Macfile

The Age

Thursday January 8, 2009

Garry Barker

WAS it Casanova that said: "Many a good tune is played on an old fiddle"? Probably not, but when it comes to iPhone/iPod touch games, the oldies look like some of the better goodies. And what better oldie in the games business than Monopoly?

So it was inevitable that this venerable game should turn up as an iPhone/iPod touch app.

The transition to the small mobile screen has been cleverly done. It gets an average four-star rating from the reviewers.

Computer games company Electronic Arts, which is taking the iTunes Apps market very seriously, has licensed Monopoly from Hasbro and added a lot of iPhone smarts.

You can play against the artificial intelligence in the iPhone/iPod touch computer or get on a wi-fi network and play against others, just as if you were around a board on a table.

You roll the dice by shaking the iPhone/iPod to activate the accelerometer. Buttons on the screen handle buying or selling properties and you flick the touch screen to get property or community chest cards.

Monopoly costs $9.99, not the cheapest app, but it is a well-finished game from an expert in the business.

EA has also recently released Will Wright's Sim City for the iPhone ($12.99), adding to a range that runs from Tetris and Yahtzee to Tiger Woods PGA golf tour. Sim City has had some crash bugs, but Monopoly seems very stable.

© 2009 The Age

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