Developed by Freeverse and published by Encore for the PC and the Mac, Hoyle the official name in card games has more that is new and improved. Hoyle Card Games 2009 bring you more than 150 different card games. At the same time, Hoyle Casino Games brings you more than 600 different games.
By: Kristin Wright
Published: Nov 8, 2008
Updated: Jul 2, 2009
Hoyle has long been the name to turn to when one thinks of card games. The name has also now been the one to turn to when thinking of just about any kind of casino game as well. Okay, maybe not the ones where you loose all your money gambling on line, but you can still have a lot of fun playing cards and casino games online without loosing your life savings and still have fun!
Let's first start out with Hoyle Card Games for 2009. With over 150 games to choose from, you have a lot to work with. But the fun doesn't stop there, as you can also completely design how you want your card playing character to look like. And you don't have to stop with some mundane face that looks just like you, though that is possible. Many would rather look better than that. Some would rather play as a parrot or a dinosaur. Okay, you can do that here as well. And the playing animations of many of the characters are a lot of fun as the dinosaur munches on some cotton candy while waiting for you to make up your mind.
Hoyle Card Games doesn't just stop with the normal games like solitaire, but there are tons more with several variations of many of them. Rather play gin or spite and malice, its in there. How about cribbage, bridge pinochle, whist, or even tarot. The only problem is that many of these games are ones that you may not have played before. That's okay, there is a lot of help in the instruction guides in paper and during the game.
Then there are the better known games that will catch the attention of more of us like several varieties of poker, Mav's favorite black jack, (he loves loosing all his money for some reason...hehe), and even some of the great classics such as crazy eights and old maid.
The Hoyle Casino Games of 2009 feature more than 600 games, but you should also be aware that many of these games are a variety of the same game under different circumstances. For example there must be better than 2 dozen different slot machine games. There are also several different video poker games among other variations of games. I thought the addition of horse racing was kind of cool too.
The tables are very nicely rendered and the environments are well done with only a few minor glitches. We did notice some glitches with the dealers in many of the games, but especially in blackjack and poker. When the dealer pulls a card from the boot and flips it over, it's almost always the ace of spades, but when he lays the card down, it becomes something else. Way to get Mav's hopes up for a great double-down on 10 in blackjack gang! Additionally, often times you will see the cards penetrate the table as they are laid down. In some other games, some cards could not be laid on fully legal piles no matter how we tried. The prime example of this was in spite and malice.
As for the audio, it was fun and fairly realistic. You even have the ability to taunt your opponents bu saying both good and bad things by clicking on their comment buttons. You can also say more yourself though the voice acting was extremely limited.
{slot15}One of the coolest parts of both of these games is the free online play. Every player has free online play on the Royal Suite online community, with no monthly charges. This includes game updates, news, chat, forums, leader boards, and hosted tournaments. There are even some special offers just for Hoyle players, but I'm not going to spoil the surprise.
Hoyle Card and Casino Games for 2009 have a lot to offer at a very reasonable price. Yes, there are a few visual glitches and bugs but nothing that really detracts too much from the games. And if you get both, you will also unlock some new bonus games, though you will also find quite a bit of cross-over and duplication in your games. But if you are a card, slot, and even horse gamer, these games could be a great deal of fun with a great deal of replay ability for any card fanatic. Check it out and all the other titles at http://www.hoylegaming.com.
Overall Score: 7.8 (out of 10)
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