Scene It: Box Office Smash

Scene It: Box Office Smash

Last Christmas’ release of Scene It: Lights, camera, Action on Xbox 360 was a success for Microsoft. Using four robust and brightly coloured wireless buzzers it was a classy package dragged down only by the slightly overblown quiz format. This year’s release of the franchise, subtitled Box Office Smash, builds on the previous game’s successes while eliminating many of its shortcomings to deliver an enjoyable family party game for the festive season.

Once again you can opt to use the Xbox 360 standard controller to play the game, but for the authentic TV quiz experience you’ll want to use the wireless Big Button Pads. Held in one hand they feature a large coloured buzzer as well as four smaller face buttons lined up vertically below. Each controller requires two AA batteries but, pleasingly, these come bundled. It’s a slight shame that the game limits itself to just four players and, likewise, the lack of global leaderboard support is a shortcoming.

There are only two play modes in the new Scene It - ‘Party Play‘, which randomly selects game types and lasts indefinitely, while ‘Play Now’ mode provides a more structured experience. Here you can choose between a short and long play mode, each of which features three rounds with either three or five puzzles in each depending on your choice.

These puzzles vary in style with ‘Child’s Play’ showing a childlike drawing, which acts as a clue to the name of the film. ‘Now Playing’ shows the background of an official movie poster and slowly adds in more details. ‘Pictograms’ shows pictures of everyday objects that must be put together to work out the movie title. One of the most enjoyable rounds from the first game ‘Movie Clip’ makes a return and here you’re shown short movie clips and then asked questions, both on the clip itself and the film it's from.

After each round players are awarded bonus points for answering the fastest or getting every answer in a puzzle correct. Even those players who are struggling are given awards so nobody ever drags too far behind and matches are always close. The presentation is better than the previous games, its pace snappier, and the ability to play over Xbox LIVE welcome. But the number of clips on offer is relatively small and there are only a few very recent titles included in the quizzes. Nevertheless, Scene It is a strong party game that will satisfy movie buffs as well as providing newbies with considerable entertainment.

3 out of 5