I confess I had small interest in casino games before I purchased this. I was truly trying to find something that had poker or 21, and perusing on Amazon this game was inexpensive. ( My interest in a PC card game was basically impressed by Windows Soliatire and Hearts of all things ) The clear difference this has is that the casino is modelled in correct 3D. However this does not mean you can walk about the casino in the way you can with say a first person shooter game. There are some “canned” sequences ; for instance if you would like to play Carribean Stud Poker, you can click it’s icon and the view will change to a “fly by” view sweeping thru the casion to agree on the Caribbean Stud Poker table.
The sole control you have over the 3D is to make a choice between one of 4 preset perspectives.
However regardless of the constraints here, there’s a kind of “doll’s house” appeal in watching the animated PC folk walk about the casino, and you will soon begin to notice small things about the casino that you did not notice before ; there is a bar, a statistical data screen that folks walk up to and read, aquariums and so on.
All taken with all the casino is reasonably sumptuously detailed. After a bit naturally you will likely see all there is to see graphically, but it is for some time it is fun to notice details here and there. There are approximately nine other speaking characters in the casino who will either join you at table games or play against you in poker, and all are well animated and voice acted well. Some are reasonably standard, 1 or 2 are stereotypes ( gruff retired oilman, ditzy cheerleader etc ) and 1 or 2 are just exasperating ( well that is practical I imagine ) There’s also some background muzak, replete with zylophones, double bass and saxophone, which though I might usually steer well clear of, it really works to give some atmosphere. I have since played Hoyle Casino 2003 and there are one or two variations in the games.
It is a case of one step forward and one step back I suspect. In contrast to the blurb there is not any horse-racing or Keno in Casino 3D. And there’s essentially less slots in Casino 3D than in Casion 2003. On the positive side though there are rather more video one armed bandits, and as these are more engaging ( IMO ) than the mechanical slots it is a sufficient trade off I suspect.
There’s also a cash wheel, but this is badly desgined as the gambling layout almsot absolutely obscures the peg at the very top. Certainly the joys of the cash wheel is watching whewre the peg will stop at? A missed oppurtunity. However if your notion of a casino is the glamourous and a little perilous sector of James Bond, where you can face a competitor over baccarat with a pretty girl at your side, you will be unsatisfied. Hoyle’s Casino 3D portrays the more tacky, Vegas type of betting.
A nice example are the slots. Names like Ruby Brook , Cold Money , Sugar daddy. And one of the video slots is known as Ma Money , with symbols portraying enough traditional Egyptian cliches to make a genuine Egyptologist weep tears of disappointment. The high point of the game for me is perhaps the poker against the simulated PC folks. Though there are video poker machines I found them a poor substitute for “real” poker ( if that sounds correct ) There are numerous different varieties, ( Draw, Stud, Texas Hold ‘em, Omaha Hold ‘ em as well as the high low fluctuations ) and bluffing does really work against your opponents! Maybe the key criticisn of casino games I have is that in the end virtually all are games of luck, with tiny decision-making. Infrequently I suspect many desire that, after a tough day you do not always wish to tax your cortex with anything demanding.
Place some chips on the roulette table, stop breathing and wait for the result.It’s fun. After a week or two of playing this though , I did find the absence of decision-making made me crave for something rather more thought comprehensive. Perhaps a bit similar to banqueting on chocolate and getting a sugar rush it’s great for a bit, but there’s only a certain amount you can take. And though it is correct that if you lose big money, you will not get hurt as the cash isn’t real, it’s simply PC code, the opposite is true also, you can spend a few hours an hours betting to get back your cash, but at the day’s end you are hard-earned prize are still just PC code. Overall I found this to be an enjoyable product, with tasty graphics and a slick interface.