The Ultimate British Pub Quiz (DVD)

...always made me wonder what the fuss might be about. It's not something I have contemplated before but then, I have a man who plays the XBox 360 all the time so anything on a DVD game would seem tame. Right?

Well, I was inclined to agree. But then I spotted this one on Play.com and found it had gone through the checkout before I knew what I had done. It must have been the yellow outer to the casing or the highlighting of the word PUB ...
...on it. Clean broke the case in half! Still, he persuaded me to have a go. He said it would be a good change.

On went the TV, the DVD player, the comfy pillow onto the sofa, the bottle of wine glugging gently down his throat and me say wondering what I had gotten myself into.

When you first get the DVD in you get a basic screen with a picture very similar to that on the case. I would describe it but Ciao have a picture ... more

There's something about DVD games that always made me wonder what the fuss might be about. It's not something I have contemplated before but then, I have a man who plays the XBox 360 all the time so anything on a DVD game would seem tame. Right?

Well, I was inclined to agree. But then I spotted this one on Play.com and found it had gone through the checkout before I knew what I had done. It must have been the yellow outer to the casing or the highlighting of the word PUB that got me going.

Anyway, having purchased this is such unusual circumstances, I had it delivered and left it for a few days. Like I said, this wasnt something I had actually intended to buy. I'm just too lazy to chase them up or send it back. Until one night hubby came home and sat his ass on it. Clean broke the case in half! Still, he persuaded me to have a go. He said it would be a good change.

On went the TV, the DVD player, the comfy pillow onto the sofa, the bottle of wine glugging gently down his throat and me say wondering what I had gotten myself into.

When you first get the DVD in you get a basic screen with a picture very similar to that on the case. I would describe it but Ciao have a picture of it - so look at the top of the screen!

Then you get the menu. Quite easy really - select the number of players, how many rounds and what difficulty you want it to be and away you go.

Up comes the first question and you hit the button for the corresponding answer on your DVD remote. Easy peasy. But then we all know how addictive easy things can become. Remember Tetris?

The questions are pretty much general knowledge and you have 3 difficulty settings. Although I can coin a well known Chris Tarrant phrase here and say 'it's only easy if you know the answer'. And thats where this game is quite good. There are enough questions to prevent repetition for a good few hours of play, and it is quite fun trying to beat your partner or friends.

The graphics are nothing special, nice and simple. But then that is OK because its the fun of the game that matters anyway. I invited a couple of mates over and we had a game of them vs us. But remember, choose who you invite wisely as this can get competitive. For a tenner though, I was chuffed with my purchase.

However, the initial excitement of this has now worn off. It's unlikely that we will arrange another friendly game with pals as its now been done before. In single player it is incredibly boring and to be honest, I don't think it will get much more air time. If i had paid mega bucks for it I would have been annoyed, but for a tenner it was a good bit of fun while it lasted. And it did keep us in the house, 4 people in a pub on a quiz night would be far more expensive!

One more slight glitch though. I couldn't figure out how different players can play this at different difficulties at the same time. Now this might not sound so bad, but I would have got more air time if the kids could play me and they be on easy and me on hard. As it is, they have to play themselves (although they were not that bothered about this game) and then I play myself afterwards. At about 20-25 mins a game, this is a long time to sit bored.

Since buying this game I have to say that I don't disapprove of the idea of interactive DVD games. They all seem to be fun for a night in - but just remember that thats pretty much all you will get out of them. If you are looking to buy one, get one that interests you. This one is general knowledge and is good for inviting people with different interests around for a game. 

...less