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Tag Archives: rubber stamps

Monopoly a fun surprise on Kindle

Further exploring the games I bought when EA put their Kindle games on sale for half off through New Year, I’ve spent some time with Monopoly for Kindle and I must admit that it’s more fun than I expected it to be. Perhaps it’s because all my other games on Kindle are either card games or word games – so it provides some much-needed variety.

Still, while Kindle is primarily an eReader and not a videogame platform, I was surprised how decently the game played and looked on Kindle. About the only missing feature is that it would be nice if there were a way for two Kindle owners to play via wireless connections, instead of pass-n-play.

But that’s not a feature in this version. Lots of reviews for EA products are rubber stamps of approval, but I’m a bit more careful. I’ll point out areas for improvement because I want to see even good games get better.

Monopoly exceeded my expectations on Kindle.

Bowling for Home

It’s buggy, it’s crowded, it has bland graphics, few options and some of the worst physics and collision detection I’ve encountered in any PS3 game. And yet, despite all that, the Bowling Alley on the public beta of PlayStation 3′s Home service has been more addictive than anything I’ve playing in years.

How addictive? Maybe not addictive enough to commemorate on rubber stamps, but certainly the Bowling Alley on Home has become a default destination for me every time I’ve fired up my PS3 for any reason.

Mostly, I think, it’s because of the incredible social aspect; every player is a real, live human being just like you, and the social aspect of getting to know your fellow players overcomes all the deficiencies of the Bowling Alley application.

Sure, there is plenty of room for improvements to be made; Home is rife with largely uncontrolled profanity, hate speech and other nasty talk. It is also wholly unequipped to deal with the near-constant sexual harassment that takes place in Home, especially to its female inhabitants. Frequently, bowling alleys will be filled with as many people getting up on your avatar’s personal space, dancing suggestively and ignoring requests to piss off. There is virtually no intervention by moderators, and no penalty system for acting, frankly, like an ass.

Yet despite all that… the Bowling Alley on Home has seen way more of me than anything else of late… even the excellent Prince of Persia title, which is a lovely game in and of itself.