Monopoly for the Wii: Tradition Meets Gamer Fun!
November 26, 2008
Like many people my age, I grew up playing the game of Monopoly. I played with my older brother and sister many, many times. They knew that I had no idea what I was doing, so they were able to whip up on me every time. The upside? I could cheat. I mean, the bank money was right there and that way they could never bankrupt me. Also? They always took the coolest game pieces like the sports car or the Scotty dog. That usually left me with the thimble. That was just fine with me because I could then put it on my pinky and act goofy with it to annoy them.
I was ecstatic to hear that Electronic Arts came out with a Monopoly game. Now the world’s most popular board game is available in an all new fun and exciting way to play. Surely, now I was finally old enough to win! My kids and I have played several times since we received the game. I would love to tell you that I won at least a few of those times. I would love to tell you that but I can’t. I am still losing. But! I am having a lot of fun. A big pro to the game when playing with “cheaters” is there is no way to rob the bank. (Bummer for me, though!) Another change is since it is on a video game, I also can’t put the thimble on my pinky and act like a dork. (However because I am now the Mom, I can choose the sports car, baby!)
The Wii version of Monopoly stays faithful to its board game origins while offering a few extras to give new life to the age old game. The heart of the game, however, is a straight console version of the traditional board game. Up to 4 players can play. If there are fewer players, the computer console fills those players’ spots to keep the game active and fun. Speaking of fun, a digital version of Mr. Monopoly walks from player to player on their turn helping in his ever so cheerful voice. He is encouraging when you do something great and supportive when you do something, well, stupid that could cost you the game. And? He doesn’t even mock you when you land in jail. For the fifth time in one game.
As this is the Wii version of Monopoly, players are encouraged to shake their controllers in order to reproduce the sound of rattling dice before pressing the A button to throw. Of course, trying to convince my 7 year old that she doesn’t need to shake it 15 times to get a good roll, she loves the sound of the dice shaking and will stop at nothing less than a 15 shake roll. (In fact, you will soon find you don’t actually have to shake the remote, but where is the fun in that?)
There are two ways to play. ‘Monopoly Edition’ stays true to the standard game. There is even a way to change the ‘House rules’ on a per-game basis. And, that my friends can completely change the dynamics of the game. (Which may actually help me win a game once in a while.) In the ‘Richest Edition’ the game offers three options for quick play by limiting the number of turns each players makes. This version incorporates some “mini-games” based on the elements of the actual board games like ‘Get out of Jail’ and ‘Bank Pays You Dividend’. You have to unlock these features through game play, but once they are unlocked they are able to play them. However, with these mini-games, it will probably appeal more to the younger age set.
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Posted by Jenn @
6:36 am | |
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Boogie nights! Aint no doubt Wii are here to party!
September 7, 2007
It isn’t like you haven’t heard me talk about Wii’s Boogie before. I wrote an article about the game for EA (Electronic Arts) that has been featured on several sites. You can hear my official word on what the game entails with that article.
Wii brought back family game night to my house. Not only that, it is an active family game night. No more sitting on the couch and pretending to be involved. With titles that get all of us up off our seats and jumping, gyrating and hopping around, we found ourselves laughing, active and doing something we all enjoy together. To quote the fine folks at EA, “Wii is expanding videogames to untapped markets pulling in a new audience of gamers that typically did not play games in the past.” Finally, there is a company that understands that there’s a large market of people who are not the typical gamers but would like to join in the fun. They found that in my family. They found that in me.
Here on my Freshed Brewed Reviews you can read about the actual Family Fun it brought into our house. Times when I would completely get my groove on and make my teen “want to eat his own face off” because of the horror of my singing and dancing move. Apparently I was not busting a move but rather completely breaking it. Shattering it. Making it want to hide under the couch and no longer be “a move” that would be “busted.” But the fun? The fun rocks the house!
When we got our box from Parent Bloggers, my daughter and I ripped off the packaging because we wanted to be the first to Boogie in our house. The tween and teen acted as if they didn’t want to join us. (They were so faking nonchalance!) We fired up that bad boy in our Wii and began to shake it, sing it and create it.
I have to confess something, but it has to stay between us. I absolutely adore Karaoke. I used to go to Karaoke night to WATCH on weekly basis with a huge group of friends. Never, ever to sing. No. But suddenly I was handed a microphone and a master song list and I was Madonna Britney Spears Fergie. The moving the character to have the best dance moves. Trying to stay on pitch. (HA!) Trying to pretend to get the words correct. That is a lot of multi-tasking for me. But the fun and the laughter was contagious.
Before I knew it, my boys had joined us. Then my husband got home from work and became a part of the party, too. Family night was in the house!
I was slightly disappointed in the song list. I was hoping for more variation. Don’t get me wrong, there is variation, but I wish it had popular songs represented from more genres and generations. Hit songs that had more of a broad appeal. Don’t get me wrong, I loved being “Fergalicious” and busting out with “You’re the One That I Want” yet I wish there were more. Perhaps Boogie 2? (Wii? We love you. We love you so much we feel we can tell you that we think you should add more songs. We can help. We love you. Help us help you. I’m just saying.)
But honestly, the best part of the game is that we can all play it. From my 6 year old to my husband. We can dance and sing and laugh and have fun as a family. We each customized our Boogie and have face offs. (I am so the Queen here!)
We have had a blast with the Video Creator. We make our own videos showing off our mad skillz and then slam down a challenge to the next family member to top it. Competitive in its own right. You don’t have to be a hardcore gamer to enjoy this game. Just someone who wants to have fun, blow off steam and get active. Because take my word for it, you will have to be active to get into this game. And you will want to get into this game. It is fun. What more do you need? Fun. Family. Singing. Dancing. It’s like the Sound of Music. Only without Julie Andrews. And you don’t have to wear your curtains for play clothes. Other than that? Totally like The Sound of Music. Or in our house, The Sound of Howler Monkeys.
It’s hard enough for today’s family to carve out some quality-time between work, school and the million other commitments that keep us all moving so fast, so that quality-time needs to center around an activity that gets everyone excited and eager to play. And while some board games are fun for the whole family, there are only so many times you can play them. I found myself wanting to mix it up with something new and different. That is Boogie.
Posted by Jenn @
9:08 am | |
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