Reel Deal Casino Gold Rush – PC – Review

If there is one thing I can say
with certainty, it’s that I know how to gamble. No, I didn’t say I know how to
win, but I know how to gamble. And since I am not a wealthy man, nor am I soon
to be from benefit of an inheritance, it’s best I scratch my gambling itch
with the next best thing. That being the abiltiy to play gambling games
without the potential of losing my home. 

Now I can honestly say that I have
played darn near every game in the Reel Deal series and do so regularly. Their
series of slot machine titles is a great source of entertainment for my family
and whenever I do get a rare chance to go to a casino for real, I often warm
up by playing the games featured in the Reel Deal casino series. Trust me,
there is nothing worse to other players than when a person who has no idea
what they are doing sits down at a table and then begins slowing up the tempo
of the game or playing poorly so it affects the other players. A perfect
example of this would be if someone took a hit on a 13 or 14 when the dealer
is showing a 6 in blackjack. And for those of you who don’t know, this is not
a smart move since the odds are the down card is a face card and the chances
of the dealer busting and everyone at the table winning are strongest.

Now when you load this game on
your rig, you will notice that if you have had other Reel Deal games on there,
it updates and shows that your family of Casinos is growing larger. Not
exactly the reason to buy the game, but hey, I thought it was worth
mentioning. Entering your casino you are given a stipend and then allowed to
ply your trade on the casino floor.  If you are like me, you will start off at
the Blackjack table and try and really pad your cash roll. From there I
ususally go over to the Texas hold em’ table and see if I can make a move to
get some real cash. If it fails then I go to the roulette table. If I do
well at the poker table then I may try playing at some of the slot machines.
Now if you have played any of the slot machines in the series you will
understand why they can be so addictive. Since the casino compendium only
features 11 machines, you would be better off going to the slot titles in the
same family. Otherwise, you can play any one of the over 30 gambling games,
and trust me, it is to your benefit to try playing some games you are not
familiar with since half the fun of this title is learning the new gambling
games. And a word to the wise, there isn’t a game that is so complicated you
cannot learn.

"It may look complicated, but 2 billion
people already know how to play."

What makes this title a bit more
exciting than previous titles in this vein is the introduction of the sports
and race book. Using fake money (the same you use on the casino floor) you
can go online with this title and wage fake money on actual sporting events.
Want to bet on this weeks World Series? You can, want to bet on this Sunday’s
football games? You can. You can even bet on horse races and greyhound races
that are occuring all over the country. Pretty slick, and the fact that it is
only fake money gives you all sorts of new challenges without any risk. Online
play is free but to fully experience all there is offered costs you $7.99 a
year. Really not that bad considering this is already a value-priced title.

The graphics are pretty much on
par with all of the other games in the series. There isn’t anything
graphically demanding in this title and most systems in operation nowadays can
run it. The graphics aren’t bad, but because the game is primarily involving
table games there isn’t much demand for eye candy. The game does a fine job
for what is being done. Now as you get better and better at the games, you
begin winning trophies for your exceptional play. Think of it as a bonus as
you work your way to the Grand Championship the coup de grace of the game.

 
 "Faro, the game played by James
Bond in Octopussy, or was that Never say Never?"

The sounds you hear are the same
you have heard before. The flick of the cards being dealt, the noises from the
slot machines, the dice crashing on the table all sound well and good, there
is nothing in this title that makes you weep for the sound produced, but hey,
it’s a decent and ample amount of sound effects.

The game features only the most
popular of the gambling games, including:

Honestly, I have not been able to
play every game available, the title is that big, there is an awful lot to
like about Gold Rush and those of you out there curious about some of the more
obscure gambling games can really learn them well with this one.

Gameplay: 7.8
The games are easy to learn and
easy to control with the mouse, moving around, walking to different tables,
all simple.

Graphics: 6.8
Ample graphics for what we are
dealing with, it doesn’t need to be fancy, just legible and non-eye burning.

Sound: 6.8
Again, ample but nothing so
fantastic that you would write home to mom about it, even if she was a pit
boss in Atlantic city.

Difficulty: Medium
You know, it’s all how you choose
to play. There are real world odds and dream world odds on some of the games,
but playing the live sports betting is as real as it gets.

Concept: 7.5
The idea of a casino game is
nothing new, but the online gambling that doesn’t use real money is a surefire
way to get some players online.

Overall: 7.2
I like these titles, they always bring something new as they come
out, sometimes it’s not so big, but this time I think they really made a leap
forward with the book betting.