If you've always wondered what lies beyond all those glittering facades on the Vegas Strip, or even if you just need a quick casino fix before your next trip to the desert, Hoyle Casino will provide at least some satisfaction. However, even die-hard casino game fans may ultimately find the game disappointing. Nearly indistinguishable from its immediate predecessor, last year's Hoyle Casino 2002, it certainly won't win any awards for originality. Nor will it captivate anyone interested in tests of skill, since the game features nothing but games of chance. Yet the biggest letdown for career gamblers may come after you've played for an hour or so and realized that gambling simply isn't as enjoyable without risking--and potentially winning--real cash.
Of the three sequels in Sierra's 2003 roster of four Hoyle-based games, Hoyle Casino features the fewest upgrades on its predecessor. In the latest installment, you'll find five new animated characters, a new multiple-line video poker variation, and a pair of games--video poker and blackjack--that may be uploaded and played on any Windows- or Palm-based handheld. Apart from those relatively meager additions, Hoyle Casino is identical to its precursor. And that probably won't be enough to draw in lots of return customers.
Newcomers should know that Hoyle Casino replicates 14 standard casino games, a healthy number by anyone's standards. And the games also include a seemingly limitless number of variations. The slot machine component alone, for example, features 10 single-line games, six multiple-line games, and four progressive games. All may be played at a variety of monetary levels, from nickel slots all the way up to those mysterious $1,000 machines normally kept behind velvet-covered barricades. But slots are just part of the equation.
Video gamblers will also be able to play 13 variations of $1, $5, $25, and $100 video poker machines and a variety of video blackjack units. The selection of table games encompasses traditional fare such as poker, craps, roulette and blackjack, as well as esoteric pastimes like pai gow poker, baccarat, and the over-the-top let it ride. Keno is just about as boring (and expensive) as it is in real life. Hoyle Casino even includes its own version of those nifty tabletop horse-racing games that have become all too rare on the real Las Vegas strip. Sierra has also generously enclosed an online tutorial, a comprehensive manual describing most everything you need to know about each game, and a bonus booklet detailing eight classic parlor pastimes that don't even need a computer to enjoy.
Despite its multitude of gaming options, many will undoubtedly find that watching a spinning slots drum or a pair of tumbling dice far less enthralling without real money on the line. Yet even if you love gambling enough to bear with virtual winnings, or if you just want an odds primer for your next Vegas sojourn, you may feel disenchanted by the game's presentation. It's not that Hoyle Casino is difficult to use. On the contrary, you can transport yourself from one section of the casino to another with just one or two clicks of the mouse, and Sierra has developed an intuitive gameplay and betting interface, and has kept the game's system requirements so minimal that even a fairly outdated computer is powerful enough to run the game smoothly. Unfortunately, the game won't permit a full install, instead leaving some of its animations and speech ensconced on the CD. As a result, you can expect a variety of annoying delays whenever the disc is accessed.
Regardless, the game simply looks dated. At 640x480, the resolution is grainy and comparatively indistinct. In fact, Microsoft's otherwise inferior Microsoft Casino, released in 2000, was cleaner and less prone to jagged outlines. Even the often-humorous characters generated via Sierra's trademark "facemaker" utility seem fuzzy and unclear.
And don't think for a minute that Hoyle Casino is some kind of 3D graphics powerhouse. In Hoyle Casino, you'll view the action from a first-person or an elevated above-the-table two-dimensional perspective that more often than not precludes any peripheral activity. Although you'll occasionally see an animated pair of dealer's hands as he distributes the cards across the table, you certainly you won't see waitresses hovering around to ply you with freebies, nor will you ever have the opportunity to cruise the casino with the aim of simply taking in the sights. And while your AI opponents do engage in conversation and perform simple animated gestures, they are viewed only as floating headshots.
The actual games, machines, and tables look generally realistic but lack any kind of panache. Don't expect too many fireworks when you hit big. However, Hoyle Casino's sound is quite good, with all the appropriate hustle and bustle of a real casino and seemingly authentic bells and whistles and spinning tumbler effects. The game also supports online play through the advertisement-filled flipside.com, although competing with other humans loses some of its luster when your mutual pastime is so very much based on luck. Furthermore, human foes can't speak like the game's talkative AI players.
If you enjoy the gambling aspect of casinos enough to play without money on the line, and if you haven't already availed yourself of any of this decade's prior Hoyle Casino editions, Hoyle Casino 2003 could be just the ticket. But if already own a previous game in the series, or you prefer 3D environments and games that test skill rather than chance, you'd be better off taking your bets elsewhere.
