Thu 01 Sep 2011
App Reviews and News
The Game of Life Classic Edition - Review
Just what does The Game of Life entail?
You could think of The Game of Life as something of an extremely watered-down version of The Sims. There’s no dress up your house, or kissing your best friend (who also happens to be the same gender as you), or peeing your pants because the bathroom door was removed to make you suffer.
There is though, a general life progression in a similar vein, in that your character will get married, have kids, get a job, and experience all of life’s other mundane, er, I mean exciting aspects. Being a board game though, this progression is out of your control and up to the whims of the capricious board game gods (who have it out for me, I swear!).
How faithful is the transition to the iPhone?
The Game of Life Classic Edition looks pretty good actually, with fully 3-D graphics and swooping camera angles and zoom to highlight significant events. It’s quite well done, and even more dressed up than the iPhone version of Monopoly. The game controls very easily with touch controls, as there isn’t a whole lot of tasks to perform other than spinning the wheel of life (which functions as the die), and taping the occasional box that pops up to keep the game moving along.
Like that Monopoly version, this digital edition of the game has also been given some welcome speed boosts that greatly speed up play, and actually make it possible to complete a game within a reasonable amount of time, a sticking point with the real McCoy. You can quickly bypass the turns of your AI opponents and turn off the additional animations and gimmicks if desired. And of course, the banking duties are taken care of for you, which cuts out one of the biggest timesinks of the real game (though also one of its most hilariously contentious).
A life less lonely?
The biggest glaring omission is the lack of WiFi multiplayer, which is an unexpected oversight from an outfit like EA, and cuts down on your gaming possibilities with real players. There is a pass and play option for multiple players, but that does of course require you to have one or more friends gathered around your iPhone. Despite that, this is a fun version of the classic board game, and a nice distraction to pass the time.
Platform – iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (iOS 3.0 or later).
Genre – Board Game
Price - $0.99
RATING – 4.5/5
You could think of The Game of Life as something of an extremely watered-down version of The Sims. There’s no dress up your house, or kissing your best friend (who also happens to be the same gender as you), or peeing your pants because the bathroom door was removed to make you suffer.
There is though, a general life progression in a similar vein, in that your character will get married, have kids, get a job, and experience all of life’s other mundane, er, I mean exciting aspects. Being a board game though, this progression is out of your control and up to the whims of the capricious board game gods (who have it out for me, I swear!).
How faithful is the transition to the iPhone?
The Game of Life Classic Edition looks pretty good actually, with fully 3-D graphics and swooping camera angles and zoom to highlight significant events. It’s quite well done, and even more dressed up than the iPhone version of Monopoly. The game controls very easily with touch controls, as there isn’t a whole lot of tasks to perform other than spinning the wheel of life (which functions as the die), and taping the occasional box that pops up to keep the game moving along.
Like that Monopoly version, this digital edition of the game has also been given some welcome speed boosts that greatly speed up play, and actually make it possible to complete a game within a reasonable amount of time, a sticking point with the real McCoy. You can quickly bypass the turns of your AI opponents and turn off the additional animations and gimmicks if desired. And of course, the banking duties are taken care of for you, which cuts out one of the biggest timesinks of the real game (though also one of its most hilariously contentious).
A life less lonely?
The biggest glaring omission is the lack of WiFi multiplayer, which is an unexpected oversight from an outfit like EA, and cuts down on your gaming possibilities with real players. There is a pass and play option for multiple players, but that does of course require you to have one or more friends gathered around your iPhone. Despite that, this is a fun version of the classic board game, and a nice distraction to pass the time.
Platform – iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad (iOS 3.0 or later).
Genre – Board Game
Price - $0.99
RATING – 4.5/5
