It almost seems that nothing in recent memory has taken off quite as much as the game of poker. At any given moment, poker tournaments are held at bars, basements, college campuses, and the competitions have even invaded grade school lunch periods. The escalation of poker tournaments on cable television has been unprecedented, giving the casual fan tremendous insight into the game. It started with Texas Hold’em on ESPN and has moved on to Celebrity contests and other programs. Now the card game has invaded the Nintendo DS. Is World Championship Poker worth going all in for, or should you pass on this one like an off suited 7 2 hand?
Facts and Features
• Twelve types of poker and card games including Texas Hold’em, Five Card Draw , Video Poker and Black Jack.
• Interactive Poker tutorials for each game.
• Wireless multiplayer for up to six players, featuring a “smack talk” system so you can taunt your opponents.
• Quick Play for players who just want to play a quick tournament style card game.
• Career mode that features four 3D themed casinos, poker tournaments, a Loan Shark and a Gift Shop. Customize your character with “bling” as you rake in more pots!
Presentation
World Championship Poker is presented in a simple, but inherently intuitive manner. The game boots up to a relatively unadorned menu from which the user has the option of selecting from one of six options. Gamers can choose from a standard quick play, career, and multiplayer modes or alter the game’s settings. One of the more disappointing aspects of this title involves the Options menu. There are only four available selections, and unfortunately the game does not save your choices upon turning the system off. The game’s saving woes continue in career mode. Tournament rounds can typically take quite a bit of time, and there is no option to save your progress in between hands. World Championship Poker does however save your advancement in terms of rounds which is very helpful in later tournaments.
Once you get down to playing cards, the top screen of the DS shows a 3D model of the current player and lists the others to the side. This listing of players shows you who remains in the game and what actions they have performed this round. The bottom screen of the system outlines the amount of money you have available, and also how much is in the current betting pot. The cards area laid out in a straightforward manner in the center of the screen, and below it are the touch sensitive call, raise, and fold buttons. The problem with the buttons is that a slight delay exists from when you make your selection until when the move is executed. The gap is also not helped by the poor background of the bottom screen. Behind the buttons and cards exists a mono-colored background. Luckily enough, the game is presented in entirely intuitive manner from which anyone can seemingly pick up and play. Another problem arises when playing card games that involve the use of community cards. In Texas Hold’em for instance, three community cards are provided initially, followed by two more with betting between them. At the end of the hand the player with the best five-card hand using these cards is pronounced the winner. The issue is that the player is forced to remember what these community cards were, as they are disappointingly absent from the final screen.
While in career mode, the game takes on a 3D first person role and allows the user to venture throughout several casinos as well as a small city. This unique adaptation is actually pulled off quite well. The top screen shows the world from your perspective, while the bottom shows you a detailed map of your area. Players control their character with the D-pad but also have the option of tilting the camera upwards or downwards by the shoulder buttons. The game adopted a feature that allows the user to touch the image of a card table on the touch-screen and be immediately taken to a menu giving them a choice of games to play.
Gameplay
The meat and potatoes of World Championship Poker comes in the variety of card games offered. Gamers have their choose between 12 types of poker ranging from the popular Texas Hold’em, 7 Card Stud, and 5 Card Draw, to obscure variations like Pineapple, Baseball, and Double Flop. As an added bonus, the game also features an insanely addictive Blackjack mode. World Championship Poker does an excellent job of immersing you into the game. You will often find yourself repeating “Just one more round†several times before turning the system off. In addition, the game features single cart multiplayer support for up to six people.
The career mode of the game is surprisingly long lasting. Gamers can expect to devote several hours to accomplishing the game’s objectives. On your road to becoming the world champion at poker, it is necessary to compete in several tournaments and work your way up to the more selective casinos of the area. At first you are placed in the small time Wild West Corral, but you play your way through 3 other casinos. After winning the tournaments of the Wild West Corral, you proceed to an Amazon themed casino. From there you tackle the Nebula and its galactic ambience. The events of the game culminate at the world class Renaissance casino where you go head to head with the best in the world.
World Championship Poker’s artificial intelligence is far from a strong point. It is far too common for your opponents to go all in, risking all of their earnings at once, in the opening hand of the tournament. In general your opponents show a great willingness to risk everything, but will often fold to a minimum bet before the flop.
