Xbox 360 Scene It + 4 Wireless controls 66,6% Saving

Make a Scene!

These days, no  get-together is complete without some form of knowledge-based party game. And if you're already eyeing the Trivial Pursuit board with a feeling of bottomless dread, Microsoft has the perfect alternative.

Following on from last year's hugely successful Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action, Scene It? Box Office Smash is a truly engrossing movie quiz for up to four players. There are hundreds of questions covering everything from fifties' classics right up to modern-day releases, and many are accompanied by film clips, so you get to enjoy your favourite moments as you go along.

Buzz off

It's possible to play this game with standard Xbox 360 controllers, but you're not getting the complete experience. Scene It? Box Office Smash is designed to be used with its own special 'big button' pads, which look just like the buzzers in TV quiz shows and are much more intuitive for any non-gamers you've managed to rope in. Game stocks a bundle pack, which provides the game itself, plus four pads, and it's a sound investment.

Thankfully, you're not just bombarded with written questions. Scene It? Box Office Smash, features a number of different puzzles, ensuring that your movie knowledge is tested in a range of entertaining ways. You may have to identify a snippet of dialogue, guess a movie from a child's drawing, or put a list of films in the correct chronological order. Gamers will particularly enjoy the 'Pixel Flix' puzzles, which use retro videogame graphics to portray classic movie scenes - you've simply got to guess the film in question.

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Sometimes, only the fastest player to hit the buzzer button gets to answer the question, in other rounds, everyone is given the chance to have a go; this means the tempo is always changing, keeping everyone on their toes. It's all multiple choice, so participants can guess at anything they don't know. However, you're rarely given a stand-out correct answer with three obvious duds - this is no daytime TV phone-in competition. Most of the time, there's no substitute for a decent all-round knowledge of the cinema. Also, the quicker you answer the more points you get, so it always pays to think and act fast. Film buffs won't necessarily win every time though - each game ends with a huge-scoring final round, that can totally turn things around. Scene It? Box Office Smash is more about providing a fun experience than massaging the ego of your home's biggest movie-nut.

One of the major additions to Scene It? Box Office Smash is the online multiplayer mode. You can now play against up to three pals, wherever they are in the world, or go up against complete strangers to prove your movie prowess to the Xbox community. The game is also compatible with New Xbox Experience, the improved Xbox Live interface introduced in November - consequently, you can import your unique gamer avatar and see it on screen as you play.

GAME's Verdict

9/10 Highy Recom

• Anyone can play
• Loads of puzzles, clips, photos and audio snippets
• Online multiplayer