The concept of the game Deal or No Deal is almost exactly like the game show on which it is based. This isn’t surprising in the least as that is the purpose of licensing game shows. If you are not a TV watcher and have never heard of the game show I’ll give you a brief rundown of its concept.In Deal or No Deal (both game and show) a contestant is brought out and picks a single briefcase from a batch of 26. The only thing that truly makes this part (and much of the rest of the game) is that each case is held by one of 26 models. Once the case is selected the illustrious host, Howie Mandel, has the contestant choose cases to open from the remaining 25 in batches. What this accomplishes is to narrow down the various amounts that are still left in attempts to have the “banker” make better and better offers. If your round of selections eliminates higher dollar amounts and leaves your with lesser ones it is less likely the banker will offer you a decent amount to make a deal with.
Once the deal has been offered the contestant then has to decide if they want to keep on playing and ruling out other cases or if they feel that the offer is good enough and they take the deal. If they don’t make a deal, the game continues as such with fewer and fewer cases and the deals either increase in amount if you are eliminating the lower amounts or decrease based on removing the higher ones. This ultimately ends up with you choosing from one of two cases to go home with.
My first time watching this show on TV was while I was playing the game. I realized almost simultaneously that the game (both game and show) involve no skill whatsoever. The game is pure luck and decision making. If you pick a bad case and make bad decisions you are not going to get a chance to make a good deal or if luck is on your side you might make out like a bandit.
To alleviate some of this the game (not the TV show) gives you mini games that involve some skill such as 5-case Monte, Puzzle Game or Memory Game. While these are fairly basic, they can be amusing for a distraction. The game also offers two modes of play in the single player game, the TV game which I described above and Challenge Game, which is the same thing just doing it 5 times and totaling the winnings. Beyond the simple mini-games and single player they did shoehorn in a two player function which has some interesting elements, such as hot seat where you and your opponent switch off between contestant and banker but ultimately is more of the same game.
Visually the game looks mediocre. The models aren’t horrible but the animations are crudely done and the backgrounds are the 3D equivalent of cardboard cutouts. The sounds mimic the TV show pretty well but all that means is that it is game show music that repeats way too often. The only sound related part of interest is that Howie does his own voice.
The game gives you little to reward sitting through the multiple tiers of selecting cases and hoping to get the chance to make a “deal”. The only reward for this boredom is that you get your name on a high score list so if multiple people are playing the game on the same system you can have bragging rights. You end up with a game that has simple gameplay with mediocre graphics and sound that leaves you without a sense of accomplishment. The game is what it is…a quickly produced, middle of the road, adaptation of a currently popular game show.
I’m and artist and a gamer…admittedly I’m new at the artist part but definitely not the gamer part. I’ve been playing games most of my life and not sure what I would do without them. I tend to fill my free time with gaming when I’m not doing school work (classes are online for Game Art and Design), or spending time with my 6 month old son (he’s adorable…ask anyone).
If I had to pick a type of gamer I am it would be a RPG/action adventure gamer. I find myself drawn to the stories of games and loving games where that is a major player. The mechanics of a game are a close second in regards to what I like. I mean come one everyone loves a pretty game.
