SummaryHardwood Spades is an adequate but not great spades card game implementation. It supports both solo (with an AI partner and two AI opponents) or multiplayer play, including over Xbox Live. The AI is adequate but not great, good enough to avoid leaving you cursing at the screen, but not good enough to substitute for a human partner. It supports most common rule variants, but no completely variant gameplay styles, no challenges, and no puzzle mode. The graphics are adequate but not spectacular, and the music gets annoying in extended play. The achievements are a mess: unimaginative grinding for the most part, with two exceptionally cheap achievements that will require multiplayer boosting.
If you really want to play spades on your Xbox 360, this is adequate and does what it says on the tin, and the 400 MSP price point is about right (it would be a rip-off if it were any more expensive). It's much more appealing if you have friends to play with on Xbox Live. It's absolutely no substitute for playing spades in person.
GameplayIt's spades. There's controller vibration when it's your turn, which is either helpful or annoying depending on personal preference. The computer does highlight your playable cards and move your initial card selection into the middle of the suit that you can play, which is very helpful. Play is also quite quick with no tedious animations, which I appreciate in a card game.
You have your choice of standard spades rule variations (length of game, 50 or 100 point nils, card passing or not when betting nil, blind nils or not). There's nothing outlandish, nothing that wouldn't be described in any book of card game rules. There's no puzzle or challenge mode, which while not unusual for this sort of game is something that I missed: spades has strategy and opportunities to show beginning players what plays to make in particular situations, and it would have been nice to have a game mode to teach and test that. It also would have been an opportunity to add some achievements that weren't lame.
Computer AIIf you're playing this game with fewer than three friends, you're going to get a lot of exposure to the computer AI. Thankfully, while it isn't exceptional, it doesn't suck. It's about on par with the AI in other computer spades games I've played, and is reasonably good at covering your nils as a partner (the opportunity for the most frustration in spades AIs).
It does have the problem that every other computer spades AI I've played with has: at least in my opinion, it doesn't bet anywhere near aggressively enough. Expect lots and lots of bags (overtricks) in a typical game; it's unusual if the bet totals more than 10 or 11. The computer also very rarely goes nil. This can be a plus, in that you're unlikely to get too frustrated with your computer partner making bets it then can't take, but the constant string of games with two or three bags (or more!) takes a lot of the excitement and risk out of play.
Graphics and SoundThe screen shots completely capture the game. The card designs are functional and reasonably readable, but aren't going to excite anyone. You can pick from some different custom backgrounds. Some of them are vaguely pretty for five minutes, after which it's unlikely you're going to notice them. There's background music which you will quickly get sick of if you play for an extended length of time. There are a few nice touches: a sound effect when someone breaks trump, and a display of tricks taken that clearly shows when you've taken your partner's tricks.
AchievementsLame.
Nearly all the achievements are "play this game for a long time" grinding achievements. There are only a few achievements that encourage any sort of risk-taking or alternative play styles, and they're very easy. Expect to grind a lot for the rest.
There are two achievements that are simply broken.
The To the Moon achievement in Hardwood Spades worth 54 pointsTake all the point cards in a hand. Earn this in Single Player or Xbox Live play. For those not familiar with spades, it's not at all like hearts, where shooting the moon is a common strategy and not particularly difficult. Shooting the moon (taking every trick) is exceptionally rare in spades. I used to play spades in person with friends, probably five or six 250 point games each week for years, and I've never seen anyone shoot the moon in competitive play. It's vaguely possible, I suppose, so that achievement could possibly be justified as one of those 10 GS achievements no one gets (but not 20GS!), but:
is simply absurd. There is no way you're going to get this achievement unless you get together with three friends to boost and artificially construct and play the game in order to ensure that one team takes all the tricks. I hate achievements like this. I don't mind boosting for achievements, but achievements that cannot be obtained without boosting in a very artificial way are just obnoxious.
2.0