
About two months ago I posted about EA and Hasbro joining forces to make video game versions of board games and board game versions of video games. That post is here. re-reading that post I feel the excitement and positive attitude, now… not so much. Let me elaborate while still having a glimmer of hope. And keep in mind I’m devoting a long post to this news item because I do care and want it to be a good game.
I receive press releases and news items through the Business Wire service. I get tons of items a day but sifting through them I find some cool board game related news that you may be interested in. Or I’m just wierd that way :) One such item announced the newest video game version of Monopoly. This press release explains that this version will be based on the monopoly Here & Now edition and will be released this Fall on the Xbox 360, Wii, Playstation 2 (note : the PS3 is not mentioned) and even mobile phone and Pogo.com editions.

A “creepy” screenshot of one of the mini games (obvious homage to Operation)
Lets first look at a couple things that appear interesting. After reading the press release and an interview with a couple developers done by N’Gai Croal I’m curious to see how they add the party twist to the game. I find myself having fun inviting friends over to play some traditional board games and casual video games and adding some party game type twists could be fun. The mini games will involve simutaneous play from all players to achieve different goals. The developers also state that they are tweaking the game to add a mode of gameplay so that it can be played in 20 to 30 minutes. This could be good for those that have game sessions drag on for over an hour. A few of the minigames that are planned so far include :
- Get Out of Jail (cut through iron bars as quickly as possible)
- Hospital Fees (X-ray Mr. Monopoly to find all of his organs)
- Ride to Reading (speed around the train tracks without overshooting each of the four train stations)
The (possible) Bad
One of the lines in the press release that gets me worried is :
“Play in offline single or multi-player mode and compete to own it all and win!”
What?! How can a game like this, in this generation of consoles, not include online play? Granted, being a multiplatform game, especially because of the PS2 version, may contribute to the difficulty to geting this game online but look at all the successfull online board game versions like Uno, Carcassonne, Catan, and the recent Lost Cities. N’Gai Croal had the chance to interview a couple developers of the game and glancing toward the end I see the question and answer :
What about online?
We’ll have more on that later.
Ok, so maybe they can’t discuss that now, but shouldn’t they at least be able to say … yep, online will be there, we are just working on the application. Or something along those lines, that’s what other developers say because online play these days is almost expected. Hopefully it’s not because there are issues with integrating online play at all.
Reading through the press release one can see that this will be a full retail release, not an xbox live arcade or WiiWare release for about $10.00. We have seen some quality video game versions of board games on xbox live arcade and one would hope that with a retail release we’ll get alot more. At least the game will not be the usual $60.00 as the developers state that it will be $40.00. Though if there is no online play then why spend more for the video version for local multiplayer when I could go out and buy the actual board game version for less and still do offline multiplayer with my friends
Speaking of creepy images, I looked over at the Monopoly Here & Now website and was greeted with this creepy version of our favorite monopoly icon. Sometimes when a 2D cartoon icon is translated into 3D animation, it just doesn’t work quite right. However, there is some interesting info about Monopoly over there, feel free to take a peek, just try not to stare at the creepy image too long
Here’s hoping that possible rumored video game versions of Hasbro titles Scrabble and Risk will definitely have online play. I know alot of people that would be addicted to a console version of Scrabble, but I can’t see that without online play. Scrabble is already popular online on the PC with the Facebook applications of Scrabble and Scrabulous.
Sources : interview, press release
PS :
With everything said and done, I want this game to be good. Sure, many gamers have issues with the luck and repetition and such with Monopoly gameplay but I would like to see a good video game version to get more people playing the game. If done right, it could intrigue a new generation of board game fans. So prove myself and the other naysayers wrong EA and Hasbro. Give us a great game here and I’ll spend the $40.00. I don’t want to see game lovers dragging this game off to jail.