Nerdicus NES Review #41 : Antcipation

Title : Anticipation

Publisher : Nintendo

Genre : Board game

Players : 1 / 2 Player

Release Date : 1988

Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $3-$4

I always found Anticipation to be a really odd choice for a video game. If I wanted to play a board game, I'd play an actual board game. Board games are meant to be played on a table, surrounded by family and friends. I like to hold the cards, or game pieces, and be interactive in person. Not on the screen. I love video games, don't get me wrong, but this was the one genre of game I truly did not understand.

I guess you can call this Nintendo's first party game. Thankfully, they were smart enough to turn their party games into the MARIO PARTY series, and not stick with this crap.

Anyway, let's play this game. I've recruited the assistance of a friend of mine to join me, because you know you really can't play a board game by yourself....or CAN YOU?!? *dun dun dun* yeah you can..robot players...no thank you.

So as in any board game, you start off by selecting your game pieces and number of players. Easy enough. Then you move on to the game board and the rules. The board looks like it's a cross between Simon and Trivial Pursuit, but it's really just color coded to determine what picture you're going to be guessing.

That's right, we're guessing pictures.

The game plays a lot like Pictionary, and the object is to guess the picture the computer is drawing so you can move on the game board. The amount of time it takes you to guess determines the dice you get use in order to move around the game board. You need to figure out pictures out of four different categories, before moving on to the next level. Beat each level, and you win. Meh........doesn't sound fun.

And it's not. It's like watching a two-year old use Mario Paint to play connect the dots. And I LOVE Mario Paint.

I'm going to guess, BEE HIVE, how bout you?

The game lose its' innovation pretty fast, and my extreme case of ADD made me lose interest only a few minutes in. I can only watch a computer controlled pencil draw pictures for so long. 

My advice? Go buy a real board game and play it. You'll have more fun. Hmm...I should start reviewing board games too......another time, maybe.

Final Score (out of 5) :

Until next time. Keep on gaming!