Xbox Dad:

Have you Seen Scene It? Yet?

Published April 30, 2008

Hello, my name is Jason Buffington and my day job is in the Windows Storage Solutions team. On nights and weekends, I play as DarkJediHunter, and the real Xbox Dad was kind enough to let me share one of my favorite family games in this month's column (thanks, Duncan). My sons are nine and seven years old, my daughter is three, and along with my wife, we all game.

The Perfect Mix

Before I loved videogames, I loved movies. And as we all know, any activity that blends multiple interests and passions is always a personal hit. Star Wars plus LEGO® is one example for me—movies plus gaming is another.

Scene It?® Lights, Camera, Action is a great game for the videophile, as well as any casual moviegoer over the age of 20. The game comes with four controllers, each featuring a big button to "buzz-in," as well as traditional A, B, X, and Y buttons for choosing your answers, and of course, Back/Start and the Xbox circle.

The very cool Big Button Controllers.

They are infrared instead of radio-based, so the kit also includes an infrared receiver and a long USB cable. In my setup, I connected the USB to one of my back ports and left it plugged in. So, plug in the IR sensor/cable into a USB port on your Xbox 360®, bring up the game, and you're ready to go!  

Scene It? is really a great game for social gatherings where you and your spouse have invited a few couples over, and saying, "Hey, let's all play Halo!" might not be appropriate. It's very accessible to most skill levels, as long as you have occasionally visited a movie theatre every few months, or periodically watch a DVD.

The game is accessible to almost all skill levels.

Xbox 360 or DVD?

The game plays similar to the popular DVD-based editions that have made the Scene It? franchise so popular, with several very cool enhancements that make the Xbox 360 version vastly superior to the DVD-board offerings:

• Unlike a DVD which has no memory, the console edition remembers what questions have been asked to whom, so you don't get repeats for an unfair advantage. I presume that if you really wanted to cheat on your friends and family, you could delete the saved games files and get the opportunity for repeats, but geez, if you have to win that badly, just play with yourself, don't invite friends.
• With the big buttons, it's much more fun and fairer than everyone yelling out the answer during a DVD edition. Anyone who has played the DVD version has had to deal with ties, where two folks shout the answer and no one wants to figure out who gets credit. The Big Button Controllers solve that, no problem. In fact, the button response rate can also change the dynamics of the game. I have a better memory and have watched more movies than my wife, but she is admittedly faster at buzzing in.
• Xbox 360 also manages the play of the game better than the DVD editions. You always know who is scoring points or not, etc. And with its sarcastic banter after every round, it adds another dimension to the game, often talking the smack that you would like to, but would be accused of being a poor sport if you said the same thing.
• And while not a fair comparison to the DVD edition, this version has Achievement Points. Okay, so my non-gamer friends who have played with me don't understand. But believe me, I am always sure to be logged in "just cuz" when we play. I've earned about 700 achievement points in about eight to ten complete games. The rest of the achievements start getting harder. My wife is famous for having started as many movies as I have since we've been married, but has finished less than half of them, since she often falls asleep. But she is faster on the buzzer and some of the game types, and has chalked up an impressive 500 or so achievement points in this game. There are achievements for answering enough questions in different genres and decades, so persistence will keep awarding you minor achievements as you continue to play.

Sure this scene isn't from Monkeybone?

How Does it Work?

After logging in your profile (or just choosing Start), select either Short Game or Long Game. Each game is divided into three rounds plus a "Final Cut". A short game is three mini-games per round, while a long game is five mini-games per round. There are 21 types of mini-games, including:

• Name the movie based on listening to a famous quote or audio clip
• Name the movie or actor based on a drawing, clues, or even an anagram of the title
• Watch a movie clip and then answer a series of questions about details in the clip or movie
• Name the actor from early photos
• Put several related movies (such as with the same actor or theme) in chronological order

During each round, mini-games are randomly chosen, with five questions per mini-game. Correct answers usually start at 2000 points and decrement to zero as time counts down, so fast answers score more than slow ones. Some questions require players to buzz-in, and only the first player can answer. In other cases, all players simply select A, B, X, or Y to make their choice.

• In the first of the three rounds, guesses are fine. In the latter two rounds, incorrect answers will deduct points.
• After each mini-game, the sarcastic commentator and host of our "movie studio" (the game) will talk smack around players that do well or poorly.
• At the end of each of the three rounds, extra points are given out for streaks of correct answers, fastest/slowest responses, and even new Achievements awarded.
• At the end of three rounds, the Final Cut is shown with a movie clip followed by five questions about the movie.

That's it! If you love movies or even just have seen some movies and are looking for a new game to play with friends who don't usually play videogames, Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action really is accessible to all movie knowledge levels, ought to be fun for even the non-gamer, and could be achievement point-rewarding for the avid gamer.

Heck, if your Xbox 360 is in a game room or your bedroom, this might even be the great excuse you need to get a second console for the living room. Go try it out, if for no other reason so it will be a landslide success and the Scene It? folks will produce their other titles for the console!

Article by Jason Buffington (DarkJediHunter)