Scrutiny by the Masses: Wii! Monopoly! What a Blast!

This is a paid review for Blogher.com

When BlogHer offered me the opportunity to try out Hasbro and EA’s new Monopoly for the Wii, I jumped at it. Who among us hasn't played Monopoly? I LOVED it as a kid. Played it all the time. The one thing that I didn't like about the game was the amount of TIME that it took to set it up, count out all of the money, get everything ready - and about that time, someone would KICK the dumb board and it wold all go FLYING around the room and I'd have to start all over.

This may have jaded my intentions to play the game with my own kids - they ask constantly, but I find myself putting it off. I was excited to try this version for the Wii. My kids love the Wii, and this game did not disappoint. It was easy to begin - literally, my 11 year old daughter started with no help from me and zoomed straight past any struggles I would have encountered. My kids are musical, and so the music quickly became a refrain that they repeated all night long. I wanted to be able to turn that part off, but I still needed to hear the dialog of the game. Mr Moneybags speaks, which was an extra special action, and one that really held their interests.

I love the fact that you are able to customize the rules - a huge bonus when you play with people who play by the "New York rules" when you learned the "Deep South rules". It was cool to be able to play against the computer - that way, if no one else wants to play with you, you don't have to abandon your own fun. (You can also play against one or two other people.) I found it hard to play against the computer, though - the "luck of the Irish" seemed to fall to the computer all the time, with the constant roll of doubles and the avoidance of landing on properties. Not fair! I wanted to yell.

Among the new features available include a version of the game called Monopoly Here and Now: The World Edition, which allows up to four players to join in. This is an all-new way to play, complete with faster game play, property trading and fun mini-games that get everyone involved. This version also allows you to unlock never-before-seen Monopoly boards as you play.

The graphics were bright and cheery and seeing the board come to life was a really nice bonus. Wii Monopoly will make a great addition to your holiday shopping. I really recommend it if you are a fan of the traditional game, but not a fan of the mess of the board, money and pieces.

Check out what the other BlogHer Reviewers had to say about Wii Monopoly at the roundup page on BlogHer.