Review: Wild'n Poker Free

The wildest title screen ever.

Wild'n Poker Free is a take on the classic video poker system. It tries to give you all the fun of a casino without the associated broken thumbs and busted kneecaps. It fails.

Everything about this game is slow. It's just dealing cards (and there's not even an animation for that), so there's absolutely no excuse for how badly it runs.

It also comes with a built-in chat program courtesy of Villo, but I can't imagine why you'd want to use it, and I refuse to sign up for their service to test it out.

Graphics:
Somewhat limited. The faces of the cards are reasonably well done, and the fonts work well. That's not exactly high praise, but you've got to play the cards you're dealt, so to speak.

You're given a choice between dozens of deck styles, but as far as I can tell you never see the backs of the cards, so it doesn't really matter. You also get a large number of backgrounds to choose from. Some of the graphical styles (including the compulsory sexy lady deck) are only available in the upgraded version, but there are enough available in the free version that you'll probably find something you like.

Sound:
No music, and just three or four effects (that you can thankfully disable in the options menu). They sound okay, but they lag, so I can't say they're particularly effective. I wound up just turning them off.

I won!

Gameplay:
Relatively simple. Video poker isn't exactly rocket science, but these days it's a lot snazzier than just the basic game. In Wild'n Poker Free, you're dealt five cards, you choose which to hold and which to discard, then you deal again. Anything better than a pair of jacks wins, with varying payouts depending on how high your hand is. It'd be okay if it weren't so dang slow. Everything lags. Button presses, the score counter, dealing the cards... everything. It's astonishing, since there's so little going on.

The full version supposedly gives you access to a more advanced game, but the upgrade button is broken, so even if you want to, there's no way to check it out.

What I liked:
-Lots of deck styles and background images to choose from.

What I hated:
-Laggy.
-Too many load screens.
-Can't change bet amount without backing out to a menu screen.

Final Verdict:
It's buggy, laggy, and ultimately, Wild'n Poker Free isn't wild in any sense of the word. Stay away.

Wild'n Poker is available for Free from Bryan Leasot on BlackBerry App World
Reviewed version 1.0