It is really cold out here in Michigan, so I decided to fire up my Genesis and play Monopoly. I normally like board games, especially video game versions of them. I have a few variations of Monopoly, but I decided to give this one a try.
This is one of the classic games, and it usually causes someone to be upset. Thankfully, I can play this one by myself, so my friendships will be spared. I’m not really expecting much from this game. The only thing I want is to have fun. A while ago, I played Clue, and I wanted to try another board game adaptation.
It has actually been about fifteen years since I’ve played Monopoly. One thing that I remember is how there were always house rules in addition to the regular ones. In the 1990s, it seemed like everyone had something that added a twist to the game or made it a little easier. The only thing that always seemed to happen was that my friends and I would get bored after an hour or two and then go outside.
TLDR: A Wonderful Version of Monopoly
Narrative
It’s Monopoly; there isn’t a story. One thing that my friends and I would do is come up with a story when we were playing. It helped that we were normally playing the Star Wars themed version, so there was that. Aside from what we made up, there wasn’t a real story to follow.
Gameplay
If you’ve played Monopoly before, then you’ll know what to expect. You can pick the number of players, who is controlling them, and what token you want to be. It is a pretty faithful adaptation of the board game.
The core of this game is moving around a game board, buying properties, making trades, and eventually building houses. This is where things could be more fun with other people, but aren’t all that great with the NPCs.
The trades that the computer offers you are stupid. It is like dealing with people on eBay or Facebook Marketplace. Free is way too expensive for them. The number of times I’ve had to reject a one-sided trade is ridiculous. They’ll only propose one-sided trades and rarely accept or counter your trades.
The game goes on until one person is left. This means the game can last hours, or it can be over quickly if the other players decide it is time for bed, or going outside is more fun. There isn’t too much more than that.
Overall, this is a good adaptation of the game. It moves along quicker than in real life at times. You also don’t get into too many fights with people. The gameplay is perfectly fine, but it would be better of you were playing with other people.
Visuals
The game looks great! It looks like a game of Monopoly, and there are little animations added in for just about everything. There isn’t too much else to say about all of this.
I really like the animations for the different actions. You can see your token move around the board, the cards are animated, and when you land on a space, there are fun cutscenes. It makes this game a little more fun.
The game board looks good. When you move, a little screen will tell you what is going on with the space you’re going to land on. The game tokens also look very good.
Overall, this is a nice looking game. It is bright and colorful, the animations are nice, and you can tell what everything is. There isn’t anything that I think looks bad in this game. It does go beyond simply putting the board game into a video game.
7.5/10. I’m not too sure what else I can give this. There isn’t anything wrong with the game, but there isn’t anything that elevates it. Monopoly is a fun game to play, and this is a good way to play it.
Pros
- Great Graphics
- Fun Gameplay
- Great multiplayer game
Cons
- Computer Controlled Characters are annoying
- It can take a while to play, depending on how many NPCs you have
Conclusion
I had fun with this game. It isn’t all that special in terms of gameplay, but the graphics are wonderful. It adds a lot to the experience by having all of the little cutscenes and animations.
While the game can be annoying when you’re only playing with the NPCs, it is better than yelling at each other. I do miss playing it with someone who takes it way too seriously, though. That is something that the game can’t recreate.
There are a few more board games that have been turned into video games. They’re pretty fun to play, especially if the developers try something different. It is always fun when they take something and make it better.
If you liked this post, check out some of my other reviews of video game board games. Some examples are Risk and Clue.