What is a game show for people with an excessive amount of brain cells?

A few years ago Norm MacDonald had a great stand-up routine describing the extreme differences between contestants on Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy -- on Jeopardy, you'll find a few contestants that build brains in their spare time, but on Wheel of Fortune, you've got people fascinated by small, shiny objects.

So, if the upcoming Wheel of Fortune on the PlayStation completely offends your intellect, you can certainly exercise your mentality with Jeopardy ¿ but you'll need to have a brain capacity that exceeds the human average of 3%.

Jeopardy, in its most basic form, is a quiz show where the answers are given, and three players go against each other and "buzz in" to respond to the clue with a question. Each "answer" has a money value based on its difficulty. Answer it correctly, get the money. But answer it wrong, and have it subtracted from your score. Games are broken down into three parts: Jeopardy, Double Jeopardy, and Final Jeopardy. Players compete for money answering questions (er, questioning answers ¿ I'm never going to get used to that) in Jeopardy and Final Jeopardy, and wager their winnings for one final question in Final Jeopardy. Which ever player has the most money at the end of the game wins.

Jeopardy on the PlayStation, like Wheel of Fortune, mimics the television show with a high-resolution 3D set that pans and zooms across the stage, from contestant podium to game board. Alex Trebek roots players on through FMV clips, and each of the game's 3,500 questions (er, answers...) is read out by the show's announcer, Johnny Gilbert. Players can even scribble their name on their podium, a Jeopardy trademark that's a welcome addition to the PlayStation rendition. And if there's a memory card inserted in the PlayStation, the game remembers which categories already have been revealed to eliminate repetition.

Hasbro got its hands on a developer which really knows Jeopardy inside and out, so if you're a fan of the TV show, you're going to love what the company has done with the PlayStation game.

-- Craig Harris

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