Game Review: MONOPOLY

MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition by EA

One of my earliest memories is playing Monopoly with my grandmother and my brother for hours. I never won, of course, because I had to have about four or five and didn't actually understand the mechanics of the game, but I had so much fun spending time with

my family. Playing Monopoly now on my iTouch brings up those same fuzzy feelings now; I still lose miserably, but I don't mind it at all.

The app plays exactly the same as the board game: Play against up to four players to buy, sell, trade, auction off and upgrade properties. In this version of the game, the properties are major cities from around the world. I quite enjoyed putting hotels on both Montreal and Riga (like Park Place and Boardwalk in the original); 15M each for rent? Payback is sweet!

Each player rolls the dice and goes to that square. To roll the dice, you simply shake your device. There are 22 properties, 4 transportation spots (cruises, space stations, trains, planes), and 2 utilities (solar energy and wind energy) to purchase and charge rent for. There are also three chance squares, three community chest squares, and two income tax squares (1M and 2M respectively). The Free Parking space lets you sit without having to pay taxes or rent (unless you've changed the options), the Go to Jail space (obviously) sends you to Jail, and if you pass or land on Go, you collect a nice sum.

You can play on your own against the computer, or host a WiFi game with other players in your area. Either way, this fun game is not to be missed. The player tokens are animated; my favorites so far are the sumo wrestler (who marches his way across the board) and the penguin (who slides on his tummy). Test your real estate tycoon savvy and see who comes out on top! 5/5

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