World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions - 2007 Edition (Xbox 360, 2006)

Assuming you already know how to play poker, there isn't much of a learning curve here. The interface is intuitive and really there isn't too much need for a manual.

The gameplay mechanics work pretty well. There are a few annoyances, such as when you make a decision such as "fold," your player will sit there playing with his chips for a while before folding. Stop playing with your chips, and fold already! I realize it's for visual effect, but it happens way way too often, and it gets incredibly annoying when you just want the game to move on. The AI seems good, though I'm no poker expert. Some of the characters really do play like the pros, as they play fairly aggressively compared to a lot of newbies who play online (for real money).

Graphics are severely disappointing and are PS2/Xbox level graphics. Clearly Activision didn't put much effort into spicing up the 360 version of the game. Character models are rather basic, textures are ho hum, and the character's movements look robotic. The game clearly would've benefited from some motion capture. Facial expressions are lifeless, which you'd think is a good thing for a poker game, but even when someone wins big, their face remains emotionless.

Audio is also extremely disappointing. It would've been really nice to have a lot more audio going on: audience noise, better chip sounds, things like that. Even if some people find all that annoying, there could've been options to adjust those sounds. It's really a bummer when you go all in and win a major pot, and you CAN see the audience clapping, but hear nothing. Sometimes you can hear them clap (not sure why you can't always hear it), but it sounds like a few people clapping, not a large crowd. Players sneeze WAY too much, seriously. Is there a huge cold bug going around Vegas or something? It would've been nice to have more recorded phrases from the pros, too, and maybe a nice extra bonus if players talked to each other once in a while ("you got a pair of jacks, don't ya?").

I haven't tried online play yet so I can't comment on that.

Overall, it's a good game, probably one of the better poker games out there right now. But I hope Activision addresses the above issues for the next version.

Pros: Easy to find and join an online game, gameplay is easy, AI players change play (bluffing, etc)

Cons: Announcers become an annoyance after repeating same comments multiple times per game. Players sneeze constantly. Gameplay is slow and unexciting.

Summary: Seems like no testing was done prior to release. Not a fun game, I give all aspects average rating.

I found this game to be extremly intresting, it gives you a number of options and even lets you customize your player to look like yourself. As exciting as it started out, it did kind of get boaring after about a week, their are sounds (Shuffling Cards) and players make coments, however it makes for slow game play. If you enjoy playing Texas Hold em you will enjoy this. My problem is I am not a die hard card player.

This older poker game sports a decent poker engine but has a few nagging issues. The delay between your actions and the character has a slight delay. The chips the characters throw out never match the bets and their chat gets a little redundant after awhile. Other than that this game will give you your poker fix and practice until you hit a real table again with a tournament career. You can also join Xbox Live and play against real players.

We're at a juncture now with poker games, where providing a decent online mode and a lengthy career mode isn't quite enough to sell an entire package. With games starting to step it up in the AI category, it's time for all poker games to get smarter and not rely on the same robotic AI routines that don't emulate how people really play. And as far as presentation goes, it's not enough to just trot out a bunch of pro players, some licensed commentators, and camera support and call it a day. The PS2 and PSP already have a gaggle of poker games available that offer roughly the same features that Tournament of Champions does. On the 360, your only option at the moment may be the single-player-bereft and bare-bones Texas Hold 'Em for Live Arcade, but at least that game costs four times less than this one. You won't necessarily go wrong by checking out Tournament of Champions, but there are smarter and deeper games available elsewhere.