Set Design- 10
Gameplay- 8
Show Flow- 6
Play-Along Factor- 10
Potential Viewer Ratings- 5
Host- 6
A Hip Hop Squares game in progress. |
Premise- Two contestants play a series of tic-tac-toe games.
Contestants take turns choosing squares and play the game like a normal
tic-tac-toe game. Once a square is
selected, a question will be asked to the celebrity in the square and the
contestant will have to determine whether their answer is true or false. If the
contestant guesses correctly, they win the square; otherwise, their opponent
wins the square. A contestant wins a round by either getting three squares in
row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, or by getting five squares on the
game board. In the second round, one square is secretly designated as the
“G-Spot”, similar to the Secret Square. If the contestant picks the G-Spot and
guess correctly, they will win the square and a $1,000 bonus. Each round is
worth $500 and if time runs out, the contestants will be awarded $100 for each
square they have on the board. The contestant with the most cash wins the game
and plays the bonus round. In the bonus round, the contestant has to choose
either the top, middle, or bottom row of stars. The row of selected stars are
asked a question and the three stars would each give an answer. If the
contestant picks the star with the correct answer, they will win a $2,500
bonus. If they choose a star with the wrong answer, they will nothing extra.
And now, for the review.......
It appears that we have a winner! |
Over the past few years, MTV has been creating a series of
good original game shows such as Silent
Library and The Substitute, and
their streak continues with the debut of Hip
Hop Squares. MTV2 did a good job of putting a spin on Hollywood Squares to appeal to today’s young, urban
audience. The celebrities look relaxed and like they are having a good time on
the show since the producers have given them the green light to act more like
themselves. This show is making a good attempt on making a party out of the
show, like with the panelists on Match
Game. The gameplay is solid, but slow compared to the original series. Host
Peter Rosenberg does a decent job of hosting the show, although he slows down the
pace of the show with his attempts at making a funny comment after every contestant’s
prediction. The only other criticism I have about the show is the lack of enthusiasm
and energy from the announcer at the beginning of the show and the show’s low
prize budget. While I do like the clever renaming of the Secret Square and the
new bonus round, I believe that the show should offer music-related prizes,
like VIP concert tickets or an Apple prize package. There’s no appeal to a
simple $2,500 grand prize. That value could easily be hidden behind a cool
prize.
The bonus round in progress. |
Overall, Hip Hop
Squares is a good show to watch and I like how MTV2 sticks to the original Hollywood Squares format. However, the
show would work better as a weeknight series rather than a weekly game show.
The celebrities and the contestants look like they are having a lot of fun on the show
and Hip Hop Squares has already
proven to be a success on MTV2 by setting a ratings record for the network.
Watch new episodes of Hip Hop Squares every Tuesday night at 11:00pm on MTV2!!!
**All screenshots have been taken from the actual episodes of Hip Hop Squares. No ownership is implied.**
No comments:
Post a Comment