If you’re a fan of card games like myself, you’ll know that there aren’t a great deal of them on console, so I took the opportunity with excitement to divulge in Super Blackjack Battle II Turbo Edition. I wanted to see how this compared to the likes of Prominence Poker or Pure Hold Em.
One of the very first things that you will notice is the resemblance of Street Fighter. You might be thinking how do you have a mash up of Street Fighter and Blackjack in a video game. I don’t hold the answer to this but what I do know, is it works well. The visual and art design within the game is great and the music within it is outstanding. The development team Stage Clear studios are a Spanish based studio who have worked on a range of different indie titles.
Where the game lacks firstly of all is its absence of Online Play which could potentially make the game less appealing to some. With poor AI representation and no real chips or challenges to work towards it fails to capture the intense thrill of real life or online blackjack. However, the experience itself plays as Blackjack should and that may suit some.
For those who don’t know the rules of Blackjack its quite a simple premise. Your aim is to make a total of 21 from the cards the dealer distributes to you or have a higher total than the dealer at the end of the hand played. You can ask for more cards to increase the total number or stick with what you have. If you go above 21 you will go bust and forfeit any chips you have placed to bet with in that hand.
There are three modes awaiting you once you boot up the game which are Single Player Combat, Simply Blackjack and Party Mode. The ideal place to get going is Single Player Combat. There is a world map to travel around which is almost identical to Street Fighter across a variety of world locations. As you go from location to location you’re met with different characters such as Mark an undercover FBI agent, Kamiko who is seeking revenge for her Uncles death or Gregor, a south African warlord. It doesn’t really make much difference who you choose.
There is a twist, as you go head to head you only compete directly against the dealer. Your personal goal is to make more money than your opponent by the end of the match. Each one of the matches lasts ten rounds in duration. Even though Blackjack is a simple process in the card game world there is some thought involved in playing against your opponent. Do you pile all your money in early on to try and get one over on your enemy. Or do you play it safe in the hope they will lose all their money due to their own choices.
Super Blackjack Battle II made a simple Blackjack game a little more fun and animated and I really wanted it to be a stand out card game. The truth is with lazy AI and no online play available it became very stale very quickly.
It may sound like a temptation to purchase this at such a low price, but the execution of the mash up doesn’t quite live up to expectations. However, if you’re a massive fan of your card games then this may be one you would love to add to your collection, but it is not the king or queen of card games and I don’t have the heart to get out my spade and dig this one out again.
REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox One code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.
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Super BlackJack Battle 2 Turbo Edition Review
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Gameplay - 5/10
5/10
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Graphics - 5/10
5/10
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Sound - 5/10
5/10
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Replay Value - 5/10
5/10
Overall
Summary
Super Blackjack Battle 2 Turbo Edition, whilst solid in its core gameplay, doesn’t hit the mark in terms of replay value with lack of online play and easy to beat AI. However, for its price point and the serious card game players, this may be worth the punt
Pros
Graphically Sound For Its Game Type
Great music and sound
Good price point
Cons
Lazy AI
No Online Play
Not much replay value