UNO Rush Review (Xbox 360)
Ranking up there with “YAHTZEE!!” and “JENGA!!,” “UNO!!” is an exclamation that’s quite famous in the world of card and board games.
The popularity of video games has lessened the interest in traditional board and card games a bit. Even Texas Hold ‘Em has taken a hit with the popularity of the latest batch of consoles. But casual game arenas such as Xbox Live Arcade are breathing new life into these “fun for the whole family” affairs in the form of e. version copies.
Carbonated Games’ straightforward version of UNO—released in 2006—is one of the most downloaded Arcade games on the Live service. This popularity surely has something to do with the release of UNO Rush, which is an updated take on the kitchen table classic.
The best way to describe the difference between UNO Rush and UNO is that it’s like the difference between playing basement chess and “on the clock’ speed chess. Casual chess players get to ponder their moves forever, whereas the speedy tourney players must think and react without delay. The same goes for UNO Rush in that there’s a very short time in between player turns. This time varies by a few seconds from turn-to-turn, but make no mistake about it: This one is called Rush for a very clear reason.
The basic premise of UNO Rush is the same as the traditional game. Cards can be discarded from your hand if they match the number, color or symbol (called Command cards) of the exposed card of the universal pile. The goal is to run out of cards before your opponents do, which equals a round win. Overall points are earned by how many cards your opponents have left in their hand during each round. Hit the required point total, and to you go the spoils of UNO mastery; usually a pat on the back from mom.
So where does the “UNO” call-out come into play? The rule is that you have to call “UNO” when there are only two cards left in your hand. If you don’t, you can be penalized by an astute competitor in the form of having to draw extra cards. It’s really just a means of keeping each player thinking throughout each match, and to offer up a possible round extension, even when victory looks inevitable.
Remembering to call out “UNO” in UNO Rush is much more difficult due to how the game has been set up for speedy play. Cards are automatically discarded from your hand, but they must be placed in the “top card” position for this to occur. The act of making a card the top card is simple enough: Just select with the A button and move it with the D-pad/left thumbstick. You can arrange as many cards as you’d like, but all moves have to be completed before your turn is up.
The difficulty arises from the speed at which card arrangement this needs to be done. You’ll literally have seconds to anticipate what numeral/color will be thrown down before your turn and to arrange your cards in a logical order. This involves not only thinking very quickly, but also having pretty sharp hand dexterity since fast controller inputs are mandatory for said sorting purposes. Furthermore, users will need hawk-like vision to keep track of the icons which indicate changes in game flow. For instance, if a player throws down a “Reverse” Command card (a card which acts as a sort of power-up/power-down), the direction of play will alter. If you don’t pick up on the arrow icons showing play direction, you’ll probably end up anticipating the wrong color/number play. Same goes for color-changing Command cards. All this, and you still have to remember to call out “UNO” too. Put your thinking caps on, folks.
That playing UNO Rush proficiently is just slightly less difficult than mastering an Air Force flight simulator means that it isn’t for everyone. Don’t expect grandma to join your party and have an instant blast, or expect the lower end of the “E” for Everyone age range to get UNO Rush’s fast-paced gist (unless of course they’re one of those violin-playing phenom kids that Oprah always features on her show). The saving grace for those not mentally sharp and/or dexterous enough to ace UNO Rush, however, is that Microsoft has given it full support, with Vision, avatar, Party Chat and Big Button pad standard.
Pay particular attention to the abovementioned Xbox Vision cam during a match. With Rush’s frantic pace and flashing visuals, you may just get to witness one of those photosensitive seizures that are highly publicized in game manuals. Or maybe just some geezer’s head imploding.
Achievements
The Achievements of UNO Rush will somewhat lull you to asleep initially, but things start to pick up as the Gamer Score Point totals rise. Many of these force you to play online, which is always a bit of a bear for those that tend not to do so. Those anti-Live users are better off trying to get lucky with card draws and nailing the 30 point Part Decorations, or the 25 point Party Planner discard bonus.
Here’s a look at the entire lot of Rush’s Achievements:
Graduation Party – Complete the interactive tutorial and pass the test – 5 GS Points
Victory Party – Successfully call UNO and win a round in the same turn – 5 GS Points
Surprise Party – Play two scramble cards – 5 GS Points
Party of One – Win ten rounds in Elimination mode by eliminating all other players – 10 GS Points
Private Party – Play 3 skip cards in a single round in Partner mode – 20 GS Points
Party Time – Win five games using the Fast house rule – 20 GS Points
Party Platter – Play at least one of each command card in a single round – 20 GS Points
Party Decorations – Change the color of the discard pile 5 or more times in one turn – 30 GS Points
Block Party – Win five local four player matches – 20 GS Points
Party’s Over – Score 250 points or more in a single round – 20 GS Points
Party Planner – Discard 9 or more cards in one turn – 25 GS Points
Life of the Party – Win 10 Xbox Live matches in any game mode – 20 GS Points
