The Game of Life

"It's a glorified way of flushing money down the toilet! Round and round and round it goes..."

Buying the Game of Life for the PlayStation is just about the worst thing that any gamer can do with excess cash. Sure, it has more options than the board game, and you don't have to keep track of money and playing pieces, but it is not worth it to buy this game.

TGoL is fun to play with about four other people, as opposed to playing it with the computer or one friend. Still, playing this game with that number of people requires the purchase of a multi-tap unit, not to mention more controllers. It would be much cheaper to just put out the money to get the board game, but most people have it already.

There is not much to really say about the normal version. It is exactly the same as the original board game, with the exception of some short, cartoon-like animated clips, and the selection of players that you can choose from. The cartoon animations are shown after a player lands on any square, and most squares have either one or two clips (a few have three). Whenever a player lands on any given square, the game will randomly choose one clip (big decision) to show. This can quickly become quite trite, after just two games of Life. Thankfully, the touch of any button can stop them and resume play. Also, many of the clips attempt to be funny, and most of them aren't. Sure, there are a few exceptions (my favorite being the IRS building burning tax dollars), but most are really corny. Secondly, the selection of players that you get to choose to represent yourself is slim. There are only a few to decide from, and most of them look stupid. Plus, there's the fact that they all come in pairs, and whatever person you pick, the one that looks similar will automatically be chosen as your spouse. Sometimes they look so much alike, that I begin to wonder if they are products of incestuous relationships.

Next, the enhanced game is entertaining. For the first (and probably ONLY) time you play it. The main idea behind it is that you play one of ''Life's Little Games'' instead of collecting Life tiles. Almost every game is a clone of the others, with only slight variations (like the name). Honestly, it is not worth it to play this way (even though Revenge is a cool addition). Personally, I'd rather take a chance with the Life tiles.

Lastly, you do not feel happy when you win this game. I don't expect a good ending (and this game meets THAT particular expectation well), but when you win, you feel like, ''Okay, the game is over, now let's do something else.'' Ho-hum.

My advice is not to get this game (unless, of course, you don't own the board game, and you get the PS-X version as a gift). Don't even bother renting it.

Reviewer's Score: 2/10, Originally Posted: 01/28/01, Updated 01/28/01