TV Show King Online

Like any good game programme, TV Show King Online features one snazzy set. Bright lights, a cheesy host, and an eager studio audience help jazz up what's essentially a basic quiz show. It's effective, but what really makes this trivia fest king isn't the shiny graphics – solid single-player and online multiplayer coronate a worthy game.

Quiz games are only as good as their questions and TV Show King demonstrates its royal stature. From science and geography to sports and entertainment, there's a great deal of variety in questions and assortment in possible answers. There's naturally a wide range of questions when it comes to difficulty, with a smattering of stupid-simple ones and some seemingly impossible. Most, though, sit in the middle and are appropriately challenging.

The single-player game is a one-off mode that lets you square off against three computer competitors in a few quiz rounds. Multiple choice questions are provided, which earn you points if answered correctly. Between rounds, you have the option of spinning a horrid prize wheel that features different spaces for adding or subtracting from your point total. It's a game killer most of the time, so it's best to opt out of it.

Each question comes with a time limit within which you're free to change your answer. When your computer-controlled opponents overwhelming chime in with an answer that differs from yours, you can quickly alter yours to avoid being wrong. This is great for keeping a steady stream of points, but is hardly fair. The game ought to lock in your answer once you have it selected.

In Quiz Attack mode, however, this isn't an issue whatsoever. Here the goal is to maintain a streak of correctly answered questions. Offer up a wrong answer and the game ends. Questions grow progressively more difficult, so keeping the string going is definitely a challenge. The ability to change your answer is fine here because there aren't any opponents from which you can take hints.

Online quizzes are really what make TV Show King worthwhile. Connecting via wi-fi, you're able to compete against three other contestants in customisable games. You can also set up local events. It's curious as to why there's no hot seat multiplayer mode, something which would have you and a few friends passing around the handset to see who can answer the most questions. But online competition is more than just compensation for the omission.

So largely thanks to its online play, TV Show King wins recommendation. The assorted questions are challenging without ushering frustration, wi-fi multiplayer gives it an advantage over other quiz games, and it's flashy to boot. Some changes to the rules would further polish up the show, but in its current format it's ultimately a winner.