Monopoly

"A Classic Game Loses Its Fun"

Monopoly for Super Nintendo is...well, the game Monopoly. Unfortunately, porting this classic Parker Brothers game to the console completely drained its excitement and entertainment value.

The board game Monopoly has been around longer than most grandparents and altered more times than the original Dracula story. It is therefore hardly necessary to explain the rules. The main concept is a multiplayer, buying and selling game that invokes a surprising amount of strategy in the forms of trading property, winning/losing auctions, erecting buildings, staying in or getting out of jail, and conserving one's money. This eternal party classic lends itself to endless opportunities for boasting, taunting, and marveling over one's incredible dumb luck.

Then there is the SNES version, in which all of this disappears. What we are left with is primitive graphics and sound, a few animations that grow tiresome after the third or fourth time, and a set of computer opponents that really don't resemble live humans at all. The social factor is gone, the play is monotonous and dragging, and the computer can't seem to stop asking for trades once it's losing because of its own poor decisions.

Board games--particularly ones that succeeded in their original form--have never fared very well when reproduced as a cartridge. In the case of Monopoly, it offers no surprises or extra features from its boxed version. It's also a far cry from the fast-paced, visually amazing video games that most people would consider playing with a group of friends. The ''ending'' to this game, if one can even call it that, is nothing more than the chance to play again. There's no shame, no sorrow, no elation. As sad as it is, there's really not much that elevates this above the entertainment level of just taking out an actual Monopoly set and rolling the dice for multiple players.

The SNES version does provide a large selection of opponents, but they never talk to you or display any sort of personality. I don't even think they represent varying levels of difficulty. The makers also included various preset boards that one can play, but this doesn't help to change the monotony or do much of anything besides shorten the game's duration. Everything in this title feels mechanized, from the setup menus at the beginning to the cheap graphic of the policeman throwing you in jail.

The board game Monopoly has endured for over 60 years because it's easy to learn, hard to lose quickly, and amusing to play in groups. Unfortunately, Tomy's 1993 SNES version is one of the worst possible interpretations of it. The ultimate product is a game that's boring to look at, boring to play, and fun to beat and toss back on the shelf.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 10/25/02, Updated 10/25/02