A Must-Have For All Monopoly Fans!
User Rating: 8.8 | Monopoly Tycoon PC
If you've ever played the classic Monopoly board game and wished, "Man, I wish there was a way to update Monopoly", then you need to give Monopoly Tycoon a try. Infogrames and Deep Red hit the nail on the head with this near-masterpiece. It's a combination of the classic Monopoly board and a money-based simulation game where you build businesses on the city "blocks" (which are the properties from the Monopoly board plus a few new additions), adjust prices and stock quantity to match demand, and use your profits to expand your business empire. Over time, new businesses become available, and it's up to you to keep up with the citizens' demand for the new businesses. Also you can build apartments, which give citizens a place to live and can improve your customer base. The city blocks themselves can be "leased" via auction, and the winner of the auction becomes the "landlord" and holds the block's lease for 25 game years, which is approximately 50 minutes of real time. During that span, the "landlord" collects the rent from all opponents' businesses on that block and if s/he owns business there, they pay no rent. That's one element of the game I love----the status quo is always changing since blocks aren't owned forever. There are many different ways to win, and with 17 different scenarios playable on three difficulty levels, the replayability is VERY high. Another thing I enjoy about this game is the music, which changes to keep up with the times----from swing music in the 40's to disco in the 70's to techno in the 90's. Another interesting feature is the selection of characters: When playing, you play as one of the 10 characters from the classic Monopoly game, but in this game, they are personified, and each AI player plays with a different style and personality, depending on the character. All in all, this is one of my favorite games of any kind on any platform, and if Monopoly and making money is your name, then Monopoly Tycoon is your game!
