Intelligent Game Reviews

For years the World Series of Poker has been held at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino. The entrance fee is $10,000 and the winner walks away with $1 million. In Casino Game Pak you are an aspiring gambler, and you want a shot at the big money. There is a minor setback however, you only have $5,000. It’s time to fly to Vegas, $5,000 in hand, to make your fortune.

Game Play

There are two parts to the Casino Game Pak. The first is a tutorial which explains such games as Blackjack, Caribbean Stud Poker, and Video Poker. The second part is the World Series of Poker (WsoP). If you want to beat the best, you have to play the best.

The Blackjack Tutorial contains basic and advanced strategies for single and multiple deck games. It also includes strategy tables, strategy practice, and card counting drills to sharpen your skills.

The Caribbean Stud Poker Tutorial contains programmable play recommendations and strategy and error warnings. You can also view a full motion video tutorial and online strategy guide.

The Video Poker Tutorial shares expert strategy tips from expert Lenny Frome. You get strategies from five different type of video poker including Las Vegas Jacks or Better, and Deuces Wild.

The WSoP is a combination of 16 different types of games. Just like the Las Vegas Casinos, you can play Craps, Roulette, Blackjack and even Keno. This is all with a purpose, to enter the biggest tournament of no limit Texas Hold’em in the world.

The rest of the game review will be concentrated on the World Series of Poker. The Tutorial games are just that, tutorials. They are inferior in game play and graphically. I would recommend, even if you don’t want to play the WsoP, to create a character and play with the $5,000 you start with. The games are much more fun.

To begin, you select an existing character or make one up, thus ACE is born. Once your name is selected you are shown a cheesy graphic of a plane flying and a steward telling you that you are arriving in Vegas. You exit the plane and you see the baggage terminal. You can walk off the screen and buy a Taxi ride for $25, or you can talk to the chauffer and he will give you a free limo ride. By this time you still will not be over the graphics, but that’s another section of the review.

Assuming you are still on the road to the WSoP, you have several options. 16 to be exact. The easiest way to get yourself the 10 grand you need is to play a satellite Tournament. These tournaments require an entrance fee of $1,125 and you get $2,000 worth of chips. You play until you are out or the last person at the table. The winner makes $10 thousand and are thus ready to take on the big boys.

You can also get your money at the other gambling tables Binion’s has to offer. All are well represented and deliver an excellent game. If you have never played the fast paced game of craps before, now is a good time to take a look. It can be very confusing at times, but hey, its not real money.

Computer AI

When you are playing any game other than poker, there will not be any other players. I thought this was a little disapointing, but I soon got over it. I know how someone playing 3rd base (that’s the person on the far left) can really ruin a hand.

When you play the poker games you “buy” into the game, which just means how much money you want on the table in the form of chips. You can leave a table at any time, aside from a tournament game. I was very impressed with the AI and they even bluff from time to time.

Graphics, Sounds, etc.

All I can say is cheesy. The graphics remind me of Leisure Suit Larry, so if you like that style you may like this too. If asked what I would do to improve it however, I couldn’t give you an answer. The game is restricted to one casino so there is no need to represent different sites. The screen is only two dimensional but you can go up and down the elevator.

When you get right down to it, the important thing is the games. They are great. You can control the action using the keyboard or the mouse so if you are playing craps you can just press ‘R’ to roll. This is very helpful as the mouse can be clumsy at times.

The sound is average, nothing to really get excited about, but I did not expect too much. The dealers on the craps tables in Vegas are some of the funniest there are… calling each roll with flair and a little diddy “Four the hard way, the roll is four.” It is an important detail that the developers did not overlook.

The Verdict

Whether you would like this game depends on what you are looking for. It certainly is not something you would want to buy for the adventure. If you want a game that supplies 16 different Casino style games, that just happen to all be tied together with a plot then you would like it. If you buy it for the challenge of winning the $1 million dollar pot of gold, then you have a long way ahead of you. It’s not a must have, but certainly a game to consider if you like casino games.

Deluxe Casino Pak Screenshots

Arriving in style at the casino.	Time to play with the pros and see if you’ve got all the right stuff.
Learn from the experts with the included video tutorials.	Counting cards is easy on the computer… don’t get caught in a real casino.

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