EA Play and Hasbro have put together a rather unique experience with the old game by including a slew of different classic boards to play from, including an ice, cheese and sweet themed set of boards. Each board is visually catered to those particular themes and the names on each property have changed to reflect it. For example, when playing the cheese board you’ll have a chance to land on the Parmesan space and purchase it. Imagine a piece of land made entirely of Parmesan. Isn’t that a property you want to own? Of course it is! All joking aside (and imagining), the boards are very clever and unique, but in the end they’re all just the same. Disappointing? Not really, because I want Monopoly to have just a little flavor. The only problem is that this flavor never exceeds expectations, which is why this game is merely just ‘good’.
One thing that EA Play tried to do to spice things up is to have different ways to play the game. Here’s a breakdown:
– Speed Die: After passing ‘GO’ for the first time the game adds an additional die to the mix. This die comes out either as a number or as two additional options (Bus and Mr. Monopoly). The Bus allows you to land on certain properties of your choice (in that particular roll), while the Mr. Monopoly allows you to land on the closest unowned property. It’s an interesting and fast-paced way to play the old game and it does add a bit of pizazz to the process. This is probably my favorite one of the options.
– Short Game: The game starts players out with three properties (randomly) and works as normal, with the exception that you need only three houses before you purchase a hotel. It definitely does make the game shorter, especially when you have all four players playing, but it’s not as exciting as Speed Die.
– Bull Market: This is an interesting way of doing things. At the beginning of this mode you have your typical $1500 and before you even roll the die you basically have an auction on all the properties. You purchase as many as your budget can handle and you go from there. Once purchased, you have 20 turns to take down your opponents. It’s a pretty quick way of playing, but somewhat unsatisfying in a way. It’s tough to describe, but in this reviewer’s opinion it’s better to land on things randomly and purchase them.
– Jackpot: What’s funny about this is that most of us play this with the real game. The ‘Free Parking’ space becomes a jackpot from all the taxes people land on during the game. I play this with the board game and I thought this was just ‘typical’; apparently I’m a freak. The first person to $5000 worth of value wins the game.
– Fast Deal: Property in this way is auctioned off as you land on it, which makes it extremely quick and competitive. The goal is to own two groups of the same color to win the game. It’s fast and furious, but again I think it’s not as fun as something like Speed Die.
Outside of different ways to play, you also can edit the rules of the game to fit your Monopoly Streets needs. While it does seem like common sense to include such an option, it’s neat to see it in action on a console game. This allows for fans of the original game to shape it the way they have always played it.
Anyway, let’s talk visuals!
The presentation for Monopoly Streets isn’t overly beautiful, but it is impressive. I think you’re looking at character models and colors that could probably be achieved on a Playstation 2. Having detailed boards is important and the details of the boards are impressive, but they’re nothing special. The characters aren’t even close to as pretty as the boards, which is saying a lot. They consist mostly of very stock animation that is pretty repetitive. Still, they aren’t the show here, so it’s no surprise that EA Play didn’t put all their efforts into this area, rather they focused mainly on the gameplay. I’m happy they did that, as most of the attention that my crew and I focused on during the game was the actual game itself.
One of the bigger draws to Monopoly Streets is the use a 3D street view. I think this wasn’t ask effective or fun as the board level movement (call me old fashion), but it was neat to see an actual city. When you built houses on this level you actual saw fully functional houses on your property. When you built hotels you saw those as well. Goofy art was the main production of this type of board, but it was still fun to see. Again, I personally liked the boards much better, but some might like this over tradition.
One thing I really wish they had done was cut down on the annoyance from the audio of the characters. It’s either cut it down or give these characters words. The wheel barrel and the dog lady are like hearing someone scratching fingernails down a chalkboard after the 20th or so roll. I wouldn’t have minded if they just nix the cute characters completely. Keep the pieces and let them move, that’s all we need.
I did like the music in the game and the old man’s voice over, as they were both pleasant and appropriate.
The music was a pleasant, low-key orchestrated piece that could be found in a movie about a kid named Charlie and his future chocolate factory. It was playful and never overbearing. Kudos to the music makers! Love the flutes.
So, what makes this game worth the $39.99 that EA Play is asking? For starters, you get some good (again, not great) online play. When you can get three other cooperative players to sit around and play then you’ll be in heaven. The problem with the online play is when a player decides to vamoose then the game abruptly comes to an end. There isn’t a chance to have a bot fill in for the idiot, which is very frustrating (especially if you’re winning). Maybe the dev team can come in with an update to patch this and make it great, but until then it’s just good.
Outside of online, it’s fun to play different modes of the game on different boards, and to gain Monopoly cash. The cash allows you to unlock more characters (Iron anyone?) and more levels (like the Sweet Board). It’s a neat way of doing things and it motivates the player to keep on playing.
Ultimately, this game is good because it’s Monopoly. EA Play did their best to spice up the old game, and they did, but you’ll buy this game because you want a quicker, easier way to play the 75-year old classic. I know I could play this at any given time and I probably will on and off during the next few months. It’s worth the $39.99 if you’re looking for that type of experience.