The Game of Life

The Good
The interactive gameplay and mini-games really add to the overall amusement of this game. I liked the graphical aspect and it also has background music that isn't overly annoying like some games can have. It's more 'easy listening muzak' than anything. This is a game that you'll enjoy if you're feeling slightly nostalgic for your childhood, or just want a fun game to play against a couple of people. Don't forget you can always play against the computer too, that's always just as amusing!

The Bad
Not a whole lot struck me as annoying. Perhaps the big heads on the characters were a bit excessive. But then again, people do love caricatures...

The Bottom Line
If you like LIFE the board game, give this PC conversion a try! It has everything that the board game has and then some! It has great cut scenes during your turns, and sometimes between, depending on what you land on, on the board. Multiplayer is a fun aspect as well, it's always more fun to take money if you're not stealing from the computer.

The Good
This is a fantastic game. When I first saw this game I thought it was gonna be another half-hearted attempt at bringing a classic board game to the computer. But after I started playing, I slowly changed my mind.

The Game of Life is basically a board game where you go through life, and try to become the richest player in the game. Spin the spinner to move and move over the board, and collect money. You can choose a College path (3 choices for both Occupation and amount of Salary) or Career, which gives you one choice for each. First you Graduate, then get married and then buy a house. Then the basis of the game is to amass the most money.

You can in 2 different modes. The first mode is the "classic" mode. This follows the real game rules, so it is like actually setting up the game and playing. You collect "LIFE" tiles and at the end of the game you collect a random amount of money for each tile you have. There are only 20 tiles, so you end up stealing tiles from other players during the game. Lots of Bad Blood between players using the method grin

The second version is the "enhanced" version of the game. This takes advantage of the computer. Instead of collecting "LIFE" tiles, you have a game that brings up "Memory" type games (i.e. make like dollar amounts to collect the amount), also you can get random amounts of money. Also, buying a house is handled differently in the enhanced mode. Instead of spinning for a house and price, you can pick the style house you want, and then you spin for the price. Either you pay one of 3 amounts or you can get lucky and inherit the house. The enhanced mode also allow for Paydaty Revenge, which is a cool feature. If you land on a Payday, instead of collecting you pay from the bank, you choose another player to collect it from. Things get messy and cuthroat in this mode of play, which makes it even more fun.

The graphics are fantastic. The graphics are bright, but not contrasting. The board is nicely animated, and Mass Media even got the blurriness of the spinner right (trust me it's pretty cool looking). The cars are animated nicely, and the "car cam" is actually pretty cool. After you spin, the game cuts to a camera inside your "car", and you can watch yourself drive around the board. A nicely done enchancement. The Cutscenes on different squares are either still images (which are kinda dumb, but can be funny), or Nicely done cinemas. Take getting married for example. You pull up in your car, your bride (or groom) jumps ot of the church, bounces on a trampoline, does a few mid-air flips and lands squarely next to you in the car. Really cool, but you can shut off the cutscenes if youwant.

The sound is great. From the background music (which goes from '50 style up through the current style of music) to the "Bbzzzzzzzzzzzzz" of the spinner, Hasbro got it down pact. They got a good guy for the voice overs, so listening to the voice doing the play-by-play of the game isn't irritating. In fact, sometimes there is so much going on, if you shut the voice off, you'd have a hard time playing the game. In this case, the Voice is a added plus.

The control is Simple and straight forward. It's all done with the mouse, and a few keyboard commands. Easy to get right into the game.

The Bad
Actually, there isn't anything that I don't like. It's a quality product all around.

The Bottom Line
This is one of the better board game-to-computer translations. Unlike Sorry, and Boggle, The Game of Life is a fun, entertaining game that is sure to please kids and adults. A great family game all around.

The Good
This is a computer conversion of the popular board game. I never played this one as a board game, personally; somehow I managed to miss it. That’s too bad, as it seems to be more fun to play than some of the silly games my friends and relatives were always dragging out during my youth. It’s light, accessible, and plays pretty fast, which keeps things from getting boring.

I won’t bother explaining the game mechanics, as I’m sure I’d just be telling most people what they already know. What I will do is comment on the quality of the translation. The bottom line is that it is very good. The graphics are cute and colorful. For the most part, I enjoyed the cinematics and one-panel cartoons that pop up when players land on the various squares. The game’s sense of humor leans on the simple and silly side, which is very appropriate for the “kids of all ages” demographic that Life clearly aims to please.
I rarely laughed out loud at the game’s jokes, but they usually warranted at least a smile.

I usually hate the sound in games, but not in this one. The in-game announcer voice is very well done. Sound effects are also good (check out the very realistic “buzzing” noise of the spinning wheel!). But the real highlight here is the musical soundtrack, which changes the style of tune based on the decade in which you are playing. So you’ll eventually go from the “Happy Days” rock of the 1950s, to the Beatles pop of the 1960s, to the disco-funk-folk of the 1970s, to the New Wave of the 1980s, to the Gin Blossoms/Counting Crows alt-rock of the 1990s, to the techno/dance-pop of the 2000s. The various styles pretty much all make sense (except maybe the last one), and they’re actually worth listening to—at least for a while, anyway.

Finally, Life has multiplayer options. I haven’t ever actually used them, though, so I can’t really comment on them.

The Bad
I find the big-headed, 3D-doll character graphics to be ugly and a little bit disturbing. I guess they are supposed to be funny, but for some reason they just creep me out.

Some (but not many) of the voices are annoying or poorly done.

I suspect this game is much more fun to play against human opponents. I haven’t played it that way yet, but now I’ve practiced, so I’ll be ready if I ever get the chance!

The last thing I’ll say is that this game is nothing too deep or satisfying; there just isn’t a whole lot of thought or strategy to it. Life really seems to be more about luck than skill. So come to think of it, maybe it’s a lot like real life in that way…

The Bottom Line
A good translation of a family-friendly board game. Recommended for the young and young at heart.