Payout Poker and Casino

Poker games have become a full-fledged genre of their own now. There is a constant stream of new casino style games promising all sorts of play and gaming experiences; some feature other games to play like Baccarat and Black Jack, while others only feature the very popular Texas Hold 'em- style of poker. Well, Payout follows in the vein of several other casino games where you can create a character and walk around the various casinos (that you unlock) playing the differing casino games.

So Ok, this doesn't sound like a bad title and to be honest with you, it really isn't all that bad. I like to call this type of game a bed-time game - meaning you can play as little or as much as you like as you lay there in bed before you go to sleep because you can save easily, and the game has no real plot or mission.

"Dealer loses!" "Quick rewind the camera!"

So you start the game off by creating a character from scratch; you know the drill, pick the sex, skin color, height, weight, clothing, hairstyle, and all the differing points of articulation on the face. The game actually does get it right when it comes to the level of detail in creating your character, from Goth punk to mathematical nerd. I'm normally not impressed with this function in a game, but it really was easy to do and worked well for the type of game we are dealing with. And at this point I will say that the game's graphics look good; not great, mind you, but good. The character models are decent enough and the casinos themselves are set up so you walk around them in third-person perspective and approach the various game tables. Once there you merely activate the table and the screen changes to a top-down view of whatever game you are playing. Well, maybe not top down for the slot machines, but you know what I mean.

Once a table game is activated, the graphics do show a little bit of a strain depending on the game. Blackjack, for instance, is a fairly simple game and therefore the cards are easily readable and the table looks convincing enough. Interestingly enough, the more complicated games like craps and roulette did a good job of rotating the camera around so you can see the action as it happens. If anything, the part of the game where you walk around could have been a bit lighter, since I know first hand that casinos are bright and loud in color and glitz.

"Texas Hold Em'?, but we're in Jersey!"

But when you sit down, the A.I. is something completely different. While not incredibly difficult, I found that some of the games almost seemed to run in streaks; take blackjack for instance. I noticed that if I had won a few times in a row that I would inevitably lose several times in a row. Coincidence? Maybe, but on more than one occasion I found if I had lost, say five or six hands in a row, and I bet big, I would win. Hmmmmm. Of course, you could attribute that to dumb luck, but the same thing could be said while playing other games like Red Dog, Roulette and even slots. But then some people would argue that winning at gambling is exactly that, dumb luck.

Now as an incentive to get out there and play several of the other games, the developers introduced this "collect the stars" function. Collecting enough stars allows you to open up other casinos, which is the driving force behind the game, to get to all the casinos. How do you get stars? Well, success in the games will get you the stars; for instance, the first time you get  natural blackjack, you'll get a star. Hit directly on your number in roulette, you get a star, and so on and so forth throughout the various games.

The game really misses the mark by neglecting to give the game a real quality feel without strong sound effects. In a casino, you want to hear people in the background, rowdies whooping it up and good music playing in the background. None of that is found here. In fact, for a casino, there is a significant lack of noise and people for that matter (unless you count the crappy thin sounding comments that occasionally pop in), unless you sit down at a table, then miraculously after your first hand, people start showing up and the table fills. This can be an irritant sometimes. Still, no one talks, no coughing, no advice from the dealer, nothing.

Gameplay: 7.5
It's easy enough, and getting around the casinos to play at different tables is all right, although I wish you could run. There appears to be no way to speed up hands that you are not playing in, so that kind of stinks. The A.I. appears to be a bit spotty.

Graphics: 7.0
While adequate, the game seems dark in some places, fortunately the tables all seems fine and are easily navigated. Creating your character was surprisingly unannoying and quick too.

Sound: 5.5
The game is missing so much in the sound department. No fun in the background, just Muzak and an occasionally flat comment from a dealer. Did the developers go to a casino for research?

Difficulty: Easy
I got the timing down, and so should most people.

Concept: 6.7
Nothing new here except the "collect the stars" idea to get to the next casino, and I'm sure I've played games like this that use the same idea.

Multiplayer: N/A
The game allows you to log online and find others to play, and while logging online was easy enough, everytime I did, I couldn't find anyone else to play with.

Overall: 6.9
The game has some enjoyable parts, but it misses the mark on the whole "casino" experience. Again, this is a game that can be played while lying in bed.