Quizz Show: Pirate Island

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: November 08, 1999
• Genre: Traditional
• Style: Game Show
• Similar Games: You Don't Know Jack (Hybrid PC/Mac), Quizz Show: Monster Mania (IBM PC Compatible), Quizz Show: Alien Escape (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

Quizz Show: Pirate Island is one of a series of learning games utilizing trivia mixed with subject matter questions in a game show environment. Targeted at players in the 4th to 6th grade range, Pirate Island deals with a variety of subjects including history (American and World), literature, grammar and vocabulary among others. Up to four players can compete on the same computer or you can go one-on-one against the computer.

The game supports several types of input, including a joystick for solo players. In multi-player action, either keyboard or a hardware peripheral (VTechSoft buzzers) that connects to your joystick game port can be used. There are three difficulty levels (easy, normal or difficult) from which to choose, each affecting five areas of gameplay, and nine basic categories of questions.

In Quizz Show: Pirate Island, each game consists of three rounds and a choice to play as any one of eight characters, ranging from a Witch Doctor to the Governor's Daughter, in ten varied background settings indigenous to Pirate Island. Animation in the game utilizes the art of claymation.

The game features more than 1400 questions across a broad spectrum of topics with answers displayed in multiple choice form, with all either displayed on the screen at one time or in a loop of flashing answers appearing one at a time. For those players wishing to customize the game, Quizz Show: Pirate Island provides a complete Question Editor that allows creation of subject matters (categories) as well as related questions and answers.

Roots & Influences

Although completely different in subject matter and target audience, Quizz Show: Pirate Island has overtones of the You Don't Know Jack series as well as other computer-based trivia games. The game is identical in layout and gameplay to the others of the Quizz Show series.

Review: Overall

One of a series of games aimed at helping 4th, 5th and 6th grade students, Quizz Show: Pirate Island is a refreshing mix of modern day (late 1990s) trivia and life style topics coupled with historical questions dealing with significant events and people of times past. Both world and American history serve as the basis for the game along with such rudimentary and basic skills as vocabulary, reading, literature and simple good language.

By combining the ingredients of these two diverse eras of time, the producers have developed a relatively painless and interesting way to keep kids focused and excited about learning. With the addition of the versatile Question Editor, the game becomes a timeless piece of software that can, with some concentrated effort, constantly change and be updated with current or even nostalgic questions from any era. There is virtually no limit to the endless combinations, questions and categories that can be entered.

Even with no "home input," the 1400 questions that come with the game are sufficient to keep most kids busy for months without any game being the same. Some questions may repeat but it will take a significant amount of time to run the well dry. Another nice design feature is that homemade questions and categories can be saved on disk or hard drive and exchanged via e-mail to friends and other players around the globe through the Internet. The final gratifying touch is that the questions can be used with any of the three games in the series, including Quizz Show: Alien Escape and Quizz Show: Monster Mania companion products.

Beyond the versatility of the title, the gameplay itself lends itself to a pleasant environment and perhaps less frenetically paced trivia game than the You Don't Know Jack series that, although targeted at an older group of player, still contains similar properties. In Pirate Island, the music isn't as diversified, the quiz master not as ebullient, cocky or insulting and the pace not as quick, but there are redeeming qualities that make the game palatable to the younger set.

The questions can range from the obscure, such as "Who invented lighter than air balloons?" or "What was King Henry the VIII best known for?" to current fads or queries about recent events and references like "What series of computer games is Roberta Williams famous for?" I'm paraphrasing but you get the gist. In many instances, the game doesn't just register the correct answer but may add a significant explanation or amplifying bit of information to it, usually quite interesting.

Each game of Quizz Show: Pirate Island consists of three rounds. Round 1 will always contain four categories of the nine possible, Round 2 three categories and Round 3, two. Categories are never repeated within one game, thus all nine are used; the sequence in which the categories appear, however, is determined by the players as the rounds are preloaded each game. A random factor will also kick in if players choose not to select a specific order.

Within each category during the rounds, the number of questions will vary. For example, in Round 1, one of four categories will contain two questions while the others will have three, four or five questions respectively. Likewise, Round 2 categories will consist of three, four and five question batches while Round 3 will have one four and one five-question category. When playing in single-player mode against the computer, at the beginning of a game you'll be given a target number of doubloons to earn throughout the three rounds. Should you fail to make the quota, your pirate ship sinks but, if you win, the ship sails across the screen, laden with gold.

