World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
From Activision Inc.
World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions PSP
Amazon Sales Rank: #4119 in Video Games Brand: ACTIVISION Model: 47875752696 Released on: 2006-09-19 ESRB Rating: Teen Platform: Sony PSP Number of items: 1 Dimensions: .75" h x 4.25" w x 7.00" l, .22 pounds
Finally, a poker game that doesn't suck. No silly "bluff" and "tell" games, no freezing in the middle of tournaments, and no unnessecary stuff on the side. just good poker, with realistic people playing along side of you. With this game, you start off as a protege of Chris "jesus" fergeson, and you follow his advice through tournaments and WSOP invitational events, as well as heads-up play verses some of the best (and jennifer tilly, i guess, as well). One of the more redeeming factors about this game was that for once, without a silly game on the side, i was actually able to intimidate the computer players. Based on their verbal responses, they said things like "phew....not with how you're playing today. I fold." that's absolutely incredible to me, considering i had been attempting to play to just that end. my previous strong calls had actually caused the computer to fold. Also, in the tournaments, Mr. Fergeson has various bits and pieces of advice. Such as, when he tells you that a certain person isn't going to let you steal the blinds, they really aren't. you better have the cards to call, because that person, should they choose to stay in the pot in the first place, isn't going to give up even a small amount of chips very easily. a fun side note is that for once, you can actually play ad hoc with other players directly, without having to go through a silly internet server or having to be near a wireless access point. just two friends with psp's, and a fully charged battery (gotta love that built in wireless), and you are off to good poker fun. overall, the game is incredibly impressive, considering the caliber of poker games that we have already seen (or rather NOT seen) on the market until today. a great notch in the belt of World Series of Poker computer and video games, i can't wait to see what they come out with next. ---BTW.....the implied thing that i haven't really mentioned, is that since this game is a little more realistic....it's HARDER. this isn't the type of video game you pick up and expect to beat instantly. these players play well, and they change their style. one time they'll call you and try to bluff you out with a 2-4 offsuit....but the next hand they'll be slowplaying you with pocket aces. good luck to all that try on the "professional" level. Best one on the market for PSP by far After playing through the other PSP poker games, I was pretty bored with the lack of imagination and seemingly quickly thrown together software. Games like Stacked had so much potential to really be great, they just didn't go the extra few feet to make it so. Although this one also could have used some parts already integrated in the game to really make it more fun (the custom poker basement should have been an interactive part of the game, playing poker I mean, not just playing doll house....) But as for the structure and level of competition, it rocks. best poker game on psp? i've played 2 poker games so far and this IS the better one. the other is howard lederer's piece of crap of a game. i was expecting much better AI with this game but didn't get it. you still have pros going all in KNOWING they're going to hit the river. you still have all players at your table folding when you get A K (or some other solid starting hand) after a modest raise. almost any raise will cause all to fold. but when the NPCs play, they'll call anything pre-flop. there almost seems to be no happy medium between game speeds. slow is WAY too slow with WAY too much chatter. medium is still very slow. and fast is ludicrous speed. also, there isn't much character customization available. as for realism, i'd say no. "jesus" plays a hold'em or fold'em game with you where he gives you thumbs up or down on starting hands. if you follow his advise, you'll probably do well at a real table with pros (i don't know, never played with pros). but on this game, you'd be folding about 39 out of 40 hands dealt. and then, you'll get odd thumbs up for 6 5 off-suite or 7 10 off-suite. i know the amount of the blind has a lot to do with whether a hand is playable or not. that's normal. but i'd kick 6 5 off-suit all day long and not feel bad about it. another problem is there's very limited play available when you first start. the first game you play is a home game. win or lose, you move on to a real tournament of 4 games to play; limit or no limit @ $500 entrance fee or limit or no limit @ $1,500 entrance fee. all other games available earn you nothing in money or rank as far as i know. now the game does have a much nicer interface. it's visually appealing. the sound is much better with 1 flaw; there is a looped background chatter that can't be turned off without disabling all sounds you want to hear. gets repetitive. haven't tried the ad hoc mode but that's probably the best part of this game. then i'll be able to play with real players using a nice interface.
