Hardwood Spades - Review
Added January 31st, 2006 by Kisan Parikh
Hardwood Spades is another classic game brought to the Xbox 360 by Silver Creek Entertainment. The game succeeds in bringing the Spades experience to video games, but you won’t see any exciting twists on the traditional game here. Chances are, if you are a fan of Spades, you will enjoy this game.
Spades is a four-player card game that can be played with or without partners. After cards are dealt at the start of a hand, you must bid on the amount of tricks you will acquire. Your goal during the hand is to acquire this exact amount of tricks. You can even bid nil if you think you can avoid getting a trick. You obtain a trick by having the highest card on the table. Sometimes this is not enough, because if a player does not have a card of that suit, they can play a spade to trump any other card. The game requires a good deal of skill in predicting the amount of tricks you will get and also selecting which cards to play. Just like other card games, however, luck is a key ingredient to victory.
Spades is a four-player card game that can be played with or without partners. After cards are dealt at the start of a hand, you must bid on the amount of tricks you will acquire. Your goal during the hand is to acquire this exact amount of tricks. You can even bid nil if you think you can avoid getting a trick. You obtain a trick by having the highest card on the table. Sometimes this is not enough, because if a player does not have a card of that suit, they can play a spade to trump any other card. The game requires a good deal of skill in predicting the amount of tricks you will get and also selecting which cards to play. Just like other card games, however, luck is a key ingredient to victory.
The traditional game translates very well to the 360. You select your bid or card with the thumbstick and A button. There aren’t really any controls to learn, but those who are new to Spades will have tutorials at their disposal. The tutorials are well done and will help a beginner get into the game quickly.
Hardwood Spades gives you some options when it comes to game types. You are able to play with partners, four singles, or three-singles. Additionally, you can choose between the three game types: Standard, Mirror, and Suicide. Mirror forces you to bid the number of spades you have and Suicide forces a player on each team to bid nil. You can also adjust point values for winning the game and nil winners. There are a satisfactory amount of options to allow you to design a game as you wish, but nothing too extensive.
You are able to play Hardwood Spades both on and offline. Online play allows a mix of human and computer players, making it easier to quickly find a game. You will find the typical multiplayer options including leaderboards and ranked/unranked games. Everything works well online, and the Xbox Live aspect of the game is the most enjoyable.
The game doesn’t really have much in terms of visuals and audio. The table and cards are plain and simple. The most advanced visuals take the form of Fooms, Silver Creek’s take on emoticons. You will really need to load up your custom soundtracks in this game, but that is the case with many Xbox Live Arcade Games.
Summary:
Hardwood Spades brings everything you love about traditional Spades onto the Xbox 360. There isn’t anything flashy about this title, but you have enough options at your disposal to vary the game. Given the low price tag (400 MS Points); this game will be a good pickup for Spades fans.
Hardwood Spades gives you some options when it comes to game types. You are able to play with partners, four singles, or three-singles. Additionally, you can choose between the three game types: Standard, Mirror, and Suicide. Mirror forces you to bid the number of spades you have and Suicide forces a player on each team to bid nil. You can also adjust point values for winning the game and nil winners. There are a satisfactory amount of options to allow you to design a game as you wish, but nothing too extensive.
You are able to play Hardwood Spades both on and offline. Online play allows a mix of human and computer players, making it easier to quickly find a game. You will find the typical multiplayer options including leaderboards and ranked/unranked games. Everything works well online, and the Xbox Live aspect of the game is the most enjoyable.
The game doesn’t really have much in terms of visuals and audio. The table and cards are plain and simple. The most advanced visuals take the form of Fooms, Silver Creek’s take on emoticons. You will really need to load up your custom soundtracks in this game, but that is the case with many Xbox Live Arcade Games.
Summary:
Hardwood Spades brings everything you love about traditional Spades onto the Xbox 360. There isn’t anything flashy about this title, but you have enough options at your disposal to vary the game. Given the low price tag (400 MS Points); this game will be a good pickup for Spades fans.
