REVIEW : Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader (PC)
Fans of 2000s game shows can finally test their mettle in THQNordic’s Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, a party game based on the 2007 hit American game show of the same name. The game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, as the name suggests, placed adults back in the classroom and assessed their knowledge against that of the average American fifth-grader. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, like the show and other traditional trivia games, tests participants on several themes? To prove they are brighter than a fifth grader, contestants are asked 11 questions, two from each grade level beginning with first grade and progressing to a single sixth-grade question. As in the show, players can speak with their fifth-grade peers and use their classmates’ knowledge as cheats when they are unsure of an answer.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader includes two modes: Exam Mode, for single players, and Study Mode, which may be played individually or with up to eight other players. When there are numerous participants, each member of the group answers the same question and competes for the most points. Rounds may feature variables that divide players into teams or pit them against one another, similar to other popular party games. In Exam Mode, players just try to accumulate as many points as possible.
Points are needed to unlock incentives after the game, such as new classmates who may appear in the rotation, new costumes for each classmate, new school subjects and questions, and new things to decorate the player’s avatar and desk. These tend to correspond to the game’s milestones as well. With only 2,500 points available as a perfect score in each game of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, these unlockables give a lot of replay value and encourage players to keep testing their knowledge and learning new things.
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader is terrific fun for gamers of all ages for a fairly conventional trivia party game? With hard questions and plenty of assistance, the game is basic enough for younger players to join in on the fun and learn. While the questions are geared toward an elementary-aged audience, adult players may find many of them difficult, especially if they have not been in a classroom for a long time. Several questions concentrate on more technical or obscure terminology for topics, such as what a citation at the beginning of a poem is called or what chiasmus is in rhetoric.
Others, particularly in Social Studies, have participants identify locations on the unlabeled United States or World Map. This level of difficulty provides a lot of balance and keeps the game interesting, especially when played in a group.
The presentation of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader frequently falls flat. The entire game is set up like a typical broadcast game show, with hosts and check-ins to see the score or hear about the other kids’ hobbies. This makes each round and game last far longer than necessary. As another example, participants will listen to the questions and answers read aloud before being prompted by their title to choose an answer.
Once an answer is determined, the game seeks to generate tension by having participants wait a few seconds for the host to utter a random line, hold for a bit, and then reveal the correct answer. This technique may work for younger gamers, but adult gamers will likely find it monotonous. Thankfully, several segments allow you to skip the chat, but there are a few spots where you can’t, such as when you’re prompted by the host and have to wait for the correct answer to be revealed. After a while, the repetition becomes tedious and might subtract from the immersion rather than enhance it.
It’s also worth noting that the entire game feels out of date. Even though it is powered by Unreal Engine, the animation is stilted, with only a few stock movements and expressions shared by all characters. Loading screens are numerous, lengthy, and poorly concealed by extraneous factors such as changing hosts between rounds or stage changes between questions. The artwork is simple and reminiscent of older computer games. More noticeable is the fact that the Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader show debuted in 2007 and concluded its very brief run in 2009, with a brief resurrection in 2014-2015.
If this Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader game had been released a few years earlier, it might have been more relevant, especially for show fans. Nostalgia may drive previous Game of Thrones fans to purchase the game, but it should have been released a few years earlier.
Overall, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader is a fun trivia game that closely recreates the spirit of the original game show? This game has a lot to love, notably the diversity and difficulty of the questions, which can test players of all ages.
The collectables provide a new layer to Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, providing a tangible goal while also increasing replay value. The experience might feel significantly less stilted with a few modifications to the presentation, such as shortening the extended gaps between pieces. Fans of the show should pick up Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader for the nostalgia factor, and fans of the trivia genre, in general, should consider adding it to their collection for a new and exciting challenge to face alone or with friends if the somewhat dated concept and graphics aren’t too off-putting. Are You Smarter Than a Child? 5th Grader is available in two modes: Exam Mode for single players and Study Mode for groups of up to eight players. When there are numerous participants, each member of the group answers the same question and competes for the most points. Rounds may feature variables that divide players into teams or pit them against one another, similar to other popular party games. In Exam Mode, players just try to accumulate as many points as possible.
REVIEW : XPG ALPHA Wireless Gaming Mouse
