I have spent many hours enjoying this game as I took over Texas towns one after the other through poker tournaments and cash games. I recommend this to anyone who wants a fun, casual card game with multiple features and decent replay value.
Features There is a lot to do in this game! You start by playing poker tournaments to earn money and buy up all the properties in each town. The games become larger and the stakes get higher as you move from town to town. Trains, riverboats, and automobiles can also be won in poker games so you can reach additional towns. You can also win a wide variety of awards for different achievements as a poker player. The "professional" difficulty option and quick games give decent replay value. The features in this one go a long way and will keep you coming back for more.
Poker The poker game itself is easy to play and fun. The computer AI is pretty good and can surprise you from time to time, but I suspect that people who have experience playing real opponents would find the AI to be limited. Once you get into a rhythm with your strategy, the games will become more predictable.
It's nice that they have tournaments, cash games, and one on one games to give variety (you can even set up your own tournaments how you want), but the game is always Texas Hold 'em. There are no other varieties of poker. This game is probably best for people who want to learn poker or who just want a generally good casual game.
Graphics and Sound The computer voices and announcers were pretty cool at first. It felt very realistic. As you continue to play, they will become repetitive. Fortunately, you have the option to mute the voices so it's not a problem. The music is not that varied, but it's decent and not annoying.
The animation is nice and the hats were colorful. The poker tables and other scenes look nice. I applaud their efforts to provide some variety to the scenery of the locations, such as larger towns later in the game, but nevertheless the towns and poker venues start to look pretty similar after a while.
Bottom Line I definitely got more than $20 worth of game play out of this, and I continue to enjoy it even after playing all the way through. You will always have a solid poker game ready to play whether you have only 10 minutes or several hours. It's best for casual gamers or those new to poker. I list a few cons below, but the pros far outweigh them. I'm happy I got this one.
Pros - Many towns, vehicles, properties, and hats to acquire - Increasing stakes and larger tournaments as you advance - Quick games are available for when you only want to play for a few minutes - You can speed up the play; eventually you will want faster games without the sounds - Good, solid Texas Hold Em game - It runs well on my 5 year old, non-Intel Mac - Flash demo versions are online, so you can try those for more than an hour before you buy the full game
Cons - There were a few minor typos not affecting game play - The towns are all very similar; I wish they had more features that were unique to each town - The computer opponents eventually become a little predictable, but they're pretty good for a computer game - You don't make rent money from your properties while traveling - I didn't experience much difference among the Notorious players; I guess they were supposed to have different playing styles but they seemed pretty similar to me - I didn't really require or expect this, but multiplayer online capability would be an amazing option they could offer in the future.
I always like word games to pass the time, so I gave this one a try. You have to spell words from the letters available and score enough points to destroy the beaver dams. Bigger words, or rarer letters earn you more points and get you closer to beating each level.
Gameplay The gameplay is smooth and easy to learn, but there is no depth to this game at all. You just keep spelling words and it gets harder as you go along. It wasn't really that hard though. This game was easy to learn and moved quickly because there is nothing here. I thought that the levels would get more interesting as I advanced, but they did not. The "original power ups" touted in the description were really pretty lame.
Graphics and Sound The graphics were cartoon like, and there was nothing wrong with them. There was nothing special either. It was pretty basic and I didn't even notice any of the "rich music and sound".
Bottom Line Do not waste your money or your time with this game. I quit after 23 minutes of my 60 minute demo and deleted it. There are free games out there like Text Twist or Bookworm on Yahoo games that are just as good. This game is VERY similar to Bookworm.
The ONLY reason this game got two stars instead of one is that it worked properly and ran smoothly. Not being functionally defective is the best thing I can say about this game.
This game was fun at first and seemed quite deep, with many countries to control, many political problems to fix, and many ways to fix those problems. However, after an hour or two, it became very repetitive and not at all flexible. The countries are all basically the same with the same problems, albeit at different levels of severity. The solutions also become the same. Once you find the right combination of actions to take, you can use that combination on any scenario.
It could be a great game if there were greater differences between countries, and if it were actually possible to achieve success with different combinations of political policies. It's like there is only one way to win, and once you have found it, winning is just a matter of implementing those policies. Sure, there are various difficulty levels, but all they do is make it harder and more annoying for you to do what has worked in the easier levels.
Graphics and Sound There basically are no graphics or sound. It's not really a graphics based game, and the background music is pretty dull, though not unpleasant. If the rest of the game were deeper and had more variety, you wouldn't need them. In fact, the game was thoroughly enjoyable for the first hour or so.
Bottom Line Download the demo only, wait for a lower price, or wait for an improved version.
This is exactly the game you remember playing as a kid. The gameplay is very simple, and takes no time to learn. Being on the computer, you don't have to worry about counting paper money or accidentally kicking the board and upsetting everything. You can also save and come back later. The graphics are simple and pleasing, as is the background music. All your favorite pieces are available to use, and you can play using normal rules or customized rules. This makes it more fun to play over and over again.
