Monopoly becomes fast paced (Monopoly Party (PS2))

Member Name: julwhite

Product:	Monopoly Party (PS2)
Date:	11/06/09 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun party mode

Disadvantages: Camera angles can be irritating

Monopoly Party is a game for the Playstation II based on the traditional board game.

The graphics in the game aren't too bad and do the job well enough. However the display is quite quirky, and I didn't really feel that I had a good view of the board from the camera angle which the game plays from. It's difficult to see what you own, what other players own and which properties are left, and not having that easy overview can be quite frustrating.

The game comes in two different modes, the first is the traditional format, which is as you would play the board game, and the second mode is the party mode. In party mode all the players move at the same time, so it isn't turn based as the traditional game is. If more than one player lands on the same location at the same time, then there's an auction process to decide the winner. This party mode format is much quicker than playing the traditional version, and is quite fun.

The sound effects in the game are quite fun, certainly for the first few plays on the game at least. Helpful comments and remarks on your game are quite common, and there's musical background as well for those players that want music to listen along to.

In terms of game play, I wouldn't want to play this with other players as I feel that it lacks the atmosphere that the board game has. All being huddled around a television screen isn't as good as huddling around the game board in my view! However, as a single player it's a great way to practice your game or just play for entertainment. Although I would add that I personally found it just that bit easy to beat the computer.

One thing that can cause arguments between players who play the game is the multitude of rules and variations on the rules. Different players often argue about which is the correct way to play, but in this game there are lots of options so that you can set up the board and rules just as you want them, and you can agree in advance to prevent any arguments!

It's all fun for a while, but the strange camera angles and the soon irritating sound effects do tend to grate after several plays. But the fun of monopoly does mean that this game has lots of repeat visit power further down the line, just to play one more game.

As far as I am aware, unlike the PC version of the game, there is no facility to be able to play on-line against other competitors. This might have added some additional fun to the game, and is possibly a good reason to consider the PC version if you were wavering between which machine to buy the game for.

The game retailed at what I consider to be a ridiculous 39.99 pounds, but is now available on Amazon for just under fifteen pounds including postage. However, second hand copies are available for just a couple of pounds on both Amazon and on eBay at the time of writing.

Overall, the game isn't too bad, it has the fun of monopoly and at least it's quicker to set up and clean away! But there's quite a lot missing from the game in terms of atmosphere, so I would always rather play the traditional board game with friends. However, if you're playing on your own, it's fun and if you can pick up a second hand copy cheaply, definitely good value for money.

Summary: I prefer the board game, but good value if you can pick up cheaply!