Have you ever wanted to meet Vana White or Pat Sajak? Well, this game won't allow you to do that, but it can prepare you to be a contestant on one of the most beloved prime time game shows ever.
Wheel Of Fortune for the iPhone and iPod Touch is a great re-creation of the game show that most families have watched on television for years. There isn't anything really drastic that set this game out as a "must buy," unless you are a rabid "Wheel Watcher." That being said, I am glad to have a copy of it now to play when i like.
The set up of the game is just as simple as the game is in real life. Once it starts, you create an avatar to best represent you on the show. Choosing skin color, hair style, clothing etc. Once that is done, you choose the level of skill you want to play on - easy, medium or hard. The times I played through were on easy (not being the best at this game), but I still was able to enjoy the game itself and didn't feel like I was dominating the competition. After all, a large part of this game is luck.
Spinning the wheel is easy to accomplish with the touch screen. Simply drag your finger across the screen, and depending on how fast you do that, determine the speed at which the wheel will spin. After that, it is all academic. Choose a letter to guess, or if you have money, buy a vowel. Try and guess the puzzle when you think you know it, win enough and move to the bonus round for BIG money.
Along the way to the bonus round you go through the regular categories that are always present on the wheel. The rounds are all there from its television counterpart as well, like Jackpot rounds and Toss-ups. Winning each of these rounds also nets you "Trophies" during play.
Sound design is as well as it can be with a game show. The sound effects are minimal but effective and there isn't any ambient music playing in the background to grate your nerves, thanks goodness.
The animation is fine for a portable game like this, however, I did find the blank stares of the contestants a little frightening like they have no soul. The wheel spins very smoothly, and the in-between round animations also are very well done.
The real hook with this game is the replayability. There are literally thousands of puzzles to solve in the game, so it could take you quite a long time before you start seeing repeat puzzles. In addition, with patches and updates, they could constantly add in more content.
My only gripe with this game is it's total lack of multiplayer, either online or off. It would have been great to have, at the very least, a way to have two or three players be able to pass the device around. Maybe that is something they can add in with an update, or patch.
All said and done, this game is exactly what you would expect from a mobile version of a game show. I have been having a lot of fun trying to beat the competition. I will be playing this game for quite a while on my quest to get the million dollar prize!