Big Brother Series 2: The Game - PC

I don’t know about you good folks who are taking the time to read this, but the 2001 version of the Big Brother TV series is a bit of a disappointment. After the sheer novelty of Channel 4 allowing us what seemed like too much, albeit entertaining, access first time around, this year’s model is a damp squib. For heaven’s sake, stop arguing and let’s have some love interest, hetero, homo or lesbian, something to help us stay tuned. (Editor's note: this review was written only a week or two into BB2, and your author was yet to wince at the ludicrous, smug bombast of Stuart having a pop at Ama in the outdoor jacuzzi, gag at the bitch-roid antics of Josh and eventual victor Brian, and silently implore Paul and Helen to just get on down and do the wild thing, thereby putting us all out of our misery.).

Big Brother Series 2: The Game is your chance to create your own world of bad trousers and funny accents. Featuring all eleven housemates, the newly refurbished Big Brother house, and a host of activities and challenges, ‘…The Game’ is basically a re-run of SoftMACHINE’s offering from 2000, but with different faces. There are four games to have a go at: On The Ball is a football juggling challenge. Use the occasional bonus objects to bump up the weekly shopping allowance, but mind the furniture and ornaments, and whatever you do, don’t let the ball hit the floor or you’ll get nominated to leave the house. The next task is to man the Big Brother voting hotline. This involves answering calls and registering votes in the correct order as they are phoned in. A gallery of telephones and a bunch of different ringtones are displayed to confuse you, and the cacophony is enough to drive you mad, or at least turn down the volume. Living in a hothouse with ten other people could mean that there will be one or two unpleasant odours, so personal hygiene is of paramount importance. The third game is all about protecting the clean laundry with your umbrella. Prevent the clothes getting dirty and you’ll be rewarded with video fragments from the show, which leads nicely into the last game, Reclaim the Lost Tapes. Negotiate the sticky stamps and saliva, open the envelope, and see clips that you may have missed first time around. Careful though, ‘cos if you don’t manage to fully open the envelope, you’ll be nominated, and if that happens three times, it’s game over, and you have to leave the Big Brother House.

The games in Big Brother Series 2 are no better and no worse than anything you may find if you trawl the Internet for half an hour. If your PC’s not connected to the net (and why not?) you’re easily pleased when it comes to puzzles, or just not that bright, Big Brother Series 2: The Game will help you while away the hours.
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