The Price is Right is a portable version of the classic game show. If you like the show, you’ll like this fun app, as the sounds and music reflect the inanity you see on TV.
There are differences, obviously. If you don’t guess the right price while bidding on an item from Contestants’ Row, you still advance to the next round. On TV, you feign excitement as the winning bidder gets to play the next round. And while this game app is as campy as the TV version, Bob Barker is noticeably absent. Even Drew Carey would have been better than the generic announcer in this game.
The second round is where the big fun begins. There are 16 bidding games, such as Plinko. Then you get to spin the “big wheel,” trying to get as close to $1.00 without going over so you can advance to the Showcase Showdown.
Once you’re in the Showcase Showdown, you bid or pass on the prizes. The bidder closest to the price of his or her showcase prizes–without going over, of course–wins that showcase. If only the prizes were real.
A party mode allows up to four people to play by passing around the iPhone, but there is no wireless capability. Otherwise, it’s just you vs. the game.
Some of the details are cool but also disappointing.
When you are shown the prizes you can win, for example, you watch a video clip of a model showing off a prize while the announcer describes it for you. But the clips are small and can’t be replayed, which may disappoint fans of the models.
Those quibbles can be overlooked, because the graphics are good and the gameplay makes you feel like you are actually on the show. You can earn points for your performance, but this is not a game where beating a high score motivates you. It’s just mindless fun, like on TV.
