Average Rating: 
Rating:  - You are there!
Unfortunately I have a Mac and good casino games are limited. (Like Slingo.) Finally a slot game that gives the action of a real casino (minus the cash loss). The slots are the same as you would find in Vegas or AC. The animation is great, the variety overwhelming. I have Hoyle Casino (slots are kiddieland type: fish, dinasaurs, mummys, etc.) very Looney Tuney. The Masque poker slots offer the same variety as your casinos, and the pay-off is about the same...very little, but when you do hit, you get the same bells and whistles. In all, it's really worth it!
Rating:  - I just can't understand it....
A table game player myself, I tend to look down on slot players with derision. These one arm bandits live up to their name by being specifically programmed to take your money (which explains why there are so many of them in a casino) and I just have a hard time understanding the appeal. Slot players conjure up visions of laboratory rats pushing on a bar in some pavlovian experiment in order to get their food pellet.That said, I know a few slot addicts and this game was a recent birthday present. I have to give Masque a thumbs up for taking the initiative to license actual casino slots from IGT (the 500lb gorilla in the slot manufacturing category) and they have done a fairly good job in recreating these slots for your home pc. Minus the obvious lack of actual cash being paid for hitting the jackpot, you get a real slot experience in many popular slots, including Double Diamond, Blazing 7's, Balloon Bars, Wild Cherry and more. These work like the real machines, too, meaning for instance the diamonds in Double Diamond move up and down towards the paylines as they do in the real thing (unlike the godawful slots included in the Hoyle Casino package which is an otherwise good game.) They even included a nice option allowing you to set the slots to actual ...casino payouts or extra-high payouts for those who want their virtual cash to last more than an hour. I was disappointed, however, in the way the slots are viewed on the screen - a 3/4 machine view where you can see other slots to the left and right of the machine. There is no option to get a view that focuses just on the machine you are playing. In addition, the sound the machines make when the reels are spinning appear to be very bad samples of the actual IGT sounds. Finally, these machines are getting dated in my opinion and are already being replaced in casinos with "themed" slots such as Austin Powers, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy or slots offering bonus rounds such as Jackpot Party, Winning Bid, and Cash Crop. You won't find these machines in this package. Since I hate slot machines, it would be unfair to say my boredom with playing this game would be matched by others; my slot addict friends were very happy with the present. I can say, however, that I also played Real Deal Slots by Phantom EFX and was pleasantly surprised. If you're looking for a slot game based on sheer "fun factor" I would suggest buying that game first. However, if you have a nostalgic fondness for the IGT slot machines I mentioned and you want an accurate recreation of those machines, this game is the way to go. By the way, Masque does an even better portrayal of the IGT video poker machines in their game "Multiplay Video Poker" which ...(the website) currently does not sell... hint hint...
Rating: - Almost Great
I have to agree with all the others, this is one of the better slot games out there, primarily for the realism from IGT. The upside is that there are download patches to upgrade this game from the Masque.com web site which when installed, greatly improves the game. The only downside that I found that I found the sound affects annoying and not as realistic as other slot games, plus the graphics aren't quite as sharp as say, Hoyle or Cardoza. But the great thing is once the patch is downloaded, the machines can be set for very loose payouts, and after all, isn't that what we want? I agree that other IGT games and combined with their new video poker game ncluded, and I would like to see a wider variety of denominations. Then, this might possibly be the best slots only game on the market. This one is endorsed by Strictly Slots magazine; but shop around before you buy for the best price. I ordered mine right from the Masque web page, I paid full retail plus shipping (almost double the current price)and it took me two months to get it.
|
