As someone who makes most of his income working in the casino industry, but also enjoys playing and writing about RPGs, I sometimes feel games like Suits and Swords are messing with my head. Splicing together blackjack and a fantasy RPG could be really intriguing. Or it could be a disaster, as splicing in general sometimes is. This game manages to be neither, ending up a middle-of-the-road experience in both content and execution.Unlike some other casino-RPG hybrids, having the inhabitants of the Suits and Swords world play blackjack to fight their battles makes some sense. That's because the whole place is themed like a deck of playing cards, with four distinctly different lands - Heart Union, Diamond Empire, Club Kingdom and Spade Nation - in which to adventure."As Captain Black Jack (get it?), you return to find all four nations have come under the sway of the evil Joker. No, not the famous one, but their inspiration is clearly the same. To get to him and set things right, you've got to defeat a number of enemies and brainwashed friends by defeating them in head-to-head blackjack play.Most people know at least the basics of blackjack, so I won't go into the rules here. Suffice it to say that in each round of play, if you get closer to 21 without going over than your opponent, your character attacks. The reverse is also true, and if both sides bust or have equal totals, it's a push and no damage is done either way. Better totals do more damage, so a 21 takes away more hit points from an enemy than a 19.
What would Wheel of Fortune be like if it were a little more three dimensional? Try Wheel of Fortune: Cubed, a remixing of sorts that takes the letter- and clue-based elements from the game show and tosses them on a floating cube. There's no Pat, no Vanna, and no cheesy conversations between contestants, but there's still plenty of wordplay and wheel spinning!
A staple of American television for nearly three decades, Wheel of Fortune has also been a constant in casual gaming circles, often with mixed results. But the iPhone adaptation of the popular game show manages to nail the look and feel of the TV show while offering up a surprisingly plentiful number of game modes. And in spite of a few minor issues and the absence of Vanna White, it's an excellent distraction whether you're a fan of the show or not.