It is still just a board game, which gets old eventually as all "bored" games do, and this prevents the game from earning the highest marks. It is totally solid though. It is a great game to keep on your computer and pull out from time to time when you have nothing better to do. I recommend it for anyone who likes Monopoly.
Glitches I experienced one freeze and one problem with trading properties while playing it for several hours. These glitches were very minor and barely worth mentioning, and I have had many glitch free games. Just save your game from time to time and you won't notice them, if they happen at all.
This game was very entertaining and deep for many hours. There were several aspects to explore, including work, social life, hobbies, etc. I couldn't wait to advance my character further and receive more "kudos". However, you will eventually come to appreciate the irony of sitting alone at your computer wasting your real life away by playing a game based on social, career, and life advancement. Once your character has had several types of jobs, read all the books, learned Tae Kwon Do, and done all the social activities, it becomes painfully repetitive. There does not seem to be any reward for using different characters, interacting with different people, or trying different careers (i.e. you can't "win" the game, or anything else). Once you reach the point where you have explored most aspects of the game, it's like hitting a wall, and there is no point in playing any more.
Graphics and Sound There aren't any graphics. You will get sick of staring at your lame looking character pretty quickly. The gameplay isn't based on graphics, but a little variety in the scenery would go a long way. The background music is simple and nice.
On Bugs I experienced none of the bugs mentioned by other users. However, since three independent reviewers all experienced problems, I would seriously consider what they said before buying. Perhaps you can use the one hour demo period to see if you have any bugs, but even so, a buggy game, especially an average one like this, is not worth your $20.
Bottom Line It is very addictive and fun at first, so you will be tempted to buy the game. However, after you have had it for a few days, you will regret spending $20 on it, not to mention the hours out of your real life.
I'm sure you have seen several games out there like this, where you have to manage increasingly complex operations, like at a burger joint, a hotel, or a cake shop. I've played many of those others, and this one is actually fun, has good replay value, and works seamlessly.
There are many different levels, so you won't get bored quickly. You also have many levels of achievement, so you can come back and try to get a better rating for each level. There are also rewards for certain accomplishments, so there is yet further incentive to play again.
The gameplay is great. It is simple to learn, and there is a tutorial to help you get started. You direct your planes to land, load passengers, get fuel, and get maintenance. It sounds simple, but you can get busy in a hurry. The great thing is that you can get a passing score without frustration, but it is challenging enough to keep coming back to master each level.
The graphics are cartoons, but they are very cute and pleasant. They are simple, but colorful and varied. The music is nice and changes with the levels. The sounds are a bit childish after a while, but lowering the volume on your computer a bit takes care of any boredom with the sounds.
The gameplay is smooth, there are no glitches, and the game loads and shuts down quickly. It's a great game to play for hours, or to kill ten minutes.
Bottom Line This game is the perfect balance between fun and challenging, simple but fulfilling, pleasant but stimulating. I would recommend it for anyone as a great game for passing the time. People of all ages will enjoy it too. The entertainment value was well worth $20.
If you have played the others, you know the drill. You will trade by buying low and selling high, you will upgrade your ships and do battle, and you will accept interesting tasks from local rulers. This game was very entertaining and enjoyable.
With several different characters to choose from, and semi-unique tasks, there was very good replay value. The graphics were nice and the sounds were solid. The humor was cheesy, but rather amusing.
I suppose the only complaint you could have is that it eventually becomes repetitive. After you have been all the characters, built the best fleets, and made millions of denarii, there isn't a whole lot left. But, then again, any game will get boring eventually if you play it long enough.
If you liked the other Tradwinds games, this is a must buy. If you are looking for a generally fun game to pass the time, this will be a great game for anyone. If you are looking for the greatest game of all time, this isn't it, but then again, it's only $20 and you get your money's worth.
I bought the Classic version here at Mac Games Store and it was great. This version is the same as Classic Monopoly, except on the surface. They have used modern famous locations for properties, and inflated the values by about 1000 times. Other than that, it plays and feels great, just like their other Monopoly game.
I recommend that you choose only one between this and the Classic version, as they really play the same. Overall, it's an excellent way to play Monopoly!
Being a young single male who likes games and beautiful women, I was naturally intrigued. This is a basic video poker type game where your lovely computer opponent exchanges her few garments for additional funds as you win. For the first few minutes it was exciting, as I was eager to win. However, the lame computer AI quickly made the poker aspect of the game quite dull, and the only incentive to continue was to earn the next picture. All I had to do to win was to wait for a good hand and then bet a lot.
As a poker game, this is not even mediocre for the price. There are much better free games out there.
As for the 'graphics', they were quite enjoyable. However, you can get such graphics elsewhere, again without having to pay.
This game gets average marks for its clever idea and its added incentive to keep playing. But really, it's not worth buying, even if it were at a lower price.
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