Uno

Uno is great. As a physical card game its cheap, easy to learn and a damn load off fun when playing with the right people. UNO has become a cult classic with Xbox 360 owners because the people at Carbonated Games have mananged to take all those things that make UNO great and streamline them for XBLA. Now just to get it out of the way I will not be explaining the rules of UNO, firstly because I cant really be bothered and secondly its just criminal if you dont know them anyway.

Straight away at the main menu are two play options,  Single Player and Multiplayer. The Single Player experience is basically a game of UNO with bots but with a few twists. One of UNO's main strenths is the variety of ways you can play it. There are three game modes to choose from in the Single Player. Standard UNO, were the player must win multiple rounds to win the match. Partner UNO, were the four players partner up and basically play a game of Standard UNO and House Rules UNO, allowing the player to customize the rules to his/her liking. These rules vary from scoring type, pealties, bluffing and more. This is key because most people have their own "special" way of playing and it really feels as though the developers have taken this into account. The artificial intelligence of the bot players is good although its hard not to be, seeing as the gameplay in UNO consists of pressing the "a" button over an over. A good example of this is on an earlier Bombcast were one of the team thought the game could be played by a dead person.

Multiplayer is what really makes UNO special. In terms of modes its very similar to Single Player although the House Rules mode is replaced with custom match. Once your into a game, after choosing either player or ranked match, you can either be met by a very large gamerpic or somebody waving back at you, giving you the middle finger and a number of other unsightful things. UNO is (amazingly) one of the few games compatible with the Xbox Live vision camera. This gives the trash talking avatars a face. I'm not saying that I encountered alot of these cameras but when I did I was plesently suprised, it just gives that extra sense of personality to the game and it makes you smile. There is something about UNOs multiplayer that I cant really put into text, you need to play it for yourself to truly get it. All I will say is that UNOs multiplayer is the best of any xbla game and I dont think many people will say otherwise.

The sound and graphics are both great. The developers have done what they can to the graphics to make them look up to the standard of HD televsions with crisp textures and high resolutions. The backgrounds are brightly coloured and move inconspicuously throughout the round. The diffferent theme decks spice up visuals even more. It kind of seems silly to even talk about the graphics because they could'nt really look any different. But the developers could have got it wrong, thankfully they did not. The music is one of the highlights of the games for me even though it is very hard to describe, lets just say "light jazz".

UNO is one of my favourite Xbox 360 titles so far. Everything comes together in a fantastic little package and for only 400 msp. This is a great buy for anybody who likes to have alot of  fun.

5/5