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New Digitally Enhanced 'Monopoly Live' Makes the Original Seem Mildly Entertaining

by Amar Toor on February 9, 2011 at 11:40 AM

monopoly live
For the small price of $50, you can be the proud owner of your very own 'Monopoly Live' setup -- a new, high-tech version of the classic board game. Traditionalists needn't worry too much. The game's core principles (capitalism, greed, overwhelming monotony) remain firmly intact. The only slight change is the presence of a giant, God-like figure that guarantees you won't be able to have fun cheat.

Planted squarely in the center of the Monopoly Live board is a ten-inch tower that blankets the board in infrared light and watches everything you do with small cameras. Unfortunately, that's not a joke. The tower keeps a close watch over every game piece, announces whose turn it is, and can even count your money. Instead of rolling the dice themselves, players must hide their pieces from the cameras, and wait for the computer to generate a random "roll," replete with fake sounds. Worst of all, the game features pointless events like horse races and auctions, and players can even choose to make their utilities "green," whatever that means.

The good news is that the tower doesn't appear to have powers of arbitration -- meaning you can still rip off your idiot cousin with train-robbery deals. The even better news is that there are plenty of other things you can do in your spare time, besides pushing a thimble around a board for six hours.

Tags: board games, BoardGames, games, gaming, hasbro, infrared, money, monopoly, monopoly live, MonopolyLive, top, tower

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