Impossible Quiz: A Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda Situation
The Impossible Quiz Book is a trivia game that was well thought of as a concept, but unfortunately the execution meets a hard roadblock on the eighth question, which pulls its grade down quite a bit. There is currently no apparent solution to the eighth question, (and I have tried; seemingly every pixel of the screen was moused over that seemed like a potential answer to the question) which leads to a limited gameplay experience, cut short abruptly. It’s an unfortunate blemish on what would otherwise be a nicely done and addictive game, and oddly enough, leaves only the instructions, which are funny and well done, as the primary source of amusement.
The art style in The Impossible Quiz Book is cartoonish and rather silly, reminiscent of the South Park, SpongeBob, and Ren and Stimpy cartoons if they were placed in the context of a trivia game. It’s rather endearing that way, and sometimes funny when you see things like a cat come on stage with a shotgun and shoot your life total away when you make a mistake.
Music and sound in this game are sort of lackluster, however. There is only one music track in the game, and that’s fine, because it’s an addictive track that is fun and repeats well. Sounds however are in very short supply; there are only two sound effects in the game, a gunshot for the aforementioned cat that shoots your life total away and a click that indicates when you mouse over something that is selectable. I’m not sure that there was really a need for more than the two sounds, but it would have been nice to see something after level 8 that you could mouse over and have it sound off.
Controls are very simple; the entire game is controlled by clicking your mouse on the options within the presentation screen and answering the questions in various ways. There is always a “right” answer, until level 8, even if they are not immediately obvious, and the questions are well thought out and sometimes require out-of-the-box thinking.
The gameplay and replayability are the main draws here, and unfortunately, (sorry to keep harping on this but it’s true) the fact that you essentially get stuck at level 8 with no way to progress keeps you from coming back for more. The game would be much more interesting if you had any obvious way to progress past level 8, but there are no hints and no walkthrough at the moment. Once there is, I would probably up my grade significantly, since the presentation and overall feel are good stuff.
The Impossible Quiz Book
Graphics – 4/5
Sound/Music – 3/5
Controls – 3/5
Replayability – 1/5
Gameplay – 3/5
Overall – 3/5