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When video games did not yet represent the reference point for family entertainment, board games undoubtedly had a much higher appeal and market than today's, especially among the youngest, thanks to a vast choice of themes and complexity. and quality of the sets, sometimes inspired by brands and famous people. Despite the inevitable decline that has smoothed out the versatility of the aforementioned products, catalyzed by the global expansion of "electronic games", there are some historic boxed games that know no crisis, strengthened by a very long tradition that, even today, manages to cheer groups of friends and relatives, especially during holiday periods such as the one just ended.



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Among them, the most famous and appreciated with copyright is undoubtedly Monopoli, or it would be better to write Monopoly, given that Hasbro, an American company that holds the international license, in 2009 also acquired the rights of the Spanish version, changing its name which, over seventy years ago, Editrice Giochi was forced to use due to the fascist regime, which banned terms in English. Played overall by about eight hundred million people - according to a statistic from the Guinness Book of World Records - and thanks to a bizarre evolutionary story, which even passed through court amidst the theft of regulations and contamination from other congenital productions, Parker Brothers' hugely popular bargaining game has not only endured in its original 1935 form, but has successfully landed in digital edition on countless systems in recent years, finding new lifeblood thanks to the worldwide spread of smartphones and tablets. With a somewhat surprising move, Ubisoft has decided to translate the Monopoly experience also on new generation consoles, thanks to a package called Monopoly Family Fun Pack released in view of the recent Christmas holidays, thanks to a budget price and some interesting introductions. We have whipped the PlayStation 4 version and these are our impressions.



Ubisoft brings a timeless classic to next generation consoles, Monopoly in the family!

Panzer

For those unfamiliar with the rules of Monopoly, as specified in the introduction it is a bargaining game, where the participants basically compete for lots of building land on a forty-square board, with the aim of causing bankruptcy of the opponents to the sound of very salty rents. Enriched with solutions such as mortgages, auctions and the possibility of proposing exchanges, as well as Unexpected and Probability cards, linked, for example, to the payment of taxes or perhaps to the receipt of an inheritance from a deceased uncle, the game is strongly shaped around to capitalist issues, and it is curious to think that even today it is banned in Cuba (who knows that the recent agreement with the United States does not clear the Monopoly as well), after decades of embargo also experienced in the former Soviet Union until its dissolution. In Monopoly Family Fun Pack, developed by Asobo, it is possible to play the original version of Monopoly (called Plus) both with the classic two-dimensional board and with a spectacular 3D animated variant, for up to six players locally or connected to the internet .

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The slots left free by the missing players can be occupied by the CPU, whose artificial intelligence can be set on five different levels of difficulty, from very easy to difficult. About that, we noticed a certain amount of "extra luck" for the dice rolls controlled by our PlayStation 4, at any difficulty level, although with the lower levels there are more chances of winning during the bargaining. Of course, no one will give you the famous Parco della Vittoria and Viale dei Giardini for Vicolo Stretto and Vicolo Corto, respectively the couple of the most expensive and poorest properties in the Monopoly, but there is still a much higher margin for maneuver, especially by putting offers on the plate and counter offers of money. After selecting your own silver placeholder, from a lot of nine that also includes a Rabbid, in addition to the various historical symbols of Monopoly such as the dog, the racing car and the ship, you are projected on the board in the classic Via box, surrounded by a living and pulsating city - in the case of the animated three-dimensional table - which in terms of design and graphic layout closely resembles that of the recent SimCity by Electronic Arts. After logging in to the Hasbro Channel, it is also possible to download for free the setting dedicated to Ubisoft's nasty Rabbids, which add a pinch of color and madness to the more adult, but still light-hearted aspect of the traditional table. The game, in its original form, works exactly like the one in the box, especially locally playing with friends (it is possible to change hands with a single DualShock 4), nevertheless, the impossibility of skipping some animated sequences or at least shortening them, such as that of the roll of the dice, further extends the longevity of the games, not exactly "short" as Monopoly experts well know. This is a problem that mainly affects playing online, where the average time required for a single session is much higher than that which is usually dedicated to other games.



