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Okay, I’ll be the first to admit…I love sitting in front of a TV/monitor and spending fake money. I’ve always had a soft spot for casino games, ever since Vegas Games on the NES. I’ve also been a fan of the Sierra PC version of Hoyle Casino as well. So, when I heard Sierra was bringing this classic game to the consoles, I was ecstatic. Now I could get my gambling fix without leaving the couch and crouching around my monitor. Does it live up to my own developed hype? No…and here’s why. Graphically Hoyle Casino comes off as fair to good. While sporting colorful images of roulette tables and slot machines, the animations just don’t seem to be as smooth as its PC brother. If you’ve never seen the PC version, you’ll no doubt consider this one of the best looking Casino titles to date, but I expected more (Especially since the PC version is 20 dollars cheaper). I truly wish you could walk around the casino and interact more, but for what it is, it’s done very nicely.
Audio is a big plus here as the machine sounds and atmosphere is identical to a large-scale casino. Believe me I know. In addition to accurate sounds for cards, roulette wheels, and dice, players also have personality and voice samples. I’m not just talking about the dealer either. Each of your opponents in poker or other card games have a brain, and never cease to let you know what’s on their mind. This is a nice effect and makes the game more interesting to play. Game play is touch and go and really would’ve benefited more from the DC mouse. The controller, while practical, isn’t very comfortable in this type of menu system. You can really tell it’s a PC game port, as the controls stay true to life from the desktop version. Presentation is the score-crushing blow that should have had more time for ironing. While the menus are bright, colorful, and for the most part easy to read, the game "craps out" in the loading department. I have the PC version and it doesn’t suffer from these load times, and darn it, neither should the DC version. Honestly folks, between games and menu screens you are treated to ungodly 30 second load times. No joke. My question is why? It’s not like the game is loading a masterful engine like Shenmue, so what is the freaking hold up? These kinks really should have been caught. The lack of online play is also a bummer as the PC version offers this as well. While you can play up to four players, online experience can’t be beat. The bottom line is this game smells of a rush job, as even Sierra’s Maximum Pool supports online play. Truthfully though, compared to Caesar’s Palace, this game is the best Casino game money can buy for the consoles... flaws and all.
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