Xbox

Bicycle Casino

All in all, it’s a good game. I know it sounds like I’m cutting it up a bit, but the reason I have so many suggestions, is because I like this game and I’d like to see it improve. A few of these improvements would make it more fun to play and with a little more detail brought into it, would really enhance the atmosphere. But it is a nice entry into the market for these games, and Xbox Live enabled play is a more than welcome feature.

I was looking forward to this game myself and it did not disappoint me. It has some nice features and it is realistic. That is what is important here. For fans of poker or gambling games this one is great to buy. For those who are not huge fans of sitting around and playing a slower pace game that requires concentration, you may want to pass on this one. It's a nice change of pace to be able to play with friends and shoot the breeze while trying to clean out your friend's virtual money. Not graphically sharp but a solid gambling game that is certainly worth the price for gambling fans.

Let me start by saying this: I have a gambling addiction. My grandfather taught me how to play poker and blackjack when I was about six, and I've been playing ever since. I've been going to Las Vegas since I was 15 years old, hitting up the machines as a young tyke and moving to the tables at 19. Las Vegas has since tightened its policy about minors, thankfully after I turned 21, and I routinely try to make about three trips a year. I haven't been immune to the poker rubella sweeping the nation, playing in Vegas, various Bay Area casinos, home cash games, and online. Now I'm not saying I come home with a fat wallet after each trip, but I'm pretty much a break-even kind of guy.

The phrase “I’m all in” meant nothing to the general population, that is, until Texas Hold Em’ Tournament programming started gobbling up more and more prime time TV slots. I’m sure even the Food Channel is conjuring up a Celebrity Chef Hold ‘Em tourney, which will probably receive higher ratings than some silly recipe show. Leaping Lizard and Activision felt it was time to cash in on the Texas Hold ‘Em style poker, and the grandeur of Vegas gambling in general, with Bicycle Casino.

Frankly, there isn’t much of a market for gambling and casino games in the console universe. They’ll have a niche audience, but they won’t really compel people to play them because… well… playing cards is still playing cards. PC software that hooks you up to servers to play Texas Hold’em, and the like, is actually pretty fun, but that’s because you’re playing against real opponents and the software is so streamlined and efficient.

Poker, or Texas Hold ‘em to a greater extent, has been all the rage these days. At least that’s how it looks in suburbia New York, where the only other thing you’ll find from Texas is a jar of El Paso salsa. Sure, my buddies from work and I play poker every Sunday night after the store closes; and sure, I lose a good $20 a week, but there’s much fun to be had in the entire experience. Eh, whom am I kidding, losing sucks. So when I heard a casino game was finally arriving on the Xbox, I was ready to just have fun online with some friends, but this time, to lose fake money. Bicycle Casino is the first of a wave of casino games to be released on the next generation consoles. Let’s see how the first crack at this genre in recent years paid off and let’s see where it faltered.

Bicycle Casino is the kind of title I look forward to playing. I'm always hopeful that a casino/poker video game will be good, because I'm willing to waste some hours having fun without wasting my money. After a significant amount of time with Bicycle Casino (named for the famous poker card makers), I can assure you that if you pick this game up, you'll be gambling away the $30 MSRP. How can I put this delicately? Bicycle Casino is crap.

Malgré son petit prix, Bicyle Casino ne vaut strictement rien et ce aussi bien en Offline qu'en Online. Les parties solo sont molles et souffrent d'une absence totale de mise en scène à l'inverse d'un titre comme Hard Rock Casino. On aura bien du mal à lui trouver des points positifs tant le "Je m'en je-m'en-foutisme" des développeurs est palpable du début à la fin. Au final, si vous êtes toujours d'attaque pour acheter ce jeu, armez-vous d'un sacré courage et n'ayez surtout pas peur de perdre votre temps. Remarquez, tant que ça vous empêche d'aller perdre des sommes folles dans les vrais casinos, pourquoi pas ?