Monopoly and city building Sim fans will fall in love with this game. "Monopoly Tycoon" is a mixture of the board game and "SimCity". You'll have to build businesses on blocks named after properties on the board game. Buy property through auctions, and eventually own a monopoly.

Gameplay
You can play in either single-player mode or multiplayer mode. In the single-player mode, you will have to compete against the computer in scenarios. There are 16 different scenarios, each with 3 difficulty levels. You can't play multiplayer on one computer, because the time is continuance, so there is no way to switch players. If you want to play against a human player, you'll have to play through the Internet or LAN.

The game has, of course, changed from the board game. You don't just simply buy St. James and start building businesses. You build businesses on a property and so can your competitor. However, you can lease the block and have an auction for it. If you win, the competitors that have businesses on the property will now have to pay you rent. You can also buy out businesses for a much lower rate when you own the block.

The game begins in 1930 and continues to the present. As the times changes, so do the buildings and the businesses you can have. In 1980, one of the new businesses you can have is a computer store. In 1950, the new businesses available are a sports store, music store, delicatessen, and a fast food outlet.

And yes, the chance cards are still part of the game; except now you have the option of whether you want to "draw" one. There are chance cards that allow you to mess with your competitors. You can inflate their prices, make their leases expire early, create bad publicity or force one of their blocks to auction. There are many other types of chance cards, ones that will cause you to lose or gain money, or get a utility refund.

Owning the railroads or utilities never gave you much of an advantage over the other players. Well, this had changed in "Monopoly Tycoon." People need to travel, so they use the railroads; hence, more money for you. Competitors will have to pay you for utilities that you own, like water, gas, electricity and telecoms.

You must be wondering what other kinds of businesses you can build by now. Well, here's a short list that will hopefully satisfy your curiosity.

• Travel Agency
• Ice Cream Parlor
• Toy Shop
• Butcher Shop
• Grocery Store
• Jewelry Store
• Cinema
• Health Club
• Video Store
• Pharmacy

To buy a property, first you will have to win an auction. Yes, an auction. I know that I never actually had an auction when playing the board game, but in "Monopoly Tycoon" it's essential to your business empire. Each of the computers have a very different personality, so depending on who you are playing, you may find it is very easy or very difficult to win the auction.

Graphics
"Monopoly Tycoon" has some awesome graphics. The city goes through night and day cycles. It's very neat to watch the sunrise and change the coloring of the city. At night the city is lit up with lights and stoplights. There are many views to the city. You can easily move around the city, and look at the buildings at almost any angle you want.
ScreenShots

Sound
The sound is not the best I've heard, but it's not the worst. With or without the sound, the game is great.

Overall
Monopoly fans are sure to enjoy this, especially if they already like Sim games. It's sure to keep you playing for a long time. Unfortunately, you will eventually beat the one-person scenarios it comes with. But there are always multiplayer games that are easily found on the Internet. I recommend this game to anyone with a love for Monopoly and city building games.

Minimum System Requirements

• Windows 95/98/ME
• Pentium 233 MHz or higher
• 64 MB RAM
• 90 MB hard drive space free
• 4x CD-ROM
• 8 MB Windows 95/98/ME DirectX 8 compatible video card
• DirectX 8 compatible sound card
• DirectX 8