Ever get the feeling someone is watching you? As if the
emergence of voyeuristic televisions shows wasn't bad enough,
now we have to put up with video game recreations of the damn
things? Oh no you don't, not on my shift poncho! I'm here to save
our UK friends because Big Brother is watching and he's laughing
his head off if you purchase this steaming pile of rubbish.
If you aren't up to speed with the latest in television shows, Big
Brother is a game show where ten contestants are placed in a
house in which they will live in for up to 9 weeks. They don't have
any luxuries, no contact with the outside world, and they must
endure weekly challenges and assignments in order to live more
comfortably. Every other week, a nomination and voting process
determines which of the remaining housemates gets banished
from the Big Brother household. The last man, or woman, standing
receives the grand prize, a large sum of money.
In the PC version of Big Brother, you'll take your place in the Big
Brother house. It should be noted that the video game Big Brother
is based on the UK television version of Big Brother, featuring the
current slate of housemates found in the UK Big Brother house,
hence why the Big Brother video game is only available in the UK
and not in North America. That's right, those of you in the US and
Canada may now collectively sigh in relief.
Ok, let's get on with the show. Big Brother features a small
assortment of mini-games. The first of those games is called
'Budget Breaker'. In this contest, you'll be required to purchase the
weekly groceries on a set budget. This is achieved by
manoeuvring a grocery bag at the bottom of the screen in order to
catch groceries that fall from the sky (I'm sad to say folks, no, I'm
not joking). Your grocery budget appears at the bottom of the
screen and dwindles down every time you catch an item. There's
an assortment of items that fall ranging from cheap foods to
expensive household items. You can also catch special items that
give bonuses, as well as penalty-ridden items.
The second game is called 'Take 12'. This contest is a video puzzle
in which a picture of one of the real-life housemates (Melanie,
Darren, Anna, etc.) gets scrambled and it's your job to unscramble
the photo in the allotted time. The third game is called 'Doom
Dishes'. In this contest, as one of the housemates, you'll be
required to catch dishes, that have just been washed, before they
hit the floor. The dishes, much like the groceries, fall from the sky
(Ohh, how inventive). The fourth and final game is called 'Photo
Fun'. In order to play this game, you must collect a key from each
of the other three mini-games. Keys are obtained by achieving
high scores in each of the games within Big Brother.
So there you have it, the Big Brother game. Break a dish, exceed
the weekly budget or fail to finish a video puzzle in time and you'll
receive a nomination. If you receive three nominations in any one
particular mini-game, you'll have been banished from the house…
err, game that you were playing. Your score is than added to the
High Scores list and you can thankfully exit Big Brother and
promptly throw it in the crapper where it belongs!
Graphically, Big Brother is very cartoon-like. The graphics are
nothing to get excited over and besides a few supposedly
exclusive video clips, it's all rather unornamented. Did you hear
something? Neither did I. Big Brother features very little audio to
speak of either.
Big Brother in essence has little to do with the actual television
show. There's no interaction with characters, no interesting or
unique challenges, just mundane mini-games that revolve around
daily activities the housemates incur. It's a rather pathetic attempt
by all involved to capitalize on the television show and I'm here to
put a stop to it before it even gets started. As if the television show
wasn't bad enough, I think it's accurate to say that Big Brother is
one of the worst games I have ever played!