
	Platform PC Genre Casino Games Publisher Phantom EFX Developer Shuffle Master Gaming ESRB T (Teen) Released August 28, 2007

- Lots of gambling: cards, sports, slots, and horse racing - An attempt at including MMO elements fleshes out a feeling community - Awesome manual

- Many crashes during the installation process - A minimalist presentation during the selection phase makes it feel more like a budget title

Review: Clubhouse Games (DS) Review: Brain Age 2 (DS) Review: Portal (PC)
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Reel Deal Casino Gold Rush

Score: 7.0 / 10

It would be very easy (and wrong) to drop Reel Deal Casino Gold Rush into a neat and tidy compartment – typically, called “The bargain bin” – and write it off as merely a collection of card games and electronic slot machines. But after a rocky installation process, including crashes while the game ironically attempted to apply a patch to make it more stable, I’m glad to report that it actually has a lot to offer.

After creating a persona the casino rolls out for you with all manner of card games, like Pai Gow, Poker, Baccarat, and Black Jack (and variants of each; something like a couple of dozen games) alongside slot machines. There are also the lesser explored manners of flushing your life savings down the toilet like Roulette, Craps, and Craps-Roulette, and betting on horse races and sports.

With so many things to do, it’s a damn fine thing that the developers have put together such a comprehensive manual. Offering complete run downs on how to

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play every game and a sprinkle of little bits of trivia – there are so many hotel rooms in Las Vegas it would take one person 228 years to spend one night in each room in town – this is how manuals should be made. I actually felt educated after reading parts of the manual. A “budget” title like this would usually only supply a terse in-game explanation of the

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games but Phantom EFX realizes not all of us are cardsharps or understand the gambling slang.

Though it can be played against real people, the game manages to put up a very good simulation of playing against real people. While online, Reel Deal makes a stab at including conventions from MMO’s, such as guilds, the chance to buy loot, and chat functions. It feels a little out of place but it’s not unwelcome because it does help create a feeling of community.

Getting around inside Reel Deal shouldn’t pose any problems even for the most casual of players. The interface is easily navigated and laid out in a straightforward manner. For a collection of games as this, I would have ripped many points off the score.

Reel Deal doesn’t use real money – that’s probably the biggest attraction here as you can still experience the thrill of victory and avoid the agony of selling the shirt off your back for a ticket back to Toledo.

- Omni

(November 22, 2007)