Blackjack is the most popular casino banking game in the world in the world according to wikipedia. How does Abzorba’s latest Android Blackjack offering: Live Blackjack 21 pro fare? Is it 21 or bust? Read on to find out…
Despite hd resolutions, dual-core cpus and generally enough power to guide nuclear missiles simple card games are still never far away from our gaming devices. The key word here is ‘simple’ – people love simple games and this is what Live Blackjack 21 Pro largely does – keep you playing Blackjack in a clean and simple fashion.
Avatars are simple and a little disappointing
Game Modes: Live Blackjack 21 Pro offers the whole gamut of modes from offline to online gaming (though switching between the 2 ridiculously means the application has to stop and restart). Offline mode has you playing 1 on 1 vs the banker though there is a limit – you get 1000 chips a day so the luck be with you. Fortunately though, you still get exp while playing offline…….
EXP in blackjack?: Yes you heard right. In order to hook you further Abzorba have a levelling system (from iron to platinum) linked directly to how much you play and gamble. Levels are important as certain high roller tables in the online mode will only be available once you’ve reached the appropriate level. Eventually extra avatars will unlock as you gain levels which you can use to represent your virtual self in the the online modes. Unfortunately avatars are somewhat limited in Live Blackjack 21 Pro however. There are no choices by default and the fact that the first avatars (which are also uninspiring) unlock at level 10 (typically reached after a few hours play) is disappointing.
Nice and clean interface… nothing fancy though
Online mode is where Live Blackjack 21 Pro really shines though. Net-play is solid – we didn’t have a single problem with drops or crashes. Connection was quick, stable and very well populated – every time we wanted to play there were tables available. Here we find 2 main modes: ’Play online’ i.e. find a table and play just like in a real casino and the rather egregious ‘Tournament mode’. Blackjack is usually a game played against the banker but tournament mode allows a certain amount of player vs player action – you play a fixed amount of rounds (usually 10) and the person with the most money at the end of the 10 rounds wins the prize pot. Abzorba’s implementation falls down here though. To even play in the tournament the buy-ins are high: 10k + chips (considering you get 2.5k chips per day if you log in) and you do not get to keep chips won in the tournament, only the prize pot. This does seems somewhat unfair given that you’re the one footing the bill of the buy-in. I’d personally avoid this mode altogether….
Aggressive adverts even cover some of the menu options!
Menus and graphics
Interface wise, buttons are large and generally responsive though there are lags occasionally. Animations are simple, cards are clear – the graphics are clean but not exciting. One gripe however, is that the text numbers within the game: such as your current bet, total etc are small and there are no settings which allow you to customise text size. Atmosphere is also not exactly aplomb in Live Blackjack 21 Pro – no 3D croupiers/avatars are to be found here! Functionality is key though and it is probably a testament to the interface that games online against fellow Blackjack brethren were quick and snappy.
Though we generally approve of the in-game interface the menus are another matter. Live Blackjack 21 Pro is guilty of over-advertising – an advert even covers up menu buttons so you can’t press them! Sometimes after leaving a table the game will auto-push you to offer pages to ‘claim your free chips’ or to ‘win free chips’. Though i appreciate developers have to monetise this does spoil the experience for me slightly. The main menu is also slightly obtuse – once I started playing online I found it very difficult to switch back to offline mode again. The game remembered i played online last and no play offline button was to be found – I had to switch off my wifi to force Live Blackjack 21 Pro to go offline next time I started a game – this caused the app to crash though I have to stress this was the only time I encountered any crashes within the game.
Verdict: 3.5/5 – Overall then, Live Blackjack 21 Pro is a solid Android Blackjack game with superior net code for a snappy game of blackjack. You get a fair amount of chips (2.5k online, 1k offline) per day and though the somewhat aggressive advertising can be annoying at times this Android Blackjack is a fun time eater that we can recommend.
Live Blackjack 21 Pro hints and tips from Android Games Review:
– The main menu is actually a scroll menu – scroll down so you can get to the help, live scoreboard and change to play offline!
– You get 2.5k online chips per day for logging in and 1k offline chips. Offline chips can not be brought online and vice versa. You also get 20 diamonds per day but as yet diamonds do not appear to do anything within the game!
– Tournaments don’t appear to be value for money – you’ll have more fun spending your money on the tables against the banker
– Remember to use the split/double when you can.
– Be aggressive with betting if the odds are favouring you – it’s the only way to win in blackjack – remember the house has infinite money.
Live Blackjack 21 Pro QR Code
(Click on the image or scan the barcode with your Android phone to goto the Android Market)
