Monopoly Millionaire

In these post-financial meltdown times, you'd think that a game casting you in the role of a money-grabbing fat cat - with the aim of making a killing on the property market - would be as popular as George Osborne.

Yet Monopoly is as popular, and as flash with its cash, as ever.

Consider this latest digital take on the money-mad boardgame. If anything, Monopoly Millionaire ups the bling (I hate myself for using that word) factor, taking out traditional elements like facility companies and replacing them with the trappings of wealth and a large slice of luck.

Most people would say that Monopoly doesn't need tinkering with. It's the perfect boardgame. Sure, we can forgive all the Star Wars special editions and modern reworkings, mainly because they don't tinker with the core formula at all.

Monopoly Millionaire retains the basic Monopoly gameplay - you still go around a board, landing on and purchasing property, building houses, claiming rent, and passing Go for a whopping bonus.

But there's a new random element that sacrifices depth for instant kicks and a speedy resolution. Here you can play to either $1 million or $2 million - neither of which will take you too long to achieve.

Now, when you land on a fresh property, not only do you get the chance to buy it but you also get a random Fortune card. These can give you an immediate advantage, like a bonus cash injection, or a card to use at a later point - like the ability to force through a trade.

Such elements certainly help to push through those awkward moments in every Monopoly game when nobody's willing to trade and you end up just going through the motions. But it also feels less skilful, somehow.

Another new element is the ability to level-up your playing piece, which generally means you get more money when you get those bonus cards. But it can also penalise you more when your luck turns.

Other than this, it's Monopoly as you know and love/hate it (delete as appropriate). We're not big fans of the busy presentation, with messages and movement updates popping up in quick succession. It can be a little bewildering, and it looks a little cheap.

That's Monopoly Millionaire in a nutshell, really. It's the nouveau riche of the Monopoly range - full of shiny trinkets and in a rush to make an impression, but lacking the class and sophistication of the old order.