Countdown DVD Game Review

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The Countdown DVD game comes in three versions: standard, deluxe and a version sold exclusively through Marks & Spencer. As far as I am aware, the game itself is identical in all cases. Just for the record, this review is based on the standard version, supplied in a typical DVD case.

My first impressions on using the game were good: there is an excellent rendition of the opening credits of the show, and you are soon presented with the choice of playing either "Classic Countdown" - a standard 15-round game designed to allow up to four players (or teams of players, for that matter) to take part - or the "Conundrum Game", which is a single-player conundrum challenge. You are also offered the chance to have the rules explained to you by Des and Carol.

Assuming you have chosen to play the 'classic' game, your first task (after a brief word or two from Des - Lynam, that is, as the game was published while he was still in the chair) is to write down the letters put up by Carol. The clips of Des and Carol are well-executed and are not unlike watching the programme, except that there is an eerie silence in the studio (due to there being no audience or contestants to make any noise!) and there is no one choosing the letters. This latter point is, of course, due to the fact that the game is run from a DVD, and therefore all the actions of Des and Carol have to be pre-determined - unlike a computer game, where more user interaction would be possible. The restrictions placed on the format are something I will be returning to at various stages throughout this review!

Once Carol has placed the last letter on the board, you are given time to make sure that everyone has all the letters written down (there's a reason for this!) and then you can press the "Ready to Start?" button displayed on the screen. When this has been pressed, there is then a further delay while Des introduces the thirty seconds (although disappointingly we don't see him pressing the button to start the clock) before we finally get underway. Unfortunately, what happens next is what I would consider to be one of the biggest mistakes made by the game's designers, and that is the decision not to show the letter selection underneath the clock while the round is in progress; as far as I can see, this would easily have been achievable and would have made the game much more playable. I was also disappointed not to see a more exact reproduction of the famous clock, although this is an admittedly minor gripe and the computer-generated rendition is perfectly acceptable and is in fact slowly growing on me!

Da-da da-da da-da-la-da poo! O.K., so the thirty seconds are up, and with this being a DVD game, the players are simply asked to state the length of their words. All validation of the words has to been done manually, of course, as the DVD format means that no dictionary file is held, and we are left with Des giving us a brief resume of some of the longest words available in the (pre-programmed) selection. Unfortunately, there is no Susie offering these words from Dictionary Corner - something I feel would have been a worthwhile addition at no particularly extra cost (perhaps she isn't considered integral enough to the show), and something which I'm sure would have been popular with many players. Naturally, with there being no check on the longest permissible word, it's possible to claim maximum points on every round, so if you've always wanted to achieve a truly mammoth score on Countdown, now's your chance! (Incidentally, in the "rules" section of the game, Carol explains that "any word which appears in the Oxford English Dictionary is allowed" - er, not quite right, Carol!!)

As previously hinted at, the 'classic' game follows exactly the same format as that used on the TV show, so we are presented with a further three letters games before the game moves on to the first numbers round. After the fourth letters round, we are offered our first chance to review the scores, an opportunity which is then repeated after every change of game type (i.e. after rounds 5, 9, 10, 13, 14 and at the end of the show). Personally, I would have preferred the scores to be displayed after every round, although I realise that this would annoy many people, judging by viewer reaction to Des O'Connor's frequent references to them!

After the scores have been shown for the previous round, Carol then appears in front of CECIL and the familiar numbers board. Again, this part of the game is visually excellent (an initially rather faint image of CECIL's generated number aside), although again it's rather disappointing not to be able to control the choices made by Carol - for the usual reasons.

In exactly the same fashion as with the letters game, you have to make sure everything is written down before starting the 30-second countdown, because once the "Ready to Start?" button has been pressed, you're out of luck! Once the time is over, players have to state how far away they were from the target figure, so that points can be dished out and the scores updated. Carol then presents one way of achieving the target figure before we move on to the next round.

After the usual eleven letters rounds and three numbers rounds, we reach our old friend, the Countdown Conundrum, which suffers from the usual problem that it is not displayed once the "Ready to Start?" button has been pressed, so everyone has to write it down. I think this is even more problematical than in the other rounds, as it rather detracts from the quick-fire nature of the conundrum. I was also disappointed that the conundrums are not displayed exactly as they are on the programme (i.e. using the same cards used in the letters game): instead they are displayed in a proportionally-spaced font, although admittedly on a simulated conundrum board of sorts. Although this isn't of great significance, and doesn't really affect playability, I just feel this was an opportunity for authenticity that was missed - a shame when this is one of the main strengths of a DVD-based game.

So, that's a fairly detailed description of "Classic Countdown", what of the "Conundrum Challenge"? Well, this simply consists of five conundrum rounds, one after the other, after which you are given a rating. Although it suffers from the usual "write it down or memorise it before the countdown begins" issue noted above, it's rather fun to be able to press the button and stop the on-screen clock!

In conclusion, the DVD game is a worthy addition to the growing collection of Countdown games that are available, and although it probably won't satisfy the more serious Countdowner, due to its lack of dictionary validation and inability to allow you to influence the letters and numbers games, it's ideal for an after-lunch party with a group of friends or for a bit of light entertainment or last-minute practice for that Countdown audition! The fact that there are 'only' 300 or so rounds held on the disc does lead to them being repeated quite quickly and I do think that there are rather more nine-letter words available than is normal on the Channel 4 show - although it does mean that they're always worth looking out for! The video clips make it visually the most accurate representation yet of the 'real thing', and my only major criticism of the game is the failure to display the relevant puzzle during the 30-second period. Lastly, there are some amusing quips by Des and Carol to watch out for, especially in the "rules" section - I particular like the exchange about American spellings - but I'll leave you to discover those for yourself!