Hasbro Family Game Night 3

There has been a lot of negative buzz surrounding HFGN3. A lot of people have complained that the board game gameplay and rules have been warped or abandoned altogether for this video game. Well...that IS because it's a video game. How exactly would you expect to play the literal Twister on your PS3? Obviously they had to reinterpret them.

Hasbro Family Game Night 3 uses a theme park as the general menu when it comes to selecting what games you want. It's a nice way to present them, but little is done with this idea. Your character can be customized, but there are few options. And in order to get the most out of this game you'll need to play with 4 players, which is best done with 4 controllers. But really...how many PS3 owners will own 4? It can be played online, but it's a wasteland with very few players.

In order to be fair and unbiased I will review each game and its remix separately.

Yahtzee Hands Down:

A poker-type game played with cards. Can be really slow and generally takes ages for things to happen. When playing alone the game seems deliberately programmed to never let you win. Also has the hardest trophies of the entire game.

Remix:

Best played with 4 players to maintain the hectic feel. Otherwise it's even slower.

Clue:

Pretty good game. The 4 player gameplay is a little clumsy (involves 3 players not looking at the screen every other turn) but still quite good. The transitions between 2D and 3D boards is quite annoying and pointless though.

Remix:

Horrible. Badly programmed (the board is reset virtually every turn, which itself takes 30 seconds). Very slow.

Game of Life:

The best game, and can be really good with 4 players. Very much an interpretation of the board game come alive. The most immersive of the 5.

Remix:

Largely the same, only a bit faster and streamlined. Still quite good.

Twister:

A game very much in the style of Dance Dance Revolution. The most fast-paced game of the five and one of the most enjoyable. Nothing at all like the real game, but a nice re-imagining of the theme.

Remix:

I honestly didn't notice much of a difference between this and Twister.

Mouse Trap:

A very, very slow game with lots of pointless camera pans and zooms and cut-scenes involving the trap being constructed/operated. Camera doesn't even cover the trap mechanisms properly leaving you wondering how exactly it is supposed to work. With 4 players you can be waiting a long time in between shots. Certainly the most repetitive and boring game of the bunch.

Remix:

Largely incomprehensible. The playing area is an eyesore are the rules are poorly laid out. Feels not so much a remix as it feels like some kid has ripped apart the original game and put it back in a nonsensical order.

The entire package has its ups and downs but is still worth playing if you want a relatively easy Platinum (save for a couple of nightmare trophies). The graphics are of Gamecube quality and the music is nothing but inoffensive fluff which repeats itself far too often. Pick it up cheap and try to play it with a few pals.

Graphics C Sound B Gameplay B- Lasting Appeal B-