Hardwood Backgammon
Posted February 24, 2006
Part of their trio of games in the Hardwood series, Silver Creek Entertainment has brought the board game of ancient Romans to the Xbox 360 via Live Arcade. For those unfamiliar, backgammon is a strategic battle between two opponents mixed with a bit of luck. The object of the game is to move your 15 checkers around the track and into the home board by the roll of the dice. It's a simple game to pick up, but there are many strategies that can be used to defeat a skilled adversary. 
Gameplay:
Single player and Xbox Live match are the only two game modes to choose from. Single player can be set up for a certain amount of rounds and usage of the doubling die. The doubling die increases the amount of points awarded to you at the end of a round assuming you are the winner. These same options are also adjustable for the Xbox Live matches. I found the Xbox Live matches to suffer from slight lag, inept quitters, and general lack of available opponents.
For those unfamiliar with the game rules, there are two video tutorials that can be quite useful in the help menu. The third video on game strategy is far too short and it isn't a replacement for general experience. The help menu also offers a layout of the controls. The controls are simplistic and do their job admirably. Flipping around the board to search through the available moves is easily accessible to any player.
The 12 achievements for 200 points are fairly simple to attain, but they will require about four to six hours for completion. Sadly, the "win X number of consecutive games" achievement is exploitable by exiting out before a loss which is similar to the other two Hardwood games. Some of the others include winning by a certain number of points, completing X number of games on Xbox Live, and capturing four of your opponents checkers. The majority of these will be awarded with constant play.
Graphics:
The lackluster appearance of the background visuals is glaringly obvious in high definition. While there are several options for different backgrounds, each one is seemingly fuzzy and uninspired. Also, many of the odd backgrounds fell out of place for a board game. Having my backgammon board floating in space is just ridiculous. On the flip side, the board and the checkers are sharp and have quite a bit of detail. The movement animations are silky smooth and the checkers glide effortlessly around the track. There are also options for modifying the game board, but none of them look as good as the cherry-stained wooden board.
Audio:
The horrific midi soundtrack is a spacey, repetitive theme that doesn't mix well with the nature of the game. While doing a proper job of notifying the player of a change in the game, the sound effects are also painfully atrocious. There is a volume control to turn both of these dreadful auditory elements into silence. Crank up your own tunes if you plan to play for a couple hours.
Conclusion:
The game has mediocre single player action and a similar Xbox Live experience. The game's main limitation is that it doesn't offer any variation beyond the standard game rules. Honestly, I can't recommend spending 400 points on this title to anyone other than backgammon fanatics. The limited amount of replay hampers the title from being anything beyond an average offering on Xbox Live Arcade. Wait for a higher quality board game to come along to spend those precious marketplace points.
Gameplay:
Single player and Xbox Live match are the only two game modes to choose from. Single player can be set up for a certain amount of rounds and usage of the doubling die. The doubling die increases the amount of points awarded to you at the end of a round assuming you are the winner. These same options are also adjustable for the Xbox Live matches. I found the Xbox Live matches to suffer from slight lag, inept quitters, and general lack of available opponents.
For those unfamiliar with the game rules, there are two video tutorials that can be quite useful in the help menu. The third video on game strategy is far too short and it isn't a replacement for general experience. The help menu also offers a layout of the controls. The controls are simplistic and do their job admirably. Flipping around the board to search through the available moves is easily accessible to any player.
The 12 achievements for 200 points are fairly simple to attain, but they will require about four to six hours for completion. Sadly, the "win X number of consecutive games" achievement is exploitable by exiting out before a loss which is similar to the other two Hardwood games. Some of the others include winning by a certain number of points, completing X number of games on Xbox Live, and capturing four of your opponents checkers. The majority of these will be awarded with constant play.
Graphics:
The lackluster appearance of the background visuals is glaringly obvious in high definition. While there are several options for different backgrounds, each one is seemingly fuzzy and uninspired. Also, many of the odd backgrounds fell out of place for a board game. Having my backgammon board floating in space is just ridiculous. On the flip side, the board and the checkers are sharp and have quite a bit of detail. The movement animations are silky smooth and the checkers glide effortlessly around the track. There are also options for modifying the game board, but none of them look as good as the cherry-stained wooden board.
Audio:
The horrific midi soundtrack is a spacey, repetitive theme that doesn't mix well with the nature of the game. While doing a proper job of notifying the player of a change in the game, the sound effects are also painfully atrocious. There is a volume control to turn both of these dreadful auditory elements into silence. Crank up your own tunes if you plan to play for a couple hours.
Conclusion:
The game has mediocre single player action and a similar Xbox Live experience. The game's main limitation is that it doesn't offer any variation beyond the standard game rules. Honestly, I can't recommend spending 400 points on this title to anyone other than backgammon fanatics. The limited amount of replay hampers the title from being anything beyond an average offering on Xbox Live Arcade. Wait for a higher quality board game to come along to spend those precious marketplace points.