Review: “Weakest Link & Friends”
Just a few days ago, Ludia released Weakest Link & Friends in the iOS App Store. It was a pleasant surprise to see the game pop up after the U.S. version left the airwaves in 2003 and the U.K. version ending earlier this year. The game uses Facebook integration to keep track of your progress and to play against your friends. Ludia has already released a similar game engine for its Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and Family Feud games for iOS, and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire on Facebook.
A look at the money chain and a sample question.
Weakest Link works a little differently in this adaptation. Each game sees yourself challenging four others, whether they be random opponents or friends. You have 45 seconds to answer as many multiple choice questions as you can in each round. Just like the show, each correct answer moves you up the chain. A wrong answer, and you break the chain. If you are unsure of an answer, you can tap “Bank” to bank the money for that round. At the end of the round, the player who accumulated the lowest amount of money up to that point is eliminated from the game. There is no voting. This continues until the top two players are left facing off in the Head-to-Head round. Again, just like the show, it’s the best of five questions. If you win, you earn a cash bonus.
The player board.
And that’s pretty much it. As you level up, you earn more coins. Of course, you can just purchase coins from within the app if you want to play more and not wait for the meter to refill every couple of minutes. You can send challenges to friends and see who is the Strongest Link. The graphics are nice and even the iconic 4-beat sting is present. Unfortunately, there is no Anne Robinson or George Gray to use their razor wit and make you feel useless. Still, the game does come preloaded with some cheeky remarks to make up for it.
Banked points earns you more coins.
The app is free, so the only expense you pay is either spending some dollars to earn coins or just deal with the in-app advertising. After playing the game for a few days, I’ve come across only a few repeats, with some questions even being asked again within a single game. There are occasional glitches in the game that doesn’t take away from the experience completely. One is where it shows someone earned money for a round, but it doesn’t add to their total. Another instance is that you play someone completely different in the Head-to-Head that wasn’t in the main game.
Your challenge requests.
Still, Weakest Link & Friends is a great way to kill a few minutes, show off against friends, and test your trivia skills. All the aesthetics are here to give it as close to the feel of the actual game show. The social networking incorporation adds to the replay value so you can beat all of your friends. If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, download this today. Hey, it’s free.
Fight to become the Strongest Link.
“Hey, it’s free” – As services evolve into micro-transactions, I don’t think this can be a major part of a review of the ‘cost’ of an app or service. Remember that if a product is free, you are generally the one being sold. :)
As for WL&F, it’s an OK quizzer. Not having voting means they really stripped a major part of what Weakest Link is out of the game. Generally, the smartest people never made it to the end. It’s clearly not one of Ludia’s worst efforts, but not one their bests either.
That looks fun. Any other words that this game would be release on Wii, 360, or even WiiU? :D
hey D.J., speaking of The “Wii U”, i’ve heard that after The “PS3″ & “Xbox 360″ versions of “Wheel of Fortune” get relesed next Tuesday on October 16,2012, A brand new “Wii U” version of “WOF” would also be coming out in November and along with Jeopardy! (and no offense to anybody here but I’m more of a “Wheel” watcher than a “Jeopardy!” Junkie) will be the first two “game show based” video games to ever be used as “Launch Titles” for the new console.
now tell me this folks and i really want you honest-to-god opinion on this one here… is this “History” in the making or are this two “titles” is just a piece of “Shovelware” just to make a quick buck kind of thing?
and sorry if I was off topic folks I just want to spread the word out there to you guys that’s all.
Yes. I heard about Wheel and Jeopardy is coming. I’m excited But do you think Ludia will start making game shows for WiiU, like Price is Right, Feud, or Weakest Link.
*sigh* well D.J., I wish that would be the case for Nintendo’s next system and it would make sense. but I heard from it’s article about the company itself from Moby Games and I quote from them saying that “However, in 2011, the company announced that it would solely focus on digital distribution in the future, making Facebook, Smartphones and Tablets their main markets”
so if you seen the reviews of Luida’s track record from gaming magazine websites their usually the mosted hated company in the game show community for making game show based video games for the home console markets.
but maybe I should ask them since you just gave me a brillant idea about that.
also didn’t we have three different version of TPIR (2008,2010,Decades) and three
different versions of FF (2010,Decades,2012) on the Wii anyway?
But if you count the DS two versions of TPIR (2008,2010) one version of FF (2010)
hell, they didn’t not even have the time to develop a version of Hollywood Squares for the DS at all. sure they clamied that it was “coming soon” on their official websitebut they didn’t even develop it “soon enough”.
but like how about making Press Your Luck 2013 Edition, Hollywood Squares Decades, or Pyramid Decades for the WiiU huh?
for Facebook I have only two ideas that popped into my head:
Family Feud Slots (Since Ludia already developed “Slot” versions of TPIR & PYL unless Iwin.com has a problem with that.)
Weakest Link
but if they are still making ios apps then what about making these “& Friends” apps:
Card Sharks & Friends
Match Game & Friends
High Rollers & Friends
Tic Tac Dough & Friends
The Joker’s Wild & Friends
Win, Lose or Draw & Friends
as examples of course.
Of all the “Game Show” & Friends apps that Ludia has released, this would definitely be the best one. I’ve tried them all and they just take too long in comparison and although this is new still being a version 1.0.n, still fewer bugs and crash issues than Family Feud and 5th grader.
It’s a quick <5 minute game to play from start to finish.
Playing with friends doesn't seem to work all the time. Only friend from my FB friends I seem to be playing against is actually you, Alex. Funny thing, it shows as you being the weakest link first or second times, heh heh.
But I see other friends that have the app but they dont show up during game play. So of course like I said earlier, bugs that need squashing so we'll see how they can improve it. But best "? & Friends" game I've played so far.
you know gys, this is quite hardly a suprised not to hear Anne Robinson or George Gray doing voice overs for the ios app since Anne quit the show to focus “presenting” on BBC’s long-running consumer show Watchdog in the U.K. while George has the announcer gig on CBS’s long-running daytime network game show The Price Is Right in the U.S. of A.
so can anybody answer me this question…is this game voIced by Terry Mcgovern ( FF 2010,FF Decades, FF 2012,FF & Friends, PYL 2010) or is it just some unknowned employee from Ludia doing the voice over hosting for the ios app.
also Mr. Davis, is their any chance of you reviewing the Press Your Luck Slots app from the enchanted land of Facebook or is it to you just “Dead-Air” a.k.a never going to happen, not in a million years kind of thing?
you know gang, I just had a strange thought, does anybody remember playing the PS1, PS2 or PC versions of The Weakest Link that was made by Activision from 2001?
Presently they have a question pertaining to who was not a chancellor of Germany. Ronald Reagan is an option and the game shows that as a wrong answer. I’ve seen the question twice now.
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