Out now on iOS, Android to follow
£1.49
Barnstorm seem to be really talented guys – not content to create a really good app for The Chase now they’ve turned their hand to the show that’s currently propping up ITV’s 4pm slot. And it’s not a let down.
As we’ve always said, when you want an app you want to be able to play a decent approximation of the show – that’s what people want. Barnstorm also have the knack of getting the feel of the shows right as well – it looks like the show (very much so in fact, the camera angles are spot on) and sounds like the show (although the soundtrack is not really a big selling point, they certainly understand the benefit of a metallic clunk).
And if you want to play the show you’re well catered for – you can play with up to four human players crowded round an iPad (and presumably an iPhone) with computer players taking places where necessary (although you can also play with them off). The rounds are the same, albeit with the caveats that all the questions become multiple choice once you’ve pushed a buzzer, and the turn order in round two is highest score to lowest (whereas on TV the person with the highest score gets some control over turn order as strategy). The mystery tokens are worth a small cash bonus. The questions themselves are a bit harder than the ones on the telly I think even with the multiple choices, but like any multiple choice quiz sometimes the alternate answers make it a bit too obvious what the right answer is. I’ve only had one dodgy question so far regarding the length of time people got to recall items on The Generation Game (which varied over the show’s thirty years really).
The machine is actually a thing of beauty, you pick a dropzone and push a button to launch the chip, and they seemed to have programmed various speeds and angles into it like you’d see on television – so yes you’ll get some which bounce a bit, ghost drops, some that land then roll around a bit. They all make metallic clanks as they get pushed over. It’s great fun, or at least it would be if suspense wasn’t so stressful, you will try and get something which is hanging tentatively over a shelf to fall off using sheer force of will. The machine will stay in play as long as it will move something as it shoves, and the subtle shine on the counters will alert you to anything moving. There was a moment when it seemed to think something was moving back and forth very slightly and I thought it would never move on but just like on telly, three shoves of the shelf and we’re back to a question.
Really if you’re a fan of Tipping Point the app is difficult to fault. There’s also a solo quick game mode, 60 seconds of questions followed by the final if you don’t fancy a full game. Recommended.
Apologies if this has been mentioned. But there is a new gameshow called The Lie starting on STV tonight at 8pm.
http://shows.stv.tv/talk-tv/269630-the-lie-susan-calman-admits-couples-were-at-loggerheads-on-stv-quiz-show/?ns_campaign=mrselfridgepuffs&ns_mchannel=puff&ns_source=articlepageright
I’m hoping to do posts about The Lie and Crossfire over the week.
Right. Just downloaded this in the last few days and I’ve got to say it’s the most satisfying gameshow app I’ve ever played,I’m not even an avid watcher of the show. I’d probably say I’ve already spent more time playing the app than watching it on TV. I think games based on gameshows are difficult because there is no real jeopardy even the Cube suffers from this. Part of what makes those shows is the decisions on whether to continue or not and you don’t really have that on Tipping Point apart from maybe at the end making the app experience more like playing the show for real.