iPhone Reviews 2.0

iTunes Link

The Game of Life is a boardgame by Electronic Arts. $4.99

According to the movie Forrest Gump, 'Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what your gonna get.' Luckily for those with The Game of Life you can choose your path in life, from a big career to having a family. Its all in your hands.

I have never heard of a board game called The Game of Life, but after playing this game I am really tem

pted to go and find one. Basically the Game of Life is an adventure board game where you have to travel from a starting point to the end point in the game. The game is in a full 3D environment, which is quite spectacular and looks a heap better than any of their other previous board games made. For once this game is playable in single player mode, as all their board games are, but this one isn't actually fun when you aren't playing your friends. This is a big plus because it increases the number of times that you can actually play through the game. Now lets take the journey we call The Game of Life.

The Game of Life, as said before is a real life board game that has been transformed onto both the PC and iPhone in a brand new 3D version of the game. This is arguably better than the real version, as a full 3D environment trumps a flat piece of cardboard any day in my eyes. While they aren't the crispest graphics I have seen on my iPhone, they are certainly done well and keep the fun nature of the title.

The Game of Life has a very smooth frame rate and even with the full 3D game I experienced no lag or slow parts on an entire game using a 1st Gen iPod Touch. The game is super responsive and really needs to be applauded for how good it is. If the game was any less I would have to be severely disappointed, as Electronic Arts are the No.1 developers on the App Store and need to keep up their reputation, as they do time after time.

The Game of Life is fairly self explanatory as most board games are, especially these electronic editions. There is not much required in playing this game, with you being required to 'spin' as such and make some choices rarely. Instead of using die in this game you have a spinning device that looks like something you will find on a combination lock. There are the number one to ten on it and you spin it as much as you want with your finger before letting it land on a number.

The rest of the game is easy to use and doesn't require much energy to use. The other computers (if you choose to include any) move fairly quickly if you click double speed or you can press skip each time. Sometimes on the board you come to intersections and must choose a path to take. Apart from that this game is all about sitting back, relaxing, and watching your life flash past your eyes.

The Game of Life is the first boardgame from Electronic Arts that I have found addicting to play with just a solo game again the computer. The aim of The Game of Life is to get from the start of the board game and spin your way through many obstacles and life experience to your retiremint at the end of the boardgame. The game isn't as simple as that, with many obstacles such as taxes and fines to pay after earning your good job and payrises. Luckily you can earn LIFE tokens, which are for things like having a baby and becoming a grandfather.

This sounds like quite a boring game but what makes every run unique is the path in life that you choose. From the start you get to choose whether you start out with a job or go to college and hope to get a higher paying job. From there you can many more intersections where you must make a choice in life. Do you want a good family or a big career? Do you want to have a risky life or play it safe and secure? The choice is up to you. The aim of the game is to have the most money at the end of the game. To do this it basically relies on what job you have, with the LIFE tokens and other things not really too important to the outcome of the game.

While this is fun as a solo game. You also get a thrill out of playing this with some of your best mates. You can find a laugh as you find Bill spends three turns doing college only to end up as an Exotic Dancer. This game is Pass n Play or over the same local WiFi for a bit easier game. Either way you will have an enjoyable time playing this.

Like other Electronic Arts games such as Monopoly: H&N, Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit, these games and for enjoyment only and have no achievements to gain. Saying that you will still find hours of enjoyment playing The Game of Life to try and be as successful as possible, or just more successful than your best friend.

Once again Electronic Arts have put in the supreme graphics and amazing gameplay that will both gamers from the original boardgame and newcomers like myself alike. This is one game to seriously consider buying as it is worth the $4.99 asking price.