If you haven’t noticed, one of the biggest things that I look for in a new game for my phone is how well it translates to the mobile platform. There are good reasons that my favorite game genre (First Person Shooters) haven’t made a big splash in the Windows Mobile arena; that is because there are certain controls that lend themselves to that type of game. Card games traditionally require a minimal amount of effort from the user to accomplish what they are trying to do, making them a good candidate for a mobile platform.
One developer that has made an effort to offer a number of different card games for reasonable prices is Panoramic Software. In addition to their card games such as Panoramic FreeCell and the subject of this review, BlackJack; Panoramic also offers other applications such as their Twitter client, moTweets.
To see if Panoramic BlackJack lives up to the standards that we have come to expect from Panoramic Software, hit the jump.
Features
Panoramic BlackJack is a fully featured BlackJack application. The graphics and sound are simple and clean; adding to the experience without simultaneously detracting from it. Various game options such as Level of Difficulty (including Learn to Play, which guides you through the game) and a number of Card Counting styles (freakishly large pit bosses not included).
Game Play
This is a card game, and a relatively simple one at that. There’s not really any dragging of cards or anything required. The primary interface is in the buttons placed along the bottom of the screen which are used to manage your wagers and handle your actions such as taking a hit or holding. The buttons do detract a little bit from the feel of the game as compared to the dragging and dropping that you find in Panoramic FreeCell, but the nature of the two games are very different.
Conclusion
As card games go, BlackJack hasn’t been widely popularized the way that games like Solitaire or FreeCell have been; but it is still a fairly simple game that can be a source of endless entertainment. As always, Panoramic software does an admirable job of translating the real-world game into the Windows Mobile platform. While I definitely prefer Panoramic’s FreeCell game to BlackJack, there are those out there that thrive on playing the odds in a game of chance. If BlackJack is your game, Panoramic Software has you covered. Hit up the WMExperts store or the Windows Marketplace for Mobile to purchase your copy for $2.99.
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