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Texas Cheat 'Em on Game and Player

Texas Cheat 'Em

Rich Johnson  //  May 25, 2009


Cheaters never win.

I

'm what you would call an amateur poker player. Enjoying the activity for what it is, a game of chance that incorporates a fairly significant amount of skill. The thrill of a well-played hand induces in me a feeling only matched in the world of sports. More danger from the seated position, poker suits my skill-set.

The most popular brand of poker, Texas hold 'em video games have seeped into every console imaginable,

The wide variety of cheats
makes poker a minor detail.
many times over. Very obviously, Texas Cheat 'Em takes the hold 'em style of play and makes cheating possible. With upwards of 20 different ways to cheat, it's not only possible, but vital. A variety of mini-games, ranging from button-mashing to a roll of the dice, determine if cheats are successful.

Poker video games are inherently flawed. Without a monetary loss/gain associated with the game, proper play is difficult to achieve. Texas Cheat 'Em attempts to play off of that shortcoming, offering an experience that deters this unrealistic play-style. While successful in this respect, Cheat 'Em fails miserably in most every other besides.

Every hand of play is unimaginably long, with a new round of cheating for every round of betting. The wide variety of cheats, ever-present on the game screen, make the actual game of cards a very minor detail. The auto-win cheat is poorly implemented, forcing the players to complete a near ten minute long hand of play before explaining that it was all in vain. The entirety of cheating also has flaws, usually only giving the win to the last person to cheat. Entirely too much time is spent mashing buttons to keep players from peeking at your cards. Reminiscent of a day spent swatting a never-ending onslaught of mosquitoes, it's an annoyance, not a game. I suppose that sums up my point just as well as for the entire game.

It is difficult to find any redeeming quality amongst the sea of present flaws. Voice-chat online is serviceable, though prone to leave open feeds even in the quietest of environments. The instructions in game are incredibly detailed. To read through in entirety would explain every facet of the game without missing anything, although you may wish to have that hour back after sifting through tens of pages of pure text. If trophies are your interest, you will find them — but even they fail without a single gold in the mix. The usually innocent loading screen even managed to garner a level of disdain out of the ordinary for my disposition — referencing the developer, Wideload Games, in a way that one can assume was predictable.

Hate may be a strong word, but it fits my opinion of this title with a proper level of detail.





Texas Cheat 'Em

System


Developer

Wideload


Publisher

D3Publisher


NA Release

May 13, 2009


Genre

Play Mode


ESRB Rating


In Favor

  • Interesting concept
  • Decent voice support

Against

  • Poorly planned
  • Slow play
  • It's just not fun

G&P Rating

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