Monopoly Tycoon (MT) is a real time strategy game for the PC, derived from the board game Monopoly, but blends in elements of Sim City and Roller Coaster Tycoon. You try to get rich while bankrupting computer or human opponents, (or at least beating them to a defined economic goal). The game plays like a computer simulation of a board game should be played, immersing the player real time into the action. You bid on properties , build and stock stores, build and lease apartments and hotels, purchase utilities, and, based on feedback from the game, you decide how everything you own or lease should be run to maximize profits. Rolling the dice does not come into play, your success depends only on your decisions.
How Does MONOPOLY TYCOON work?
In the box
The game comes on one cd in a standard plastic cd case, and a separate manual, about 4 1/2" X 7". The manual has a nice glossy cover, about 60 pages of information, a table of contents but no index, quite a few small b&w screenshots from the game, and fortunately, most of the information you need to play the game. The manual also includes some statistical information that you can use to help plan your strategy. You can avoid reading the manual if you take advantage of the tutorials included in the game itself. There is a also an Acrobat (r) version (pdf) of the manual on the game cd.
Installation
My installation of the game went smoothly. Insert the cd and follow the prompts. You get a choice of two install sizes, 140 and 200 mb. The game requires Directx 8.0a (included on the cd). The installation gives you the option of putting a game icon on your desktop, and lets you put the game where you want on your start menu. It does not add any extra icons to your desktop. At the end of the installation you are given the option to register, to see the readme file (not much here) and then to launch the game. Users are not required to enter a serial number or cd key to install or play the game.
Tutorial
A 13 part tutorial is included with this game. Each part takes less than 5 minutes, and walks you through the game controls, on screen menus and status graphs, and how to play the game. This is much, much better than just providing a manual to read. The tutorials are a good lead in to the single player scenario's.
Single player Campaign
Starting the game takes a little longer than I would like. Even though I chose the large install size, it takes 30-40 seconds for the game to load each time I double click the desktop icon. Finally, you reach a menu allowing you to chose tutorials, single or multiplayer game, load a save game, change settings, or change the player name (which allows you to have more than one game going at at a time).
All of the single player scenario's must be played in order. The game starts you off in five "easy" scenario's, which are really additional tutorial levels to get you into the game. The computer helps you through a little, a nice touch. After that you are on your own. You can select one of three difficulty levels, and although there initially are no computer opponents, you pick up computer opponents as you progress through the initial scenario's. Each scenario has a specific goal (be the first to reach $20,000 net worth, earn $6,000 in one day, etc).
The scenario's are short, taking an hour or less, but challenging. Initially you determine what you need to build to reach the scenario's goals, and start building stores and apartments. You have to constantly follow the game to make sure you are building the right stores on the right property, charging the right price for your goods, and occasionally bidding to "own" blocks of property. By optimizing your pricing, building the stores to meet the highest demand, you can drive your earnings up. This allows you to build more stuff, until you eventually win (or go bankrupt if you build too fast). MT includes a "survey" tool allowing you to survey people in the game to see what they need or want (more groceries, movie theaters, clothes stores, etc), and you use this information to help decide what to build. You can also check the stores of your opponents to see what he is building and selling, and what his prices are. The survey results, are quantified and ranked, and data is collected on a block by block basis, so you can tell where to best add stores or apartments.
Each store or apartment earns money through rent or selling items. But each must also pay rent to the owner of the property they set on, and must pay electric bills, water bills, gas bills and phone bills. If you want, you can bid on the utilities (or railroads) available. If you own one utility (or one railroad), you receive 25% of the fees it receives. If you own two, you receive 50%, 75% with three, and 100% if you own four. The Players can and should bid on city blocks. Your property on blocks you own no longer pay rent, and you collect rent from stores owned by others. Owning property is temporary, with ownership lasting only 5 "game" years. If you own all the blocks of a given color, you can build hotels, and buy other property on the monopolized blocks at reduced prices.
Time passes a day at a time in MT, and takes 10 minutes real time. Each game day is equal to 5 game "years". As the years pass, the game graphics adjust to match the year. Stores are open from 9 to 5, while theaters, bars, and other night time businesses are open from 6 to midnight. At 6 am each morning you pay to restock your stores, with stock being set a a level you select up to a maximum determined by the size of the store. You also receive and pay rent at this time. At midnight, MT checks your financial health, and if your cash is negative you have 24 game hours to reach positive, or you are booted from the game.
What you end up with are reasonably short, intense scenarios, requiring your full attention and business acumen to win. It turns out to be a lot of fun, and winning a scenario is quite satisfying, because you know you earned it. When a scenario ends, you are taken to a victory screen, then to a graphical display of the results for that scenario. I often wished I could have kept playing the scenario after I won, but that is not possible. I am told that after you win all the scenario's (which I haven't yet) a bonus sandbox scenario is opened up , which you can play as long as desired.
Multiplayer
I was hoping I could play this game with other members of my family on the networked computers in my home. Howerver this is "officially" not possible, since Monopoly Tycoon states each player must own a separate copy of the cdrom game. Most multiplayer games do not require you to have a separate copy for each player on a local network. This is an unacceptable drawback to this game, and I hope that Infogrames liberalizes this policy in a future patch.
Unofficially, there is a "no cd patch" and other work-arounds available on the internet if you want to play this game on your home network. I also tried starting a multiplayer game on computer, then moving the cd to a second computer to join the game. I was able to get a game going, but MT would check for the cd daily, (so it seemed to me) making this too much of a hassle. I was able to make an acceptable back up copy of MT using Nero Burning Rom software, and used this to get a two player going on my home network. Starting multiplayer games was easy, one person hosts the game, and selects a goal for the scenario. Once this was done, the name of the host shows up on the multiplayer menu of other computers running the game on the network, and you join this game by selecting the "join" button in the multiplayer menu. Text messages can be sent to one player or selected players while you are playing the game. Multiplayer games can have several ending conditions, first to reach a certain empire value, or the goal can be "last man standing".
MT also includes the ability to play games over the internet via the Gamespy Arcade Network, but I have not tried this.
Other Stuff
Graphics in this game are more than adequate and effectively communicate how the game is progressing. They have a positive effect on your gaming experience, but they are not awe inspiring. The on screen menus are easy to understand, and it is relatively easy to keep track of your property and what your opponent is doing. Keeping track of a lot of properties can take all of your attention. The game even includes an option to switch the street names to those appropriate for over 20 different countries.
Many operations require too many clicks, and checking survey results, then switching to the build menu is tedious. It would be nice if you could some how keep the survey open when choosing what to build.
This game works well single player or multiplayer.
Conclusion
Monopoly Tycoon is fun to play, and I expect to get many hours of gameplay out of this game. If you enjoyed Roller Coaster Tycoon, you need this game. If you are a real time strategy gamer, this game should be high on your list of what to buy next.
Price: $37.90 @ www.compuexpert.com
Developer Website:
http://www.deepred.co.uk/
Manufacturer Website
http://www.infogrames.com/
Game Website
http://www.monopolytycoon.com/
Recommended requirements
Pentium II 266
200 mb hard disk space
64 mb ram
8X cdrom
Win 95 or better
16 mb direct3d video card, directX 8 compatible
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