If playing multi-player, the goal, of course, is to earn more doubloons than your opponents do. The overall structure is really not much more fancy than that but the main focus of the game is on gameplay and knowledge, not necessarily winning at all costs. Each player can select from one of eight characters at the beginning of the game but all are simply onscreen personas and add nothing to the gameplay itself except personalized comments throughout the rounds. Options include The Sea Wolf, The Pirate Queen, the Witch Doctor, a Buccaneer, Captain Hook, the Governor's Daughter, The Siren and a Cabin Boy.

After each round (not category), a four-character bonus round table is set up that rewards players with additional gaming advantages. These include items and bonus doubloons that are added to your score. There are seven items that can be won playing the bonus rounds that range from Rescue (no loss of doubloons for an incorrect answer) to a penguin icon -- it turns opponents into penguins and makes any winning answer by them worth only half the value. The bonus game is sheer eye-hand coordination with a cannon ball rolling around the circular table and each player pressing his or her key or button when it passes in front of their onscreen character. As the game progresses, the ball goes faster and can reverse direction -- last player not "blown up" by an incorrect timing move, wins the bonus.

Each of the nine categories in the game deals with a specific topic or topics and has a unique name that roughly reflects the type of subject matter. Tall Tales, for example, deals with myths and legends, while Guzzle, Gobble and Gunk focuses on trivia and leisure. Literature is covered under Once Upon a Time, inventions and discoveries in Life Just Gets Better and You Don't Say centers on vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing. New World Ways and Old World Ways deal with American and world history and civilizations respectively, That's Entertainment covers TV, movies and music and People of the World dabbles in foreign cultures.

The graphics in Quizz Show: Pirate Island are crisp but a bit static. The claymation animated figures don't do a lot of moving about and the onscreen characters basically sit still at their buttons and perform hand and arm gestures, facial expressions and banter in specific accents and attitudes. There are ten backgrounds spread around the island in appropriate piratical motifs including Voodoo Hill, The Reef, The Fort, The Grotto, The Hideaway, the Putrid Marsh, Bottomless Pit, the Pirates Den, a Lava Field and finally, the Palace of Atlantis. None impact on gameplay and serve strictly for ambiance.

The game is completely adjustable to the level of player skills and the three difficulty levels impact five gameplay aspects. In Easy, Normal or Hard mode, for example, the speed with which the answers are displayed ranges from low to medium to high. Likewise, the penalty for buzzing in too soon on the answer (measured in doubloon loss) is 10, 20 and 40 respectively. A couple of the impacted areas are different for single- and multi-player action, such as the number of chances to answer a question correctly. For multi-player, there is no limit while the three levels of difficulty offer the solo player three, two or one chance before "losing" the question and moving on.

Quizz Show: Pirate Island is a wonderful learning tool that should keep pre-high school children interested and delighted with its wide range and enormous scope of questions. The interfaces are all well designed although four players pounding their respective key on a keyboard can get a bit crowded. The joystick option for the solo player is definitely a plus, especially when playing the bonus rounds. The quiz master's antics and quips become old hat but the main focus remains the questions.

All things considered, the game should offer countless hours of good wholesome fun to the target audience with a good range of question complexity and its mix of historical and current information. The multiple backdrops to the story and the varying length of rounds helps to juggle gameplay but, as in all trivia games, ultimately becomes boring after seen hundreds of times. But the heart of the game goes on with the excellent inclusion of the Question Editor which, in itself, can add hour upon hour of creative fun and enjoyment to the participants.

If you've got a computer and children of 4th through 6th grade level who are inquisitive and enjoy trivia, I'd recommend Quizz Show: Pirate Island as an alternative to television sitcoms and mall roaming -- the level of interaction may just pay off in the long run.

Review: Enjoyment

There's a very well thought out mix of questions and subject matter. Seemingly a trivia game at heart, a surprising amount of factual and relevant historical data finds its way to the players, couched in terms that make learning fun. A major enjoyment activity built into the game is the Question Editor that can be a great source of amusement and creativity -- the possibilities are endless.

Review: Graphics

Cute and not overly obnoxious. Not a great deal of animation but well-drawn with solid thematic views.

Review: Sound

Music and voiceovers are done nicely and add to gameplay rather than detract.

Review: Replay Value

With 1400 questions built in, the game can be played quite extensively before all the answers can be learned. However, the game isn't limited in that capacity as parents and their children can create new topics and questions continuously.

Review: Documentation

Bare bones manual that covers the material adequately.

Production Credits

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