The Game of Life: Path to Success
by Amanda Nettgen
(USA)
Quick verdict
Game:
The Game of Life: Path to Success
Download from:
GameHouse (FULL FREE version when you open a trial Fun Ticket account!)
Rating:
3/5
The Game of Life: Path to Success is more of a time management/Sims game than a board one. It’s an interesting take on the Life theme.
What's it about?
You start off by choosing your car color (sorry, you’re stuck with a station wagon) and customizing your blue or pink peg person. Decorating your playing pawn is unique to Path to Success, so go wild and select from a small variety of hats and accessories.
Path to Success follows your created character as he transitions though these life phases: graduating college, getting a job, buying a house, marrying his lovebird, having a baby, and retiring. It’s not something you finish in one sitting but rather, complete over time via levels.
The whole gameplay centers around you completing tasks for other characters for points. It’ll be a few seconds when each new level loads before the demands start coming in. Hug your mom, for example, or make and bring your bother a cup of coffee.
Thought bubbles appear over the other pegs’ heads with their request. Some will have a Life tile in the lower corner of their wish, which you collect upon successfully finishing the work and turn in later for upgrades (Upgrade Man will come to the door while you’re playing, bestowing the opportunity for faster machines or a faster you!).
The Game of Life: Path to Success uses point and click mechanics like Diner Dash. You can queue up tasks by clicking on them in the order you want them done.
Often your friend or family member will have a coin above their head and if you click in time, you’ll get a momentary speed boost and bonus points! Whenever you’re not being their slave, the people in the house will whistle musical tunes ("If You’re Happy and You Know It"?).
Sometimes you have to go and collect an object to bring to your requester, like an apple or newspaper. It trails along behind you on the floor (guess your recipients don’t mind). You can hold up to three items to start (a trash can is available if you pick up more than your "no arms" can carry).
Cleaning up after your slave masters is optional, although you’ll snag extra points if you take the time to load the dishwasher or recycle a fax. Other tasks will require two steps, like selecting and putting in a movie, or grabbing a chicken from the fridge and roasting it.
A good strategy is to pre-make things like coffee, faxes and chickens to save time and therefore score more points. Your friends can get impatient if you ignore them, and they’ll occasionally flash red if their need is an emergency (the upside is you’ll score inflated points).
There is an Expert score in addition to the Goal kind for each level; go back and try to get expert on ‘em all for replay value. Each level adds and explains new tasks, with you advancing to the next point in your life every ten moves or so. Every five levels you spin the spinner to earn a certain number of Share the Wealth cards to use in mini-games (one was to hit balloons with darts).
Other computer and video board games you might enjoy!
Battleship Fleet Command game (PC)
Blokus World Tour (PC)
Carcassonne board game (XBox 360)
Cafe Mahjongg (PC)
Clue Classic (PC and Mac)
Family Feud (PC game)
The Game of Life (PC)
The Game of Life, Yahtzee and Payday video game (GameBoy Advance)
The Game of Life: Path to Success (PC)
Hasbro Family Game Night (XBox 360 and Wii)
Hasbro Game of Life
Mahjongg XP Championship (PC)
Monopoly (PC game)
Monopoly 3 (PC)
XBox 360 Monopoly game
Risk board game (download for PC)
Risk 2 computer game (PC)
Scrabble (download for PC)
Scrabble Blast! (PC)
Scrabble Journey (PC)
Settlers of Catan (XBox 360)
Skip Bo Castaway Caper (PC)
Spongebob Atlantis Square Off
Spongebob Squarepants Monopoly (PC)
Ticket to Ride game (XBox 360)
Trivial Pursuit Silver Screen edition (PC)
Uno Undercover (PC)
Uno video game (XBox 360)
Wheel of Fortune (download for PC)
Yahtzee (download for PC)
Yahtzee Texas Holdem (PC)
Computer board games HQ
Pros and cons
This isn’t the board game of Life, but it has enough of the elements of the original take for it to be recognizable. It contains cute cartoon cut scenes and is helpful in that new items flash and has a level point meter that fills up like a thermometer as you reach your target score.
A very innovative aspect happens when you go to complete the final College level; the game has you juggle standing at a podium and "studying" with your other usual tasks. Get all of your studying in before time is up without neglecting the other characters to score an A+!
As far as negatives go, the house setting you play in doesn’t change, it just gets a few extensions. Doing nothing but point and click tasks over and over will grow boring for some.
The verdict
Game of Life: Path to Successwill amuse time management addicts and Sims fans, but for how long is dependent on an individual’s attention span. It’s worth maybe not a buy, but certainly a try.
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