Monopoly – iPhone App Review

Monopoly ($2.99)

Version – 1.1.13

REVIEW – “An old classic on a new platform!”

Shortly after the App Store opened Electronic Arts announced that it was bringing “Monopoly Here & Now” to the iPhone.  Over a year later the original Monopoly is finally making its appearance as well!  Go back in time and relive an absolutely classic board game anywhere you want on your iPhone or iPod Touch device.  Play against the computer or invite your friends to play over Bluetooth or Wifi!

My first impressions of this game were all very positive.  There are very little sound effects and music, but they fit appropriately where they are used.  If you would like music in the background it can easily be enabled in the options, and you can even select the “genre” of music that you would like played.  The graphics are nothing short of stunning as well.  From the beautiful 3D environment around the game, down to the individual pieces as they travel after you roll.

As you open the game the amount of options was slightly intimidating, but they are laid out so well that I was able to quickly navigate to where I needed to be.  Some of the options were a little bit small, but I had no major difficulty selecting them.  One thing that I did find slightly confusing is changing your player’s name.  While it is not hard to do, it can only be accessed through the “Game Options” and not just when you’re setting up your game.

The polish of this game is very obvious when you go through things like the “Help” section.  This gives you not only detailed rules, but also hints on strategy as well.  Once you are ready to play a game you just have to touch “Play Game” or “Wireless Game” if you plan on playing with a friend on a separate device.

As far as wireless gaming goes I would highly recommend, if you plan on playing a Wireless game, that you do so only on a WiFi connection if you do not have the same type of device as your friend.   I tried playing over Bluetooth with my wife on her 3G and it lost connection several times.  I believe this is due to slight differences in the technology of the devices.  It also could have been the difference in memory between the 3G and 3GS phones.

Besides the little connection issues I had over Bluetooth though, the game plays quite well.  Gameplay moves quite fast, with any computer opponents you have getting done with their turns very quickly.  One thing that I did notice at first glance is that it would have been nice for the icons at the bottom of the main gameplay screen to be a little bigger.  That said, I had no difficulty pressing them, I could just see some people having a hard time seeing what the icons are for.

The computer AI is fairly decent.  While it is of course not up to par with a real human opponent, it is definitely good enough to make playing this game a lot of fun even by yourself.  The “trades” that the computer suggests though are pretty lopsided.  I would liked to have seen some of the trades be at least somewhat mutually beneficial.  While most of the other screens were very simple, I must admit that the trade screen is a little bit confusing and definitely could have been organized a little better.  Once you get it figured out though it is not too difficult to navigate.

In summary, if you are looking for a fun game to play with friends, or even by yourself, I think you should definitely take a look at Monopoly by EA.  Especially this weekend as EA has all of its iPhone apps half off!  This game is literally quite the steal at its current price of $2.99 so download your own copy today!

- David H.

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Developer – Electronic Arts

URL: http://www.eamobile.com/iphone-games

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© 2009, Davidh. All rights reserved.