The Digital Daily 05.07.08: XBLA

Odds are you're better off without it.

If there's one style of gaming that Xbox Live Arcade would benefit from, its board games like Monopoly and the sort. A few trivia games wouldn't hurt either, so when Wits & Wagers comes along, slamming the two ideas together, you'd think we'd be excited, right? Perhaps it's time to think again...

What's worth dropping some change on? Which games are worth passing on for a nice pastrami and swiss? Read our suggestions for each of the five major online platforms in the Digital Review. We carefully assess each game, and we also recommend using these helpful resources for additional review scores, Game Rankings, Game Stats, Metacritic, and Rotten Tomatoes.

Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade

Wits & Wagers
Cost: 800 Microsoft points
Based upon the board game of the same name, Wits & Wagers is a trivia game pitting your educated guesses against those of others. Players are presented with a question where the answer will be a number of sorts ("How long is the Mississippi river?"); they must then respond without going over. The gimmick is found in betting on who actually has the correct answer; one good bet can launch you into the winners' circle.

And that's about it. While a trivia game based on guessing does even the field a bit, it doesn't deliver the sense of satisfaction that comes in actually being right. The interface combined with a dancing mechanic which is, sadly, more fun than the game itself quickly turns this would-be party into something of a funeral reception.
Verdict: Skip it