Hasbro Family Game Night

"Family Game Night" redirects here. For the TV series, see Family Game Night (TV series).
Hasbro Family Game Night

PlayStation 2 PAL version cover art.
Developer(s) EA Bright Light, Virtuos (Wii)
Publisher(s) EA Games
Composer(s) Richard Jacques
Platform(s) PlayStation 2, Wii, Xbox 360 (XBLA), PlayStation 3 (PSN)
Release date(s) November 11, 2008 (PS2, Wii)
March 18, 2009 (XBLA)
October 29, 2009 (PSN)
Genre(s) Family games

Hasbro Family Game Night is a video game originally released for the PlayStation 2 and Wii published by Electronic Arts. It is a mini-game collection consisting of six Hasbro board games - Battleship, Boggle, Connect Four, Sorry!, Sorry! Sliders and Yahtzee. The games all have traditional versions as well as "advanced" variants exclusive to the Family Game Night package. The mini-game collection is hosted by Mr. Potato Head. It was released on November 11, 2008.

Hasbro Family Game Night was also released on Xbox Live Arcade on March 18, 2009 as a free hub application, with the individual games available for separate purchase.[1] A disc-based copy of the game was released in November 2009. In North America, the Xbox LIVE Arcade version includes Scrabble along with the previous six games. On June 24, 2010 three new games were released on Xbox Live Arcade: Jenga, Connect 4x4 and Pictureka!.

Hasbro Family Game Night was made available for download on the PlayStation 3 via PlayStation Network on October 29, 2009. This release features the main six games, with the North American version also featuring Scrabble,[2] and is presented in widescreen format with Trophy support.

A sequel was announced in May 2009. Hasbro Family Game Night 2 was released for the Wii and DS in October 2009.[3] Another sequel, Hasbro Family Game Night 3, was announced in May 2010 and it was released in October of the same year. Hasbro Family Game Night 4: The Game Show was announced in May 2011.

Playable games

Game Night 2

List of playable games:[4]

Wii version

Nintendo DS version

On June 23, 2010, three of the games – Pictureka!, Jenga, and Connect 4x4 – were added to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Family Game Night available as online distribution.

Game Night 3

Hasbro Family Game Night 3 was released on October 26, 2010[5] for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360.

List of playable games:[6]

Console version

Nintendo DS version

Game Night 4

Hasbro Family Game Night 4: The Game Show is a game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and the Wii, with the former two uses the Kinect and PlayStation Move respectively. All of the commentary is voiced by Todd Newton, who is also the show's host. Unlike past games, online multiplayer is not included in the game, due to EA's online pass requirement not applicable to budget titles (as the game has a $39.99 USD price tag).

List of playable games:[7]

Reception

The Wii version of the game received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator site Game Rankings has an average score of 64% for the Wii version, based on 11 reviews.[8] IGN rated it as 7 out of 10 ("Decent"), and said that control and interpretation issues cause problems for some of the games.[9] Games Master UK magazine said, "Overall, this does everything you'd want it to (and no more)." IT Reviews concluded about the Xbox 360 version: "We would pass on Battleship, which just didn't hold our attention and had fairly weak variants. Connect 4 is worth a pop, though, with alternative play modes that really bring the game to life, and Yahtzee is certainly a little gem for the asking price."[10]

Game Night 4

Reception of the game has been mixed to poor. The Xbox 360 and Wii versions were the highest rated versions on Gamerankings, with scores of 37% [11][12] while the PS3 version was slightly below them at 35%.[13] Push Square claimed that the game was much more fun with another person, but was still "a harsh drop off in quality compared to other Hasbro Family Game Night titles" and gave the game a 3/10.[14] Official Xbox Magazine UK gave it a 3/10, claiming that the games were poorly represented and saying "This casts doubt on whether Hasbro understand what makes its non-digital games good. Whatever the reasons behind FGN4 - this is reprehensible.".[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Family Game Night falls on XBLA". 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  2. ↑ "EA Makes Family Game Night Easier Than Ever". IGN.
  3. ↑ http://www.ea.com/news/hasbro-family-game-night-2 EA Press Release, May 12, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Hasbro Family Game Night 2". 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  5. ↑ http://uk.wii.ign.com/objects/073/073972.html
  6. ↑ "Hasbro Family Game Night 2". 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  7. ↑ "Family Game Night 4: The Game Show". EA. 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  8. ↑ "Family Game Night review". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  9. ↑ Thomas, Lucas M. "IGN Hasbro Family Game Night Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  10. ↑ IT Reviews
  11. ↑ "Family Game Night 4: Game Rankings Xbox 360". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  12. ↑ "Family Game Night 4: Game Rankings Wii". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  13. ↑ "Family Game Night 4: Game Rankings PS3". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  14. ↑ Mike Mason. "Family Game Night 4 Review Push Square". Push Square. Retrieved 2014-02-05.
  15. ↑ Jon Blyth. "Family Game Night 4 Review OXM UK". Official Xbox Magazine UK. Retrieved 2014-02-05.