There are few things that give me more enjoyment than sitting down with friends and family to play a good game of monopoly. Sadly these times are few and far between as nowadays people would rather get on their Xbox’s and call it up. Luckily for those of us who still miss the good old days, EA games has created Monopoly Streets, a digital adaptation of the original classic that gives gamers a whole new reason to race for park place and boardwalk.
In Monopoly Streets, instead of staring at an old board game, you’re essentially immersed in a real city environment where your favorite monopoly characters and properties come to life. The game takes Monopoly to a whole new level by giving people the visual pleasure of actually watching their properties develop as well as other in game features – such as seamlessly following the turn orders and debts/wealth of each player accumulate. At the end of every turn there is even a visual display letting everyone know who is currently in first place. But perhaps, the most satisfying aspect of Monopoly Streets is that you’re actually playing in a 3D city with your fellow Xbox live friends while walking around watching all of the action.
The game also offers multiple play styles including one that allows you to use custom rules so you can play it the same way you did with your friends at the kitchen table. Once you feel like you’ve bankrupted the players sitting next to you enough, you can take your skills to Xbox live and test your real estate skills against the world.
Sadly not all is fun and games with Monopoly streets. The game suffers from annoying character voices, which can make even the most patient players either turn the game off or put it on mute. Furthermore on some of the harder difficulties the computer seems borderline unbeatable which easily frustrates players and causes the fun factor to severely diminish. The last problem is that as good of a job EA has done creating this game, it does not match the fun factor of the genuine article.
All in all Monopoly Streets for the Xbox 360 brings a new dimension of fun to an old classic, and should be enjoyable for fans of the real game. Monopoly Streets for the Xbox 360 retails for $37.99 and is also available for Wii and PS3.
The Good: A neat twist on a classic game, brings the board-game to life in a fun 3D street environment, Xbox live integration adds even more fun to the mix
The Bad: Gameplay can be extremely difficult on harder settings, can someone please get rid of those annoying squeaky voices the characters are using!
