In 1981, the world was introduced to what would become perhaps the most renowned board game of all time, Trivial Pursuit. The American public took hold of this little bite in a box, and turned it into a success worthy of games like Scrabble and Monopoly. However, it wasn’t until now that Trivial Pursuit crossed a new border into the current generation of console gaming, and it’s doing it in fashion via Xbox and Xbox Live. The only bit of trivia on hand this time; can this hall of fame board game make the leap and still hold true to all that originally made it so great?

When hopping into a game of Trivial Pursuit: Unhinged, fans of the game will quickly realize a few differences. To begin with there are three modes of play which will be discussed in more detail later in the review. These modes of play include: Classic, Unhinged, and Flash. Before we get our pant legs soaked in trivia, there are a few options at a gamer’s disposal. These options, accessed via the main menu, are various sound level adjustments like host, reader, music, and sound effect volume. From this menu a voice driven tutorial on each of the game’s modes of play is also accessible. So, now that the game is set, let’s get rolling.

The Classic game mode is exactly as it sounds. Players will sit around a classic Trivial Pursuit board and roll the dice, taking turns, and (hopefully) collecting their pieces of the pie. For those of you who may not have played Trivial Pursuit before, come out from under your rock and I shall show you the way. The board is set in tiers which connect to an outside ring and then to a center hub. At each point where the tiers hit the outside ring there is a pie space. On these spots alone players will be able to answer specific questions to get that color of the pie. Each color represents a different category and as pieces are moved around the board they will have to select different options as they move. For a quick run down, Brown is Science and Nature, Blue is People and Places, Yellow is History, Pink is Arts and Entertainment, Green is Sports and Leisure, and Orange is Wild Card. Of course the tiers and outside ring are lined with various questions that will allow gamers to continue rolling, if they can pick that correct. Well, with the quick basics covered, fans of the series will notice only one difference from the main game and that is the ability to select the answering options of shout out or multiple choice. Shout out will typically play just like the original game. In this mode the question will be asked and then the player must shout out their answer. After everyone verifies their final answer, hitting the A button will reveal the correct answer. The multiple choice mode will open the game up much more for those of us that are not quite the trivia masters while still providing a challenge when playing against friends and loved ones.

The next mode available for selection is Unhinged. Being that Unhinged was created to take advantage of being a videogame representation of Trivial Pursuit, it will probably get the most play of the three modes. While the board is set up in the same fashion as the classic game, and the objective of filling your game piece with wedges still applies, multiple spaces on the board will change creating all sorts of fun variations. What I mean by this is the fact that random spaces will alter the gameplay significantly.

A few examples include:

50/50 – select from two answers instead of the standard four.
Teleport – place your piece anywhere on the game board
Recycle – change questions should you feel the current one is too difficult.
Rotate - spins the board for a loop placing pieces in new, random positions.
While these are just a few of the fun options, Unhinged also adds a betting system where you place points on whether an opponent will answer their question correctly or incorrectly. In the end these points can do some very valuable things. When enough points are saved up gamers can use them to re-roll the die, recycle a question, or even steal a wedge from another player. In the end it’s your typical game of Trivial Pursuit with just a bit more action for trash talking.

The final game mode is called Flash. This mode is a rather quick form of trivia more than anything like the traditional Trivial Pursuit. Flash asks gamers questions between two selectable categories. If the question is answered correctly the player will move up a tier until the top is reached. After a win is had, that round is over and points are issued to each player. After this players can determine to play another round or call it quits. While I applaud the addition of new game modes, Flash seemed a bit dull, but variation is always a good thing.

Now that the modes have been explained a final verdict must be reached. Is this version of Trivial Pursuit worthy of its legendary title? I think most who play will undoubtedly answer yes. While a basic fear has been repeating questions, after hours and hours of gameplay I can honestly say I have yet to see a duplicate question. Others I know, however did say they noticed no more than one or two repeats in a pretty extended period of play. So from this point it’s really hard to say if these questions will keep popping up. There are bound to be plenty more questions than the board game offers up. It still would have been nice to see new downloadable questions via Xbox Live. For those who play this game constantly online, it’s quite possible they will remember a few questions. Overall I think that the current batch of questions is far superior to what is typical in the board game. Aside from the question scare, the game handles very simplistically using only a few buttons to access all a gamer will need. The A button is typically the selection button, the X button zooms the camera out for a look at the board, the B button activates special features like roll again, and the left and right triggers will place bets. When the Black button is pressed, the screen will show the current game’s statistics for each player with a right or wrong percentage for each category - a handy tool when selecting your opponent’s final category indeed.

Finally with Xbox Live play, I’d say Unhinged is quite the bargain title at $29.99. If you’re into trivia and you have some friends who you’d love to outsmart, then this game is for you. Sure it’s not graphically spell-bounding or earth shatteringly innovative, but it is Trivial Pursuit and I’m sure that’s enough for most of us.

As mentioned above the graphics are not the greatest attribute of this title, but at the same time they are as good as they need to be. At times the action oriented camera angles can be a bit annoying as most of the time players will want to zoom out to get a better look at their choices of movement. The game does however offer a good blend of colors and text as questions are presented providing a nice, neat package. Another nice touch is the video cut-scenes that accompany a few questions. This provides a nice mix to the overall text-based questions. Once again there’s not much to talk about in this category because you’re staring at a standard game board. I like the next-gen variations of the Unhinged and Flash games, but this isn’t a graphical tour de force, nor should it be. Overall this is one of the best presentations of a traditional board game on a videogame console.

Going into this game I knew this attribute would be the make or break point of Unhinged. I was overwhelmed to see that the creators did a fantastic job in keeping the game flowing with good sound and professional voice acting. Oh, and when I say professional I mean it. Creators went right to the source for all the categories getting well known celebrities to read out your every question, and give their own witty twist to the mix.

Just to name a few of the category’s readers; Arts and Entertainment features Whoopi Goldberg (I know what your thinking, but she does a great job in this one), Sports features Terry Bradshaw, and my personal favorite, Science and Leisure features the friendly voice of Bill Nye the Science Guy. As stated before the light background music and the voice acting create a gentle flow to this title that will keep you from pulling your hair out in a long, grueling game. I was also relieved to see that the witty comments made by these celebrities were not overly dry as those heard in Celebrity Squares! All in all a job well done and while some may not like the choices for these categories, I believe an overwhelming majority will find them right on the money. With everything weighed and measured Unhinged deserves its title of Trivial Pursuit and enthusiasts will most certainly agree. While currently the only title of its type to grace the Xbox, as well as Xbox Live, I feel this will be a perfect break from action intense games like Rainbow Six 3 for gamers of all types. With this one clocking in at only $29.99 even those on the fence won’t take a big hit in the wallet. Expect many to rejoice in trivia paradise online or with friends at home to this basic, yet solid, title. Now put down the mouse and pick up the die because it’s time for me to roll on out. Cheesy? You’re damn straight it is!