ic-games Review - Ultimate Card Games - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

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Ultimate Card Games

Information
Reviewer: James Collins
Developer: Cosmigo
Publisher: Telegames
Reviewed: Gameboy Advance
Genre: Simulation
UK Release: 01st Sep 2004
Article Date: 07th Sep 2004
Difficulty: Hard
Retail Price:
Price Comparison:
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Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 88%

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Pros

The ultimate card package

Something for everything

Four-way play (one cart)

Card Copy Feature (Brilliant)

Cons

Screenshots

1 of 11

Any game that brandishes the world “Ultimate” on its packaging should be viewed with extreme caution (As anyone who has played Ultimate Soccer Manager 98 will testify) so with a small amount of trepidation we opened the box and put the latest cartridge into the office GBA.

It didn’t take long however to see that this cartridge really is the exception to the rule. Just about every popular card game has been incorporated and some interesting variations have even been included (As is evident with the fifteen different interpretations of the classic game of Solitaire). For every version to float your boat you’d have to be some solitaire nut but it’s certainly a welcome addition and does increase the chance that someone you know will like at least one version if the “classic” version doesn’t do it for them.

And stop right there, its not just fifteen versions of Solitaire that await you when you turn on the GBA, but an outstanding 11 further classic games (Hearts, Spades, Euchre, Canasta, Bridge, Cribbage, Go Fish, Gin Rummy and Crazy Eights. Even a few Casino Card games have been included. The Classic Black Jack makes an appearance and so does Poker (with an additional 5 more games if you take into consideration the different types of Video Poker you can play). 31 card games in one package and you really do start to appreciate that word “Ultimate” for once. Obviously not every single card game known to man could have been incorporated into the tiny cartridge but certainly the most popular ones have been included.

And with so many differing versions on offer it’s pleasing to see that Cosmigo have gone the extra mile to teach everyone (that needs to be taught) the basic rules to each and every game. While pre selection instructions only offer a brief introduction (and a little insight to the history and origins of the card game) anyone who takes the time to press the start button and scroll to the options will be greeted with quite an in-depth manual on how to play that particular game. Not only that but from within this “PC” style menu you'll be able to customize that particular game of cards, change the background, and alter the soundtrack or even watch the computer play against itself in the demo version. To add a little customization into the mix, Cosmigo has also wisely added a Face Creator into the mix – though this option is more fun when you have linked up other GBAs.

In the genius marketing idea of the century, Cosmigo have incorporated an option which they call “Card Copy” into each card game. What this basically entails is the ability to copy over a card game to a non cartridge holder so they can enjoy a particular game of cards without having to initially splash out on the game. Obviously there are certain restrictions, as soon as non cartridge owners power off – the game is lost. Also to keep the transfer down, the Card Copy version will have no background image or sound effects/music. There are absolutely no restrictions on the amount of times you can copy across a set of cards and what developers Cosmigo have essentially done is to create multiple demos of their product in multiple GBA’s across the world. If this fantastic idea doesn’t spread into future games we’d certainly be surprised. Obviously you will still need at least one link cable to achieve this but in theory you can play a 4 way multiplayer game with only one cartridge needed. Exactly how many other GBA games can you say that about?

If a game can make a 150 mile train journey last a blink of the eye then you know you have a winner. Not only did this game manage this after our visit to EGN this year but on our arrival the GBA was then immediately plugged into charge and “Hearts” was played long into the night. A pretty compelling GBA cartridge with almost infinite replayability was exactly what the Nintendo handheld needed right now and both Cosmigo and Telegames have come up with the promised goods.

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