Monopoly (Wii) Review
Id be surprised if this game is on anybodys holiday wishlist, but here it is; Monopoly for the Wii, featuring just about everything youd expect. Its a strictly middle of the line affair. Its not jam packed with features or innovations, but its not lacking either. Its not bad value its not great value.
The premise of Monopoly is the same as it has always been, and you should be familiar enough with the rules from every rainy Sunday you spent inside with the family. You and three others are handed money from the bank, you roll the die, hopefully land on free property and have the option of buying it. Amass a huge portfolio and drive your opponents into the ground as you steal hundreds of their dollars each time they stop and look at your property. Its a bloodthirsty business, though great family fun and a staple of the board game world.
Here and Now edition is nicely presented and reasonably well paced. You begin with the option of playing on the classic and world boards. By playing the game and buying properties youll collect stamps in your passport which will go towards unlocking other boards. My personal favourite was the future board, complete with Bit Farms, Terabyte Terraces and Einstein MC Square. That said, there are plenty more to unlock, including some rather strangely themed food boards Cheese and Sweets. Ill admit my love of cheese, but it didnt quite feel right cruising around a board and buying Blue Vein. Apart from the visual changes they bring some of them quite nice you can expect a change of background music, tokens to play as and currency. The Classic board comes with the standard hundreds, the world board you play in Millions. A nice touch, but it makes it a little harder to keep track of your funds.
Between each turn in classic play you can manage your accounts; making trades, buying houses and that sort of thing. Another noteworthy inclusion is the setting of house rules before the game. I had a version of Monopoly on PC years ago where you couldnt set taxes to go to Free Parking and it annoyed the hell out of me. This time youll find plenty of customisation, being able to change taxes, change the rules of buying houses, trading and almost anything else you can think of. Playing your own personal game of Monopoly is a nice touch.
The other big inclusion in the game is Richest edition. Four dice are rolled, you play a mini game to determine who gets first pick of the dice, and the game places tokens equal to your chosen dice on the board. Theres no limit to money here, instead youll instantly take ownership of ownerless properties and facilities, take chance cards that will let you take a property from any player, with spaces such as free parking and Go having some strange effects on play. Higher rolls at the start reap greater benefits, whilst later on youll be risking paying properties in rent to other players. Its a little unbalanced in that the first rolls will have the greatest impact on later play. Richest has several variations, each of which last between half to a full hour. Once youve played a mini game in this mode, you can also choose to play any of them from the main menu.
The game makes fairly good use of the Wii-mote itself. You roll by shaking the remote and pressing A, pointer functions are used throughout the game, youll hold it up straight to make a bid in auctions, it will attract your attention when your round comes up by emitting a harsh ring. Mini-games make fairly good use of the remote, those some are very touch and go. One has you pull it forward and back like a lever to race and successfully stop a train at each station you come across, while another that works on the same play screen as a railcart has you pump it up and down, first slowly and building up to a fast pace. The first works tremendously well and very smoothly, the second not so much. Its definitely a mixed bag. For multiplayer you can play with as many remotes as you want one per player, or you can go hot potato with one remote, Warioware style.
The game runs at a smooth rate, obviously not using up much of the Wiis resources. Music is generally nice in a mind-numbing way, ranging from basement jazz to the whistles and synth of the future. The little monopoly man follows each move across the board, skipping around and skidding to a stop whilst commenting on your actions. His animation and voice certainly bring to mind a spry English gentleman, and the voice acting is quite good his cries of Just Visiting! and Its Payday! have a slightly comical twang to them. The background to each board is usually quite nice; clean lines for classic, monuments under the night sky for the World edition. Each board certainly has its own feel.
Monopoly recreates the sound and feel of the real thing well. Its a clean way to play. It has all the options you can possibly want, Richest mode is a nice distraction, most of the mini games are at least somewhat entertaining. Its Monopoly. Youll come out of it with exactly what you expected when you stepped in. I cant in any way recommend it to the hardcore player but perhaps if youre looking for something to play with your kids, youll find some value here. Or, if you simply love Monopoly! A board might be cheaper, though.
