Monopoly

UPC: 608610990645

Platform: PlayStation

Publisher: Hasbro Interactive

Developer: Gremlin Interactive Ltd.

Category: Traditional

Style(s): Board Game

Synopsis: The game of Monopoly has been around ever since the Great Depression-era of the 1920s. The PlayStation version of the game boasts token and property animations, rule variations, real-time board rotation and multi-player link options. The premise of the game is the same as it has always been. You have to purchase as much property as possible and then build it up in hopes of bankrupting your opponents and remaining as the only entrepreneur left. You are given $1,500 in cash to start with and must try to build up from there. Purchase properties ranging from Boardwalk to Water Works, put houses on them, and watch your money grow. You can play with up to seven other human or computer opponents who will all be aiming for you and your property. You can make deals with your opponents since trades and immunities are available. Just watch out though, because they may try to stab you behind your back. If you are in a long, tension-filled game that you need to get out of, you can save the game to an open block on your memory card. The game also supports a mouse as well as the Multi Tap device. ~ Mark Kanarick, All Game Guide

Package Contents: Registration Card

Controls: Mouse, Joystick/Gamepad

The manual discusses all of the major points of the game. ~ Mark Kanarick, All Game Guide

The graphics are very weak and basic. Don't expect much from this category. ~ Mark Kanarick, All Game Guide

The PlayStation version of the classic game of Monopoly is very simplistic, but the classic board game is also that way. The question posed by the game is, "should this videogame be more than what it is?" If the answer to the question is yes, than we have a problem. The graphics in this game are incredibly simple. All you have is a game board on the screen and once you click on Uncle Pennybags with the cursor, he rolls the dice. After rolling the dice, a screen pops up that shows your piece moving through the different spaces on the board; these graphics are also quite simplistic. All of the pieces are animated in silver just as they are in the real game, and they drive (limousine), hop (hat) or move from space to space. Once you reach the space you're about to land on, another animation is shown. This one shows the property in some form, depending on how built up it is. If no one owns it then the property will look abandoned. If there is a hotel there it will look nice. These animations tend to be interesting, but they definitely get to become an annoyance after a while. Boredom seems to be the biggest problem in this game. It takes way too long to wait for your piece to move from one space on the board to another. It gets you frustrated and that is definitely not the way you want to feel playing a game that could potentially take hours to complete. The sound in this game is an interesting point. It seems to be pretty catchy as it gets embedded in my brain. However, it is quite annoying and very repetitive. Hasbro Interactive could have put music into the game since there should be plenty of space for it. The gameplay itself is rather tricky at times. The actual process of rolling the dice is as expected, simple. Pulling off other options can be a bit of a process though. You have to first click on your icon at the top of the screen. After that you must click through a number of different menus to get to what you want to do, whether it'd be mortgaging property, buying houses or making a deal. The different menus are hard to understand and it takes a while to get used to the controls. The computer is not at all intelligent either when it comes to making decisions. You will be offered the most ridiculous of trades that no mildly intelligent person would be expected to accept. On the other hand, when you make a fairly reasonable trade proposal to the computer, it likely will not accept your offer. There really is no reason whatsoever for multiple human players to play this game. The game moves way too slow for this to take place. For those of you Monopoly enthusiasts out there without a bunch of friends that feel up to a game, this one is for you. For multiple people that are fans of the game, stick with the classic board. You will have a much better time. ~ Mark Kanarick, All Game Guide

It gets quite boring about midway through the first game... ~ Mark Kanarick, All Game Guide

The sound is not much better. There is background music but it repeats itself approximately every thirty seconds or so. ~ Mark Kanarick, All Game Guide

The game is fun but not NEARLY as much fun as playing the board game against human players. ~ Mark Kanarick, All Game Guide

the game requires Mouse, Joystick/Gamepad.