Review: World Championship Poker 2 for PSP
(CNN) -- There's one thing that trying
to create a poker video game has in common with learning the game of
poker: both tasks are a lot harder than they look.
Not only
does a console-based poker video game have to replicate the tricky
variances of a real-life game, it also has to match the convenient
interactivity of playing poker with a PC-based Internet connection.
Otherwise, it's hard to convince a nation of poker addicts to turn off
their computers -- and the 24-hour-a-day poker coverage on ESPN -- long
enough to play a poker video game on their PlayStations.
It
appears that Crave Entertainment has navigated that tricky challenge in
"World Championship Poker 2," the new game for the PS2, Xbox and PSP.
"WCP 2" boasts 14 varieties of poker, including the wildly popular "Texas Hold `Em."
You
start the game by creating your customized player. You select
everything from your player's gender, hair style, attire and even
personality type -- be it a brash trash-talker or a shy, silent
wallflower.
Half the fun of poker comes from trying to get a
psychological edge on your opponents and using their human frailties to
your advantage.
You may be skeptical about playing "WCP 2" in
single-player mode against computerized opponents who are anything but
human. But in "WCP 2," the computerized players are better than you
might expect.
Just like the guys you may play against in your
weekly basement card game, the computerized opponents in "WCP 2"
display a variety of playing and betting styles; there are some you can
bully into making stupid mistakes, others who will try to bully you,
and others who vary their playing styles so much that it's hard to read
them.
These computerized players even offer "tells" -- little
behaviors or physical reactions that, if you're alert enough to catch
them, can let you know what kind of cards they're holding. Look closely
to see if your opponent's hands are trembling or if he's leaning back
confidently in his chair -- both are telltale signs that he has the
cards to beat you.
This feature can cut against you as well. If
you have a particularly strong or weak hand, you're sometimes forced to
play a "Mini-Tell Bluff Game" -- a timed game-within-a-game where you
must use your controller to manipulate a cursor across a randomly
spinning circle.
Your success will determine whether your
character successfully bluffs your opponents or displays an
impossible-to-read poker face. If you fail, it is you who will provide
the "tell" that alerts your opponents to the strength of your cards.
The
"Mini-Tell Bluff Game" may be a valiant attempt to replicate the
complexities of a real poker game. But having to jump through this kind
of hoop to keep your poker face -- something that's far easier to do in
a real poker game -- can be frustrating.
To get the true poker
experience with "WCP 2," you may find that you have to test your skills
against real opponents online. The online feature even gives players
the option of using Sony's EyeToy camera to let their opponents see
live pictures of them. But during a recent six-hour playing session, I
was the only player who exercised that option, so I eventually turned
the camera off.
Although the online experience in "World
Championship Poker 2" is a cut above what you'll find in a standard,
PC-based online poker game, it still doesn't match the fun of a live
game.
The cool thing is, with an MSRP of $19.99 for the PS2 and Xbox -- and $29.99 for the PSP -- "WCP 2" can be a lot cheaper.
Source: CNN