GamePro Reviews WiiWare! (Page 5 of 5)

WiiWare Review: V.I.P. Casino Blackjack

By: Daniel Cowan

You know, I don't think anyone in the world likes Blackjack this much.

Do you love Blackjack enough to pay seven dollars to play it? Given the choice, I'd decline before I even knew any further details. While Blackjack can be fun in small doses or as part of a larger collection of casino games, it's still a fairly simplistic card game that won't hold your interest for long. There's some element of strategy involved -- carefully weighing your hand against the dealer's opening card is key to winning -- but after a few hands, you'll be ready to head off to the craps table.

Thunder in Mr. Paradise

V.I.P. Casino Blackjack could be the best Blackjack simulator ever made and it still wouldn't be worth seven bucks. Unfortunately, it doesn't excel in any way, even within in its niche. There are no options to customize characters beyond their defaults, and there aren't even any alternate tables or card decks to spice things up. It's just you -- a beefy, vaguely humanoid gambler named "Mr. Paradise" -- against a dealer in a small, enclosed room. There, you will play Blackjack until the world ends. Oh, and there's an aquarium.

The creepy lifelessness of it all can be mitigated somewhat with the addition of up to three human opponents in a barebones multiplayer mode, but otherwise, the most fun you'll have with V.I.P. Casino Blackjack is in watching Mr. Paradise slowly clap his hands like one of those cymbal-playing toy monkeys whenever he wins a hand. It plays a competent game of Blackjack, sure, but don't you want more for your seven dollars?

PROS: Convenient one-handed play via the Wii Remote's D-pad; Achievement system provides mild replay incentive.
CONS: Your attention span will die in ten minutes; only one save slot; Mr. Paradise is made of lumpy meat.

GRAPHICS: 3.00
SOUND: 4.00
CONTROL: 5.00
FUN FACTOR: 2.00

Comments [38]

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Ahoy_and_Avast

Shovelware? Some them maybe but I personally think this sort of distribution is great for the industry. Lots of great games that would never see the light of day are going to get a fair shot thanks to this, the PS3's network and the XBLA Marketplace.

ryu_b

Dayum, FF:Life as a King got a 4.5. Looks like I'll download even more. Considering a 4.5 rated game shovelware is pretty ignorant if you ask me.

RandyFD

Dammit!! Here I was, thinking that I would be able to dismiss all these little games, save a buck our two. But after reading this I really want to try Lost Winds!! Curse you Daniel Cowan!!

Gobbl3s

LostWinds was actually pretty badass. It does leave you wanting more though. The content and gameplay in it is worth the measley $10. $10 good, short game ] $60 big budget 20 hour long crapfest.

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