New ingredients

Beyond the classic settings, in Monopoly Family Fun Pack the work of Parker Brothers can be played in different variations, more or less successful depending on the new rules introduced. The "Quick Dice" mode, for example, is one of the less noticeable ones, since the extra red die does not break the traditional balance, but only adds confusion where it was not necessary. In "Free Parking Money", stopping at the car park becomes a particularly useful box to visit, since in this variant it is possible to withdraw all the money accumulated between fines and taxes to be paid; in "Via! e Movimento", passing through the Via space it is possible to decide whether to collect money (400 credits) or move to another space at will on the board, as well as avoiding an unfortunate Unexpected card; in "Double One" you collect a thousand credits when you get two ones in a lucky roll of the dice; in "Rent or Auctions" the purchases of vacant properties can only be made through auctions, moreover, rents cannot be collected while in prison; In "Rule of Wealth" the player who first collects three thousand credits of capital wins the game, while in "Property Upgrades" it is possible to build houses and hotels on the land without following the classic rules of the colored groups. In some cases these are interesting little introductions, but how many will actually be drawn to them? After all, Monopoly comes out above all in moments of family aggregation, and it is difficult to imagine variations of the last minute accepted by all on a game so tested and loved.


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To further spread the cards on the table, in the Monopoly Plus menu there is also space for the My Monopoly item, which allows you to customize and save nine distinct displayboards; not only is it possible to change the city center by positioning the various buildings available at will (some are unlocked by playing the other modes or by switching to Uplay and Hasbro Channel), but you can also replace the images of the boxes with defined sets - actually not very rich - and rename the individual lots. In the main menu of the game, in addition to the Monopoly Plus section, which contains all the features listed so far, there is also Monopoly Deal, a 2008 card game based on the elements of Monopoly, in which it is necessary to collect three complete sets of properties to win the game. In Monopoly Deal the difference is the Action cards, which allow, among other things, to steal or exchange property and money cards. It is a rather popular card game, which in Monopoly Family Fun Pack, beyond the exhaustive tutorial, can only be played online and against a maximum of five players. It is possible to participate in quick, customized games or create a new one, also you can view the updated rankings, where at the time of writing, a player with 350 won games literally dominates the first place.


Spoils of money

From a purely technical point of view we are certainly not in front of a production capable of showing the claws of the Sony flagship, however it should be emphasized that Monopoly Fun Family Pack offers some interesting solutions. As mentioned, the design of the animated scoreboard is well packaged and closely resembles the graphic setting of the last SimCity, in addition the animations of the symbols of the players, those of the data launch and the various properties for sale, where you appreciate the works in course and the differences due to the level of luxury of the lots, are really nice and cared for.

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Too bad there is a bit of confusion with the colors, given the florilege of graphic inputs that continually "disturb" the player's attention, making constant visits to the two-dimensional view necessary to have their availability under control. The 1080p resolution gives overall a pleasant and unprecedented glimpse on the traditional Monopoly table, also embellished by the physics of virtual dice when they impact on the symbols of the players. From the audio point of view, unfortunately, the background music is so nice but all too repetitive, while the speaker commenting on the various phases of the game is annoying to say the least.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Resources4Gaming.com

7.0

Readers (14)

7.7

Your vote

Objectively evaluating a product like Monopoly Family Fun Pack is not easy, since it is the digital reproduction of a real icon of boxed games, with millions of fans all over the world. Keeping in mind that playing Monopoly on the living room table with real friends has no equal, the budget price with which the Asobo work is sold (29,99 Euros), the accurate graphics, the possibilities of customization and the interesting addition of Monopoly Deal, playable only online, still make it an attractive purchase for fans, especially if they have a comfortable sofa where they can share the experience. The rather dilated game rhythms of classic games, also fueled by the impossibility of skipping or accelerating some sequences, are not suitable for online hit and run sessions, while some additional modes could be safely excluded from production.

PRO

  • Original and well designed animated scoreboard
  • The physics of dice impacting placeholders
  • Up to six players locally or on the internet
  • The charm of a timeless classic
  • The Monopoly Deal card game and budget pricing
AGAINST
  • A bit of confusion due to too many graphical inputs
  • Some animated sequences cannot be skipped
  • Additional rules and customization are not always convincing
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