Official Website

Platform: PlayStation 2, PSP, Xbox 360, PC CD-ROM

Genre: Strategy (Card/Casino Games)

Number of Players: 1, 2 - 9 online (Broadband only)

Peripherals: Network Adaptor, EyeToy, USB Headset

Let me be up front; when it comes to Poker, I’m one of the worst players in the world. I know the rules, I know the hands, I just want to win and apparently I don’t know when to hold ‘em nor when to fold ‘em. When it comes to video games though, that’s a different story, and though Poker may not necessarily be my game, home console versions are another animal completely. My inability to play a good hand isn’t the thing to keep me from reviewing a game like World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions 2007 Edition.

World Series of Poker features a career mode, and it also actually has something of a story to it. You’re starting out your Poker game as a rookie and right in the middle of a game featuring Chris Ferguson. It doesn’t start as a high stakes match, at least not unless you consider the following; Chris has stated that whomever shows the most promise in the game is going to be taken under his wing and hopefully, he will mold them into a champion. Win or loss, it really doesn’t matter because either way, you’ll be the one selected. From there its on to the small time. You’ve got to start here if you expect to make it to the big leagues. You’re still an amateur, remember?

The stakes when you begin tournament play are quite a bit higher, the buy in varying in each stage. You will be playing Texas Hold ‘Em of course, the biggest game in Poker today (and the source of inspiration for about two dozen television shows it seems.) Depending on your style and how much time you want to invest, you can change the speed to the game. With normal, you’ll get to hear everyone speak their mind more or less, and the same is true of medium. Push things up to the fast speed however, and you’ll see the games fly by (and if you’re a reviewer, this isn’t a bad way to progress through the game when time is of the essence.) Each level has a large amount of players, something that is both a blessing and a curse. You have to get the number of players decreased in order to make it to the final portion of these rounds, and only top winners will walk away with both points and cash. However, as I found, there are times when you can have your winnings down to almost zero, the use an All-In to literally force everyone out for the hand and build back up your chips.

As you play more hands, you will not only begin winning money, but also collectible items. There are chips that you will win when certain conditions are met. Get pairs, three of a kind, or other various hands will win you chips, winning steaks will award you as will doing things like going All-In at certain parts of the hand. Even beating the pro’s will give you chips. There are also Poker Tools which can be accessed that will show you things like the Pot or Hand Odds, and this is quite a handy feature. You will see the chance you have of winning and what cards you need to draw in order to get certain types of hands. These are useful for knowing if you should push the hand further and go for broke, so simply decide that it’s time to cash in this time and hope for better luck during the next deal.

If you’ve played any form of Poker, the gameplay itself is very easy to get used to, and you can jump right in even if you know nothing about the game. There are four decisions corresponding to directions though they aren’t always all available. You can call, raise, go All-In, or Fold depending on your hand. You will also see which players are currently a part of the current hand, what the pot amount is, and a ticker on the bottom will give you important information such as how many players are remaining.

As you begin completing phases of the tournament, you will unlock levels that can be played in both Quick Play and Online mode. There are also items that can be unlocked for both your character and your Poker Room. At any point, you can examine what you’ve collected and you can edit your character as you see fit. While it’s not nearly as in-depth as what you might find in one of the WWE titles, and few games are, there are quite a few changes that can be made to your character to give them a unique look. Your Poker Room meanwhile is something that you can setup for online play and host a game with a location that has its very own look.

Eventually you will be invited to Invitational Events during your career, but if you’re tired of playing against others in the WSOP:TOC, there are other challenges. The Head’s-Up Tournament puts you in a one-on-one game against the pros, and the stakes are higher than ever before. These sessions are probably going to be best for players that have a good head for what the game is all about. There is also a “Hold ‘em or Fold ‘em” game and these rules are simple; based on your hand, you’re either all in, or you’re out completely. That’s it, plain and simple.

As World Series of Poker is available on both the PSP and PS2 (and other platforms) a very nice option has been included. Let’s say for a moment that you own both games on the PS2 and PSP, and there are undoubtedly some that will, and you are doing great in your current career, but it’s time to leave for work. That’s not a problem at all. You can simply hook the two systems together and transfer the career over, letting you continue on during your break or anywhere else, and this does work both ways.

Playing against computer AI is all well and good, but there are times when having a real human opponent is a much better option, and more challenging in many respects. WSOP:TOC does feature an online option, the various PlayStation 2 peripherals have been incorporated to enhance play. Not only can you use the headset to communicate with other players, you can also use the EyeToy so that you can be seen, not only heard, and this is where things get kind of cool. The game takes your image and renders it for your character, and the results are actually quite good.

With a game of this nature, I don’t necessarily expect to see anything spectacular as far as the graphics go, but what you’ll find here isn’t terrible either. The characters do look quite good for the most part, but there aren’t really any elaborate effects. But, this is poker, not a fighting game, so having amazing visuals isn’t going to benefit the game in any way. There are even sequences that use live action video when you move to other casinos.

If there’s a downside to WSOP:TOC, it’s that I lose to much, but I’m getting better. If you love Poker though, you’ll find a good deal of variety with this release, and it goes beyond just Texas Hold ‘Em. HORSE, Omaha Rules, No Limit and Pot Limit Hold ‘Em, and even Seven Card Stud are among the variations that you’ll find included with World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions ’07 and it’s very easy to lose hours of time without even realizing it.

-mike-