Monopoly, the classic Parker Brother’s property trading game makes an appearance on the iPhone as Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition. As the title suggests, this version has been updated with elements from today’s modern world and uses a different board from the one that we have all grew accustomed to.
For those not familiar with the game – playing Monopoly is simple. Start at the Go block and continue thru the board buying, selling and trading properties. Pay a certain amount of rental fee when you land on a block which is owned by another player. Luck comes in the form of Chance and Community Chest blocks. Win the game when all the other players resign. If you want, turn on the tutorial option and have Mr. Monopoly guide you through each feature as the game progresses.
Graphics-wise, the game employs a 3D engine for the game’s board. Each time a player makes a move, the camera zooms in for a close-up, providing fun and entertaining look at each marker’s animation. However, this might become cumbersome once you become familiar with each marker. You can speed up your own marker’s animations, but not the others. Certain events, like the player being sent to jail are accompanied by flashing lights of a police car’s red and blue – very entertaining.
Checking the details of each property is easy. Tap on any of the property block and the game zooms in. Here, you can flick your finger left or right, simulating moving across the real board. Environment-wise, you are given up to five different tables and environment setups to play in, this can be configured before a new game is started.
Now, let’s take a look at the gameplay. One of the complaints I have with Monopoly is the predictability. It could be random, but during my time playing a two-player game against the computer, I noticed that the computer always stops on the property blocks that they own, while you the player usually stops in theirs. However, things are not as bad as it seems, as I still managed to outwit the computer player thus winning the game.
Monopoly does make use of the accelerometer for dice throwing. The physics of it is accurate. You can shake the device as long as you want – there’s no limit to this, the dice is only thrown when you stop shaking. I turned this feature off after a few rounds though, finding it quite cumbersome having to lift the device from the table just to throw the dice.
I’d also like to highlight the addition of a ‘Did You Know’ feature, which jumps in after viewing the Chance or Community Chest cards. It’s quite educational but I’d love to see random facts of the same subject, instead of the same one over and over again for the same card.
On some occassions, the computer player would offer you a trade that is very ridiculous. Obviously, your only option here is to counter that trade offer, or decline it. Auctions – the game sets up an auction whenever a player calls for it or if the player lands on a property that he/she can’t afford. Strategy-wise, try to win such auctions by purchasing the property up at less than market price. AI difficulty comes in the form of easy, medium and hard.
For those who likes playing the game with your own house rules, yes you can. Monopoly gives you options like how many properties to begin with at the start of each game, how many houses convert into a hotel, limitations on houses or hotels, what the free parking space does, your initial cash, salary you collect when passing Go and if you get double for landing on the Go block.
Now, a Monopoly game can be quite dragging, so besides automatically saving your progress when you press the Home button on your device, you can also choose to manually perform a save in one of the three available slots. Minor annoyance here, but the game exits every time you execute the save option.
Multiplayer is achieved thru a pass ‘n’ play system on the same device, or adhoc wireless where more than one device is involved. Up to 4 players may join in a game thru either modes. I didn’t manage to try out the wireless mode, but I can tell you that its adhoc mode means you are only allowed to play with people near you, not with everyone else via the internet. On the other hand, if you setup a pass ‘n’ play game, any players that leave the game shall be taken over by the computer. I could already think of a way to cheat the computer via this method. *grin*
Minus the new different board used, the game is a faithful translation of the original board game. It’s not a difficult game to beat or master. However, it does have the fun factor that will make you want to keep coming back for more games. Playing one-on-one against the computer opponent proves much easier, but things might get a little off-hand if you try challenging more than one computer opponent. I’d recommend this game to fans of the original board game.
Also of note – the iPod Click Wheel version of this game provides for the ability to choose either US or UK city and currency to play in. I’d love to see this feature implemented for the iPhone/iPod touch version in the form of the ability to switch between moden and classic board.
Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition is published by Electronic Arts and is available from the iTunes Store at only $4.99 a copy. The game has been constantly featured in the iTunes Store Top Paid Apps list and was recently awarded Best Game for the 2008 Mobile Excellence Awards.
Rating: 4.0/5.0 Taps
App Data
App Name: Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition v1.2 | Developer: Electronic Arts | Purchase via: iTunes App Store @ $4.99 | Released: Dec 03, 2008 | Reviewed on: iPod touch v2.2.1
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