The Guy Game
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| The Guy Game | |
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 NTSC PlayStation 2 cover |
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| Developer(s) | Top Heavy Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Gathering |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Adult/Puzzle |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) |
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| Media/distribution | DVD-ROM |
The Guy Game is an adult video game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC platforms published in 2004 by Gathering of Developers and developed by now-defunct Top Heavy Studios (it was the team's only game). Presented in a trivia gameshow style supporting up to four players, it consists of about 1,000 questions spread out over 20 episodes. Much of the game involves watching live-action video footage of young women in bikinis, and as the player succeeds in the game the women eventually expose their breasts. The game garnered much controversy and was the subject of a lawsuit.
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[edit] Gameplay
After every question there is video footage - shot during spring break festivities on South Padre Island - of host Matt Sadler giving the same question to young females in bikinis (referred to as "hotties"). If they answer incorrectly, they are required to show their breasts. Before they give their answers, the footage is paused and the player is asked to guess whether the hotties answered correctly or not. In the "TitWitz" portions of the game, the player is told that they were wrong, and asked to guess what wrong answer they gave. The more times you are able to correctly predict the outcome, the higher the "Flash-O-Meter" raises, the more exposed the breasts become. At first, the breasts are obscured by a Guy Game logo ("Soft and Squishy" level), then just digitally blurred ("Sorta Chubby" level), and finally fully uncensored ("Super Stiff" level, maxed-out meter). Once you reach the uncensored level, the episode can be played again with no visual censorship. As the game progresses, the players are ranked by scored as President, Vice President, Treasurer, or Asshole. Also included are the "Ballz" minigames which can give players extra points during an episode. Before the game, each player chooses a female avatar (called cheerleaders) to represent them. Based on how often the player correctly guesses the outcome of each hottie's response, the more clothes the cheerleader removes. At the end of the episode, a short video montage is shown of the cheerleader belonging to the player who reached the rank of President.
Many other rules can be enabled, most inspired by drinking games.
[edit] Lawsuit
The game achieved some notoriety four months after its release when a suit was brought against Top Heavy Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Gathering Of Developers by one of the female contestants who revealed that she was only 17 at the time that she was filmed topless for The Guy Game, with 18 being the minimum legal age for a woman to appear nude in any form of media in the United States. A Travis County judge granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting Microsoft, Sony, and others from selling any game that contained the girl's image, voice, and name. Despite this, new and used copies of this game can still be found in many stores and online. On November 27, 2007, a backwards compatibility update enabled the Xbox version to be played on Xbox 360.
After the lawsuit, developer Top Heavy Studios released a DVD of the original footage with extras entitled "The Guy Game: Game Over", but it was only available online through its website. As Top Heavy eventually closed shop, the DVD is no longer available for purchase through the company.
[edit] Reception
While a select few outlets saw the game as simple, naughty fun, like IGN who scored it 7.7 (out of 10), most critics completely panned the game as being a poorly-executed attempt at a trivia game with or without the gratuitous nudity. It has a Metacritic score of 47.
[edit] External links
- The Guy Game at MobyGames
- The Guy Game at IGN
- The Guy Game at GameSpot
- The original Austin American-Statesman Article, December 2004
- Topheavy files appeal - Austin Chronicle, February 2005
- Texas Court of Appeals uphold injunction and rejects all appeals - Media Law Reporter, August 2005
- November '07 Xbox 360 backwards compatibility update
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