So we all know the rules of Uno (and if not, click here and here for my reviews which explains it a bit) so what makes Rush different?  Uno Rush is different because now everyone has all their cards showing at the same time and if you can play more than one card, you can.  This leads to you constantly shuffling your hand to be in the best “order” that it can be so that you can get chains of cards being put down and be the first one out.  Cards are played automatically and if you do not have a card that can be played at the end of your hand in time for it to move on, you will draw a card.  Confused?  Expect to feel that way for at least your first few games, but once you learn the way the game really works you will be hooked, guaranteed.  Also, now that it’s based on having the right order there is a new card that is the “Shuffle” card which shuffles the next person’s hand randomly.

You may have also noticed that I said in the last paragraph that everyone’s hand is showing.  This makes it very different from regular Uno in which you don’t know what cards someone has and you have to plan a strategy around that.  This simple fact changes the game completely because it will change how you rearrange your hand when it is not your turn and since it is part of the game to begin with it doesn’t feel like cheating like with the PS3 version of Uno.  This also means that unlike the XBLA version of Uno, you can play it 4 player all local on the same console (but it does still support online play).

There are all kinds of variations to play as well such as partner and elimination modes, plus changing the amount of points needed to win, if you have to call Uno, and more.  This leads to a lot of variety in a game that is already very addictive with local and online play (and any mixture of a number of players per console when playing online).  People that do not normally play video games have been shown this game at my place and they have all loved it after those initial first few confusing rounds.

So in the end I’d say that this is very much worth the 800 MS Points ($10) that they ask for since it truly feels like a whole new game and not just a new mode, although I don’t think anyone would have complained had it been released as a $5 add-on for Uno.  This does mean that you do not have to buy the original if you do not care (Say you are looking to only play local, which Uno doesn’t let you) and it also allows for better Avatar support in the game (as cosmetic as it may be).  I highly recommend this game to anyone that’s a fan and you can always check out the demo to see if it’s for you.  Click here to go to the official Xbox.com web site and add it to your download queue.

4.5/5 Stars – This is a very addictive card game that wouldn’t really be as easy to play with real cards making it seem less “silly” to purchase a digital version of it.  Lots of fun will be had playing this either local or online making it well worth the 800 MS Points ($10) asking price.  The only downside is the lack of different decks like in the original Uno on XBLA.  PS3 owners are once again missing out.

Uno for XBLA is what XBLA is all about: quick downloadable game that’s easy to pick up and play, can be played with friends online, and at a low price.  This is one of the best selling games on the service and to the surprise of no one.  If you don’t know the rules already, Uno is a card game where you are given a hand of cards and you try to get rid of all your cards before your opponents.  To get rid of cards you have to match the card in the middle in the discard pile either by matching the number, color, or special card.  The special cards do things like skip players or reverse the order you are going in.  If you fail to call “Uno” (done by pressing the X button in the game) before having only 1 card left then someone can challenge that you didn’t call it and you have to draw 2 cards.  If you can’t play anything from your hand during a turn you also have to draw.  That’s it, it’s simple but addictive and fun and there are various options/variations you can play in this version to keep things fresh.

You can play single player against AI opponents or online with up to 4 players, but no local play since seeing your opponents cards makes it much easier.  You can do standard Uno which is play until someone gets 250 points (for each card left of your opponents you get points), Partner Uno is exactly what it sounds like, and then House Rules Uno where you have control over what scoring type it is, what the winning score is, type of penalties, if you need to call Uno, the ability to bluff, and even turn special command cards on and off.  All this is available in single player as well as online.  Everything runs extremely well online since it’s a turn based game and even adds a timer to prevent people from sitting there doing nothing making people wait.  This is also still a very active game online making it very easy to match up with other players.

When playing online you have the choice of either seeing the other players’ video feed from their Xbox Vision camera or you can just keep things private and see their Avatar.  Obviously there’s no way to filter out what people show on the camera so one has to be careful, but it can be cool when playing with a bunch of friends online.  I recommend any females out there wanting to play not to play with a camera unless they just want everyone else playing to constantly ask you to show them your boobs.  The Avatars will do the standard basic animations while playing and was adding in later on as a patch so it definitely feels tacked on, but at least it is in there for those that care.

On top of the standard deck of Uno cards that you can play with there are other decks available for download that add variations with other special cards to use.  There is a 35th Anniversary Deck (this game was released during the 35th Anniversary of the game) that has a “35th” card that requires a player to play a 3 or a 5 as the next card, a Project Gotham Racing 3 deck that has a Gotham TV card that let’s you choose an opponent’s hand to look at, a Kameo deck that has you turn into the different creatures from the game when you match a card (For no real affect on gameplay, it’s purely cosmetic) and a card to swap hands with an opponent, and finally a Street Fighter 2 deck that has a special card that has the opponent of your choosing keep drawing until they draw a “skip” card.  These decks include new sound effects, music, and backgrounds as well and are a great way to extend the replay value of this game to mix things up a bit.  The 35th Anniversary deck is a free download but the PGR3 and Kameo decks will run you 100 MS Points ($1.25) and the SF2 deck is 280 points ($3.50).  In my opinion the Kameo and PRG decks are worth the money, but I have a hard time being able to say that the SF2 deck is worth the money.  It is cool to have but there is no reason it should be that much more expensive especially since it really was released just to advertising for the release of Super Street Fighter 2 HD Remix.

As an XBLA game it has the standard 12 achievements totally 200 points.  All achievements are designed to just keep you playing with the exception of the bluffing achievement.  They are mostly things like win 40 games, play 40 Draw Two cards, play 40 Skip cards, etc.  For those that care this can keep you playing for quite sometime to get them all, and once you do there are still lots of stats that it keeps track of and leaderboards for various things to keep you trying to be the best.

4.5/5 Stars - All in all this is a great downloadable game for only 400 MS points ($5) with lots of features and replay value.  It is a game that came out in 2006 that I still play on a regular basis and I highly recommend anyone who does not have it to download it now.  You can click here to go to the official Xbox.com page for it and add it to your download queue.