Gamer reviews for THE GAME OF LIFE
How Well Do You Play "The Game of Life"?
Welcome to The Game of Life. For those lovely youths out there, this app is an adaptation of what historians refer to as a "board game" and what teenagers of a long gone era referred to as another type of board entirely. The game has been around since the actual Milton Bradley patented it in 1860 and while it started off as a strategy game and the world's first "parlor game", it has now metamorphosized into a cacophony of luck and wacky human caricature.
The game costs $.99 on Android and iPhone/iPod, while iPad users are charged $3.99. The game is also available at every Chili's across America on their new food-distraction tablets for a usage fee of $.99. The game is ad free and offers no in-game purchases, gameplay bonuses or game achievements. You will play The Game of Life purely for your own personal satisfaction.
Ready? Let's spin to see who goes first...
Gameplay is generic and straightforward. The game will even automatically play those pesky "Exemption" and "Share the Wealth" cards on your behalf if it feels like you are being too neighborly with them. This feature is a little frustrating if you are trying to play with younger kids, unless you are trying to teach them that LIFE isn't fair in which case well-played, passive-aggressive parent. There is a single-player mode for the folks who can only convince themselves that playing is a good idea, a Pass-And-Play multi-player mode that keeps the turn-taker centered on the screen, and a multi-player Party Mode that allows players to choose their screen orientation without moving the device.
The graphics are bright, clean and detailed enough to make this the only version of the game that will ever feel submersive at all. The app developers have gone out of their way to put You in that mini van, swerving and honking as You pass by your opponents towards the lovely estate that is Retirement. The first-person perspective camera angle that zooms you around the board is genuinely neat. And the addition of a purple car isn't a bad touch either.
The music is decent: jazzy but static, but as a gift for all of you who were privileged enough to enjoy a real turn at LIFE, a well-spun wheel will still be rewarded with a satisfying click.
For a simple game, however, it is reasonably customizable. Hate the music, but love the click? There's an option for that! Only speak French? There is an option for that! Hate American English? Try UK English! Overall, there are five different language settings, spots for between 1 - 6 players, six different colored mini vans, and 5 male and 5 female avatars that can be named any seven letter word you choose.
As a whole, this current incarnation of the classic trendsetting game is absolutely as good as it has ever been. Whether you feel nostalgic for times past or just happened to be in the market for an electronic version of a board game, you won't exactly be disappointed with this version (anymore than you might be anyway with the physical game.)