Ce-Lo Review

Def Jam's Ce-Lo, from AG Interactive and MENT, transplants the popular dice game from hip-hop lore onto your mobile phone. Because Ce-Lo is predominantly a game of chance, this isn't a very interactive betting experience--but the developer has managed to include enough options and street flavor to make it fun to play.

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Ce-Lo is basically a variation on the classic game of craps, wherein you toss three dice and try to beat the bank's "point." In the one-player game, the bank is randomly decided and sets the ante, and anyone who wants to play has to wager that amount against the bank's point. The point is established when two of the dice come up with the same number; the remaining number is the point. If the next player rolls a point under the bank's, the bank takes his or her ante, but if the bank's point gets beaten, the money flows in the opposite direction. Rolling the same point results in a push, and nothing will happen. In addition to these basic rules, there are a few special rolls that result in other outcomes. Specifically, if the bank rolls a point of 1 at the beginning of a round, he or she busts and must pay the ante to all players automatically; a combination of 1, 2, 3 is an automatic bust; 4, 5, 6 is Ce-Lo, meaning you take the entire pot instantly; and rolling three of a kind will beat any point (although you won't take everyone's money). The first player other than the bank to roll Ce-Lo assumes banking duties at the beginning of the next round.

As you can see, Ce-Lo is a simple game with few controls--all you really do is hold down the action button to shake up the dice, release to throw, and make menu selections. Although most of the result depends on Lady Luck, there are a few things you can do to play smarter. For instance, you can challenge other players to a side bet during your turn. A menu pops up with some betting options--like whether the next player will roll below point, bust, or roll Ce-Lo--and a choice for the amount. The other players then decide whether they want to take you up on your scam; occasionally, you'll be able to trick a CPU player into taking up a stupid bet. Other than that, it's a good idea to keep a close eye on your antes, because some CPU players will try to take you out in a single round, using a huge ante. It pays to sit some rounds out, in other words.

The coolest aspect of Ce-Lo is its career mode, where you roll against the titans of the game, from the Midwest to the East Side. Every region of the country has a couple of environments, like the back alley and the tour bus, as well as a boss player. If you beat the boss, you get a new piece of furniture for your "crib," letting you show off your gambling prowess to admiring friends and family. Plus, Ce-Lo features a pass-and-play multiplayer mode for two to four players, if you want to demonstrate in a more direct manner.

Ce-Lo's presentation isn't bad on the LG VX7000. For sound, there's a bumpin' MIDI ditty at the title screen, as well as dice-rolling sound effects. The graphics are pretty rudimentary--there's only one dice-rolling animation--but it looks clean, and everyone's dressed up in a "bling"-themed gold-chains-and-cash style. It'll put you in the mood for winning.

Def Jam's Ce-Lo is a cute little pastime that'll probably interest anyone who's into the hip-hop scene. There's not much to it, especially if you compare it to more complex games like Texas hold 'em, but it's fun for a while.