Monopoly Streets

If EA fixes the Issues / Problems / Bugs in this game, then I'll give this game 5 stars. Until then...

UPDATE #2: EA has released another DLC item, a 3D "CITY" board called Stratosphere City for 560 MS Points. It's a futuristic city with hover cars. It has custom names for the properties and cards, unlike the prevoius DLC Championship board. Please Note: this is a "CITY" board so it has the buildings that are constructed as your build houses and hotels, etc etc...

UPDATE #1: EA just released some DLC for this game. The board is 240 MS Points and the tokens are 80 MS Points each.

Championship Board (Las Vegas 2009 Monopoly Championship theme). This board uses an official Monopoly game board since it's a recreation of the 2009 Monopoly tournament championship. There are NO custom names for the properties, community chest or chance cards.

Horse and Rider (Male Jockey) token
Cannon (Army Guy) token
Rocking Horse (Female Equestrian) token

PLEASE NOTE: This DLC is NOT DRM's locked so it can be shared amongst other gamer profiles (gamertags) on the same or different Xbox 360 consoles.

Please Note: This review pertains to the Xbox 360 version of the game. Not all features / issues may be present across all platforms.

Finally, a video game console version of Monopoly that has an Online Multiplayer component.

I previously purchased Monopoly Party back when it was originally released on the original Xbox console and the more recent Monopoly video game for the Xbox 360 which was released just a couple of years ago. Both were good games, but they lacked an Xbox Live Multiplayer option so you were stuck play locally with friends/family and/or against the BOTs.

The two included 3D "city" boards for Monopoly Streets are great and add something new to the Monopoly franchise. The rest of the boards are 3D but don't have the "city" buidlings aspect. The surrounding envirnments are fun as are the custom names for all the properties. For the "city" boards, as you buy properties and build houses and hotels your property comes alives with 3D scenery, houses and hotels. Every player also has a skyscraper which represents their total worth and the height of the skyscraper increases/descreases during gameplay. You only get two of these "city" boards one of which has to be purchased. Apparently, there is another featured in a gameplay trailer and will be probably be available as DLC as EA has stated this game will feature DLC for characters (tokens) and boards.

All tokens and boards are compatible with every rule set and gametype options so you can mix things up and even use your own Xbox 360 Avatar as a playable character for use with any of the tokens. For Xbox 360 Avatar; props, pets, hats and costumes will NOT show up in game. Avatar shirts, pants, shoes, glasses, watches, and rings will show up on your character in game.
Provided Rule Sets: Official MONOPOLY, Speed Die, Short Game, Bull Market, Jackpot, Fast Deal, Custom. All rule sets can be edited to create your own gametype with a variety of options to choose from to make your own House rules. You can also ssave a custom rule set for use in the future.

Xbox Live Gametypes: Quick Match, Create Custom Match, Join Custom Match, Create Ranked Match, Join Ranked Match. Online Ranked matches cannot be started with BOTS (computer) but if a NON connection HOST player quits before going bankrupt they will be replaced by a BOT (computer). You can play with up to four people locally on the same Xbox 360.

The Monopoly Store is a nice touch and adds to the replay value as you try to earn Monopoly money to unlock additional content. Winners of a game gain just under 10,000 M and even the losers get some money, so if you are good you'll be rolling in the Monopoly money to unlock additional content.

Unlockables in the Monopoly Store:
M = Monopoly Money used to buy items in the Monopoly Store

Available Tokens and their (Characters):

Top Hat (Magical Kid) - UNLOCKED at start
Shoe (Little Girl) - UNLOCKED at start
Moneybag (Burglar) - M 15,000
Car (Race car driver) - UNLOCKED at start
Wheelbarrow (Farmer) - UNLOCKED at start
Dog (Dog walker) - UNLOCKED at start
Cop Hat (Officer) - M 20,000
Battleship (Admiral) - UNLOCKED at start
Iron (Maid) - M 10,000

Available Boards:

MONOPOLY City (3D board) - UNLOCKED at start
Cheese Board - M 6,000
Cardboard Board - M 7,000
Landmark City (3D board) - M 25,000
Classic Board - UNLOCKED at start
Jungle Board - M 9,000
Sweet Board - M 10,000
Plaza Board - M 5,000
Ice Board - M 8,000

Overall it's a good game, and probably the best console based Monopoly game to date, at least on the Xbox/Xbox 360 but it does have several issues that need to be fixed/patched.

Issues / Problems / Bugs:

1. If the connection HOST (person who starts a game) quits during an Online match (ranked or custom) the game will END for everyone in the game and NOBODY will get any credit for the game. That means nobody is declared a winner, nobody gets any Monopoly money for use in the Monpoly Store, and the stats don't update for whatever you did in the game.
The reason this happens is that there is NO Host Migration in the game, so if the HOST quits the whole game ends.

WARNING: If the connection HOST chooses to declare BANKRUPTY or goes BANKRUPT they "have to spectate" for the rest of the game and stay in the game until a winner is announsed by Mr Moneybags and wait for the game to automatically send everyone back to the Main Menu.

It is STRONGLY ADVISED that you HOST your own Online Matches and/or play with people who know about this issue otherwise, you'll more than likely end up with a connection HOST who QUITS not knowing that this ends the game for everybody. However, it is apparent that you don't necessarily become Connection Host even if you are the one to start/initiate the game.

This is also something that could be EXPLOITED by someone choosing to QUIT instead of having a loss show up on the leaderboards and their profile stats. Aside from doing this to GRIEF (annoy) people online.

2. Duing an Online match a human can go into the "Morgage and Build" menu, wait out the 60 second time, go back into it, rinse, repeat. Thus have a neverending turn in an attempt to GRIEF and make the other human player quit the game, for a win.

3. A BOT (computer) or human player's character can spin around in get put int he wrong direction and then get stuck on and/or fall off the game board and be unable to complete their turn. Thus making it immpossible for anyone else to take their turn. The game will never end and everyone will have to QUIT the game.

4. During the initial rolling of the dice to see who goes first, the dice will keep spinning or freeze and no one else will be able to take their spin and/or start the game.

Enjoy!

This is a VERY fun game!!! The new mode (Streets) is a fresh take on the classic game. I have to say....I don't play very many games online, but this game is a blast to play via Xbox Live. You can customize the rules to your liking, and the game runs very smooth with no lag at all. The only gripe is that the avatars are pre-selected to match your token.....and their voices and animations can get a bit stale after a while. Fear not because the game gives you the ability to skip those animations!!! The major difference between this and the version for the PS3 is that you get to use your Xbox avatars in place of the generic avatars provided in the PlayStation 3 version. I am such a fan of games, I ended up getting a copy of both for each system. This is truly ONE OF THOSE GAMES that you can spend HOURS playing!!!

So I am not really a monopoly fan but was looking for a game that was easy to play with a variety of people young, old, newbies to video games and veterans to video games. I think this fits the bill. I am terrible at Monopoly anyway and always lose, but at least this version is fun and interesting while I am losing. The sounds the characters make are super funny and the ability to customize the rules is also a plus. One thing I would change is allowing you to choose a piece AND your character rather than forcing a player to only have the character attached to a specific piece.

We felt the game play was too slow so we sped it up in the Options area and the game moved so much quicker.

It's not very involved and that is just what I wanted - simple, easy to start, and put away when needed. I would say the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I don't really like Monopoly in general, but others in the house love the game and we enjoy playing it together.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 39 reviews  3.4 out of 5 stars