The game allows the user to break away from the linear story line at any moment and participate in hands of the other card games. Either from tournaments or from these side games, players earn money that they can use at their own digression. The option exists to improve your character by purchasing statistics in 4 categories; luck, game face, intimidate, and finally skill. For every $5000 you spend your statistics improve by 6.2%.
For those who wish to reside on their own skill, the game gives them the option of purchasing a wide variety of accessories, gear, and other various items. For a reasonable sum of money, it is possible to alter your clothing and hair as well as purchase accessories like watches, sunglasses, and wristbands. Collectors will find solace in purchasing a myriad of pointless merchandise. For a rather large amount of money you can purchase a limo ride, concert tickets, a snowboard and even a big screen TV. However, there is no bonus for improving your collection, so only the truly dedicated will wish to raise the money necessary for this undertaking.
Two mini-games are also hidden in the city. If you search hard enough, you will discover that there are two buildings from which you can either play darts or air hockey. In both of these games it is required that your character ante up a sum of money. If your feeling confident you can get double your money back, but beware, both games are challenging. For instance, when throwing darts it is necessary to predetermine the angle and then control the velocity using the stylus and the touch screen. The problem that arises is that it is very difficult to get a handle on where to aim and how hard to throw the dart. The other mini-game, air hockey is much easier to control. Again using the touch screen, you move your paddle around the table deflecting your opponent’s shots.
The wireless play mode contains all thirteen-card games and is a breeze to set up. The only problem that arises is that the game does not give you the option to import your career mode character. It does however give you the option of selecting from several pre-made characters. Gamers can choose from a variety of amusing characters such as a grandmother and grandfather, and even a cowboy. The option also exists to have the game generate a random character for you to use, but it is far more fun to take your friends money as a seventy-year-old lady. Multi-player mode is not short on options either. Before a game, the host is given the duty of selecting the amount of money each player will have, selecting the number of rounds, and if desired allocating a time limit. Fortunately for gamers, Sensor Sweep Studios was smart enough to not have the game end in the middle of a hand due to the time limit. The players will finish their hand and then the game will pronounce a winner.
Graphics and Sound
For a game that seemed to come out of nowhere, World Championship Poker’s graphics are actually pretty impressive. The game boasts a notable 3D first person view that is surprisingly well done considering the development cycle of the game. While the graphics far from push the system to its capabilities, they cannot be discounted. There is a decent amount of detail associated with each casino, and the backgrounds fit the style and theme of them well. One of the games shortcomings is in the character models. While in the game mode; the character animations are far too generic and often poorly implemented. A given character in the game will repeat the same animation over and over with no regard to the current situation in the game. While it is amusing to see the old man breathe in through his inhaler, it quickly grows old and intrusive. It is however possible to turn these animations off in the options menu of the game. Doing this will do wonders for the speed and enjoyment of the game. The background of the top screen sports a moderate amount of detail and changes upon the setting, but ultimately leaves much to be desired. With so little going on, it should not be too much to expect better eye candy for the top screen.
Like the graphics, World Championship Poker is lacking a little in the sound department. Ambient music plays in the various casinos and streets of the game with subtle chatter in the background that contributes to the ambience of the title. However, neither of these has a tremendous amount of depth to them. After a few hours of play you’ll grow tired of the repetitive music and turn it off in the options menu. The same goes for the in-game sound effects. While playing a hand of poker, the round will always end with the winning player saying, “read em and weepâ€. What’s worse is that most of the voices sound the same.
Closing Comments
The amount of time you can spend on this game is actually quite surprising. It is far from a game that you will put down after a few minutes of play. The game does a great job of immersing you into it and while the multimedia of the title often detracts from the experience, it is generally possible to overlook these faults simply by turning them off. While this game is far from the sleeper hit of the year, it is one not to ignore. World Championship Poker has a tremendous amount of depth to it. You’ll be hard pressed to grow tired of its card and mini games and the single player mode can last for many hours. The single cart multiplayer is definitely a plus for this game. It is simple to set up and allows you to play with 5 other friends easily. If your not a fan of poker than you should most likely avoid this game, but if you have an interest in the card game, World Championship Poker will prove to be a title that you can enjoy. In short, there is not enough to attract most gamers, but the substance of the game is enough to satisfy even the most mild of poker fans.
