With Scene It? now on shelves, Microsoft’s attempt to crack the ‘casual’ crowd is well and truly in full swing. Viva Piñata is still attacking the demographic on numerous levels, and the DVD extravaganza turned game is trying to entice the same audience with a classic quiz formula.

With numerous different rounds, a hell of a lot of questions and the ‘fun factor’ brought about by multiplayer, Scene It? is going to find itself in a lot of families 360’s this Christmas. Well, to be more precise, in a desperate attempt to prove the Xbox’s worth, the ‘hardcore’ will force their friends and family to play, watch them have fun and then use it against them every time a bad word is said about the love of their lives. On a slightly negative note it does have the power to confuse when rules aren’t explained very well though. However, even those forced into playing will feel the rush of adrenaline when a fastest-finger-first question pops up; that competitive edge will never cease to exist.

Unfortunately, the total package does feel like it’s been rushed somewhat. Although completely irrelevant, Scene It? is not a pretty game, and everything from the menu to the way in which you skip through rounds is, in a word, feeble. The effects of this do encroach on the game somewhat and the sense of pace you’d expect from a quiz just isn’t there.

Nonetheless, this is easily the most accessible title in the 360’s library, and anyone with even the slightest interest in the movie world will find themselves hooked. The longevity, as is always the way with the chosen genre, is questionable, but as a Christmas treat that thousands of families could potentially go nuts for, it does everything it sets out to do. And, if nothing else, the controllers are kind of cool… kind of!

Simon Miller