Could Name That Tune Eighties DVD game triumph over RIFF the reigning champion of DVD music trivia games? Will it’s bargain basement price tag of $7.99 (I got a deal on amazon it’s usually $25.00!) prove to be a sign of weakness? We’ll see how it unfolds in this review.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why this game sucks royally. I usually find DVD games amusing even though they’re notorious for churning out repeat questions and having fairly long loading times. Fortunately, load times were fast on this one but some questions that came up were significantly difficult especially for the unnatural amount of trivia that resides in my cluttered attic of a brain. Other than those few gems the game is super easy. I did get the same question a few times and it was the first time I played the damn game! Another gripe I had is the way the scores are announced isn’t as easy to understand as in RIFF. A few times, I found myself wondering if the score was even accurate.
Name That Tune Eighties provides at the very least, a few different options not usually seen in music trivia games. First is the option to play a 25, 50, or 80 point game, depending on how much time you have to waste. Players also have the option to steal points from their opponent, play for bonus points, or go double or nothing, while the standard question rakes in 5 points.
Among other strikes against it, this game omits a simple yet important feature. When you get a question wrong the game doesn’t provide the correct answer! That was probably my biggest disappointment with the game since there’s times that I’m able to remember stuff just because it was the answer to a trivia question in a recent game I played. Name That Tune not only fails with frequent repeat questions but it also gives variations on the same questions which is worse! At least a repeat question can be forgiveable but if you know anything about the Georgia Satellites you might be the heavyweight champ of this game. Obviously, no one should know that much about the Georgia Satellites.
Here’s an example of one of it’s lame questions: “Listen to the song and try to remember who sang it.” A royalty free muzaky version of the Miami Vice theme song plays. Naturally the correct answer is the songs composer Jan Hammer. There’s no lyrics in the instrumental song so the game should’ve been smart enough to modify it’s question.
’80s trivia is not all bad. One feather in it’s cap is that you can steal points away from your opponent and you’re ability to bet on your chances of answering the question. You only have a few chances to do that so don’t blow through them too quickly. The game also features other music trivia in addition to the general “Name That Tune” questions. Considering it’s flaws I’ll admit that I still had a good time playing this game but it doesn’t come close to the heated arguments that have arisen from bouts of RIFF! I’ll recommend giving it a try only since it’s price was so reasonable. Don’t let the glow of the covers flashy neon fool you, if it’s over $10 you’re getting ripped off.
