I am sure by now that we are all
sick and tired of poker, and poker games. Even such funny attractions as
celebrity poker have lost their appeal to the average person because we
have just become so saturated with it. Having said that, Shoot’em Poker
is a game that stands alone above all the other poker games on the
market. Best Direction has taken an old idea and put an interesting new
twist on it that suddenly throws skill into a game that before relied
purely on the luck of the draw.
Shoot’em Poker allows the player
to pick between 9 different old west personalities, including Calamity
Jane, Doc Holliday, Annie Oakley, and other well known people. Once the
player has picked their persona, the game begins. This is where Best
Direction’s inventive twist on poker comes into play. Players are dealt
their cards and, after picking which ones to keep and discard, much like
in 5 card draw, are taken to a shooting gallery!
That’s right, instead of being
given 3 random cards, players are shown 4 rows of cards scrolling face
up across the screen, and have the opportunity to shoot the cards they
want in their hand. Along with the card, there are specials that may
change the order of the rows, reverse directions, add money to your
bank, or add time to the clock. The clock in this case is a stick of
dynamite that has its fuse slowly burning down, and if you don’t shoot
all your cards then the dynamite explodes, and randomly assigns cards to
you.
The betting systems is very nice
as well, giving the player the opportunity to bet as many times as you
are allowed to in real poker, 2 rounds and allowing you to fold if you
have bad cards. All of this translates into a fun, skill based game that
encourages the player to work on their aim as well as be strategic about
the hand they want to make. Another great part of the game is the art
and animations.
All of the personas have their own
unique win, lose, and neutral facial expressions, with only a few
glitches being present where a facial expression will get stuck in a
blink. There is also a showdown between the players before the shooting
portion of the round. The player can choose to skip this animation
later, but the detail in it makes it easy to look at multiple times
without getting sick of it. The artwork is also nicely done, keeping the
player feeling like they are in the Old West, with the wanted poster
selection screen, and the way the cards and table look.
The sound and music in the game is
nicely done, with the music being short enough to not be annoying to the
player, and the sound effects are all dead on. Everything from the
explosion of the dynamite, the chips sliding, the cards flipping, and
the gun firing are reminiscent of their real world counterparts. There
is no vibration in the game, which is disappointing because the handset
supports it and there are a few great places in the game that it could
be well used.
This is a great game for people to
play, regardless of whether or not they enjoy poker games. The theme is
nice, it is a great twist on a worn out idea, and it is sure to surpass
other competing titles simply because there isn’t anything else like it
out there. This is a title worth the download, despite the small
glitches in animation and the lack of vibrations. This game will not
disappoint.
