In terms of game shows, it doesn't get much more classic than The Price is Right. The show has chugged steadily along even after the departure of Bob Barker, the show's host of 35 years. So how does a super-classic gameshow like this make the translation to a contemporary gaming system like the Wii?

First of all, if you're not a fan of The Price is Right, or game shows in general, this is probably not the game for you. The game stays pretty true to the TV show - you won't find too many surprises here. There are a few different modes to choose from, including Classic mode, 3 Strikes mode, and Party mode, but they're all based on the mechanics of the classic game show. 3 Strikes mode is somewhat interesting because it allows you to amass winnings. That is, until you collect three strikes from failing to pass through the initial price-guessing phase of the game. This adds a little more depth to the game, as you can strive for a marathon run and set a record for winnings. Party mode allows up to three other players to join in and compete.

All of the well known mini-games from the show have been included, which should be a crowd pleaser. There's Plinko, Punch-a-Bunch, It's in the Bag, and my personal favorite, Cliffhangers, just to name a few. Most of them are fun but certain games allow for more margin of error than others, leading to a somewhat unbalanced experience. If that's the way it is on the actual game show too, then I can't fault the Wii version, but it's worth mentioning. For those unfamiliar with the TV show, most of these mini-games revolve around guessing the price of a variety of retail items. You don't usually have to be spot on, just within a certain range to be successful.

As I mentioned before, the game includes support for up to four players at a time, which is obviously a plus for this genre of game. After rounding up a few friends to give it a shot, we each grabbed a Wii-mote and powered up the system. To our surprise, only one Wii-mote could be turned on. So we played through the game with no choice but to pass the torch after each round. It's nice that you CAN play with three friends with only one remote, but you certainly should not have to. I'm sure most gamers would agree that passing controllers is a no-no if it can be avoided. Each of us commented that we felt removed from the game as we watched Player 1 enter our price guesses (to avoid more controller passing.)

The game does a fine job in the sound department, with a nice reproduction of the Price is Right theme song and a fantastically overzealous announcer. The voice-overs are generally well done, and true to life, the announcer's enthusiasm can sometimes be humorous. That's a good thing I suppose, as it provided us with some laughs. The visuals are nothing special, pretty much run-of-the-mill Wii graphics. The inclusion of live action video segments clashes a bit with the less-than-realistic character models and overall art style, but that's a minor issue. For the most part, the game feels united in terms of visual style. Worth mentioning is the excellent re-creation of the rotating price wheel. It's very accurately reproduced, and the Wii-mote motion required to spin the wheel make you feel like you're actually on set with Bob Barker (or Drew Carey nowadays.)

One regrettable decision made by the development team was to not support Miis. I'm a firm believer that any Wii game that has generic characters should allow you to use Miis. But in The Price is Right, the only character options you have are a few joe-schmoes of varied age and race. It would instantly make this game more enjoyable if you were able to use your own personalized characters.

As I said earlier, there aren't many surprises here. You probably have some idea of what The Price is Right is all about, and this game will hold pretty true to those ideas. It's no blockbuster, but it's a fun game that I could see myself picking up every once in a while to play with a few friends. It's very low commitment - that is, you don't have to put in hours and hours to enjoy it - so you can basically pop it in and play a quick game whenever you get the urge to "come on down." Sorry, you didn't think this review would be totally void of that classic line did you?

Gameplay: 6.5
The only real "gameplay" here is the spinning of the price wheel. And that lasts about 10 seconds. Most of the other gameplay involves inputting prices or other minor mini-game actions.

Graphics: 6.7 
Lame, generic character models take the place of Miis. The game does a good job of capturing the look and feel of a cheesy gameshow set. The inclusion of live action video seems a bit awkward, but is used effectively.

Sound: 8.5
Great job with the classic Price is Right theme song. The announcer is also fantastic, with clear, enthusiastic voice overs and instructions.

Difficulty: Medium
As with any game show, there's a lot of luck involved here. But the rest depends on your ability to guess the prices of the specified retail items. You'll need a combination of knowledge and luck to win.

Concept: 7.0 
I wasn't aware that The Price is Right had enough popularity to be made into a video game, but with the recent influx of casual gamers, I guess anything is possible. It's no secret that game shows can be fun, and The Price is Right is a classic one.

Multiplayer: 7.2
The multiplayer provides support for four players, but lacks support for more than one controller. Playing with three friends was actually still fun despite having to pass around a controller, but it could have been better without this drawback.

Overall: 6.8
While the multiplayer was the main draw for me, playing the single-player modes comes with the added benefit of unlockable videos and mini-games. Some of these videos are actually pretty funny, so they're worth unlocking. Despite this added bit of replay value though, it's not a very deep game, or a groundbreaking title in any way, shape or form. But it's still fun, especially if you can round up a few friends to play with. If you're a fan of the actual gameshow, you'll almost definitely get a kick out of the Wii version.