You might think the rarest DS game is some hard-to-find Japanese import or a downloadable ROM that requires an emulator. Strangely enough, the most expensive DS game currently available (or not, as the case may be) is a four-pack of familiar board game fun.
Currently, Monopoly/Boggle/Yahtzee/Battleship 4 Game Fun Pack is only available on Amazon from third-party sellers, and the best deal hovers around $49.95. Out of only six eBay auctions, the cheapest Buy It Now price is $64.99 plus shipping, and bids are flying left and right.
So does the game live up to its hefty price tag and mythic status? The answer is simple: If you enjoy the traditional versions of the featured board games, you will greatly enjoy them here.
Battleship was a no-brainer for the DS. The shape of the handheld closely mimics the laptop-style playing field of the original game. Battleship also shines in a DS-against-DS match as satisfying explosions and firebombing sounds alert your opponent to the impending doom for their cruiser.
When you start up a new round of Boggle, scribbling the stylus on the screen shakes the letters over and over. When you let them drop into place, the word play begins. The stylus allows you to trace words on the screen, making for snappier gameplay than would ever be possible with the touchpad. Boggle is fun against an opponent or alone.
If you’ve ever played Monopoly on any other console, the DS version will feel very familiar to you. Though all of the games on this cartridge would have benefited from the addition of wireless online play, this member of the quartet felt the most dull without it. After all, what’s a game of Monopoly without someone to gloat to when they land on your Boardwalk with three hotels?
Yahtzee is the ugly stepchild of the pack. There’s just not much excitement in rolling the virtual dice over and over.
All in all, this pack is worth regular DS prices (in the $20 to $30 range), but it’s definitely not worthy of the hefty price tags it’s pulling in on Amazon and eBay. If you come across a copy at your local video game store, you should definitely snap it up and give it a spin—or maybe make a tidy resale profit.
