Monopoly has been through many iterations over the years but Monopoly Plus by developers Ubisoft Pune might be the best video game adaption of the famous board game ever created.
Monopoly is one of the most popular board games ever created and has brought many friends and family together by a fire on a cold rainy holiday evening since it was first published as a board game in 1935.
The first version of Monopoly was based on a similar game by Lizzie Magie in America 1903 called The Landlord’s Game, which she created to show how an economy that rewards wealth creation is superior to one that supports monopolists.
While the original version remains the most popular, there have been many variances and adaptations of the game published over its 85-year history. The board game has been through many reskins to appeal to fans of popular media franchises such as Fortnite, Star Wars and Pokemon in which the integrity of the gameplay is maintained but the artwork is given new flavour.
Its popularity has stretched beyond the board game industry, though, and there was a Monopoly game show that aired in 1990 and a film announced by Universal Pictures that was eventually dropped before it could be completed. There is even a Megaways Monopoly slot in the iGaming Industry available on popular and highly-rated providers like MGM Online Casino.
And then there are the video games, of which there have been a few. Monopoly Millionaires, the Facebook game, is probably the most popular by player numbers because it hit the social media platform at a time when games were really taking off.
Monopoly Streets for the Xbox 360, Wii and Playstation 3 was the first game to add an additional graphical element while Monopoly Tycoon was a construction and management simulation game that only really reflected the original game in appearance and flavour but was well received by fans all the same.
Monopoly Plus is the first adaption of the game that includes a living board that changes and is affected by the gameplay and decisions made by the players. The city at the centre of the board is fully 3D animated and looks amazing.
The game also lets you play the way you want by allowing you to change, remove or add rules to suit your playstyle and accommodate all of your family’s house rules. If you aren’t familiar with any of the additional rules but are interested in trying something new, there is also a catalogue of 6 house rule sets.
One of the best elements of the video game versions, such as Monopoly Plus, is that the rules are enforced evenly and fairly for every player so you don’t need to keep an eye on whoever asked to be the banker for the entire game like you usually do in real life.
The animations and 3D world really set Monopoly Plus apart from all other video game adaptations, though, because they do such a good job of sucking you into the world and really making you feel like you own your own little piece of the map and makes you excited about progressing through the game.
The fact that all the movements, transfers of funds, mortgages and just about everything else are automated via animations in the game so there is no time wasted by people slowly counting out their movement after rolling the dice. This means the pace of the game is consistent and good, it will probably take just over an hour to complete a game with four players.
Overall, if you are looking for a video game adaption of Monopoly to play with friends or family all over the world, this one comes highly recommended.
Publishers: Ubisoft
Developers: Ubisoft Pune
Platforms: PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4