now DVD games, which are a maturing format.

Enter the 6th version of the interactive DVD of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The format is simple, answer questions, win virtual money, impress your friends and family with your knowledge of inane trivia like which member of "The Mary Whitehouse Experience" once auditioned for "Red Dwarf"? (Answer: David Baddiel)

You must know the format - 1 question, 4 possible answers, 3 lifelines to help you out. If you haven't seen the show recently, then you may not know that there are now only 12 questions to answer to win a virtual million pounds (they've dropped 3 of the insultingly easy questions). And all of this can be played on your standard DVD player, not a DVD ROM in sight.

As I've already mentioned, this DVD is the 6th version of this game, but it has one key difference. It comes with 4 small keypads (with 5 buttons on each), so up to 4 players can play against each other simultaneously. It takes a couple of minutes to calibrate it with your DVD remote control and then you are ready to go.

Video and Audio

As with all other versions of the game it all looks authentic, the graphics look fine and the sound is fine.

As with all of the other discs, this is not the game for you if you are irritated by the sound of Chris Tarrant trying to inject some "tension" into proceedings!

Extra Features

As well as the main game, there are 11 "Special Anniversary Games", featuring archive show footage plus all the original questions taken from the chosen shows from the last 10 years, memorable contestants, worst Phone A Friend, dreadful losses and some landmark million pound wins. Can you remember all the answers and get to a million without your lifelines?

Conclusion

Do you enjoy trivia? Do you enjoy quizzes? Do you scream at some of the idiotic contestants when Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? is on TV? If so then this is your chance to prove your mastery of trivia, if you haven`t already got the board game, console game or any of the previous 5 DVD games...

This time round, the little twist of the keypads has transformed this DVD into something else. Whereas previous games made life difficult as you could only really play on your own, having four individual keypads gives a greater feeling of interactivity and participation. And you can challenge other people. It's just a lot more fun and makes a great family game as you can choose from adult and junior questions for each individual player.

This was always an interesting idea for a DVD and this time round probably perfectly executed. Plenty of questions to keep you going until New Year at least. This is highly playable, with just your normal DVD player and those special keypads. What more can you want? The best DVD game I've ever reviewed.

A handy gift to help stave off the rows about what to watch on TV instead of the Queen`s speech.