Some pieces of card
Ultimately, there are already plenty of online poker games which you can play for free; and that’s where WCP falls down. If you want to learn how to play poker, there are plenty of websites that will teach you. If you want to win money in the process, there are also plenty of genuine, real cash poker matches going on all over the web at any given time. And if you want to have some fun with a pack of cards and some mates, well, a pack of cards and a box of nails (cheap-ass chips) will be all the expenditure that’s required.
Posh chips
Hardcore poker fans won’t find anything in this package worthy of interest mainly because the gameplay doesn’t match the real-life excitement, and there’s no scope for genuine stakes. Poker novices would probably be better off learning the basics for free, and then following it up if they are still interested. So that just leaves a fairly niche market, for those who are Live enabled, happen to have £20 odd spare and are wanting a convenient, well-polished package to spark an interest in what is becoming the latest craze.
We’ve enjoyed WCP far more than we’d expected and will certainly return to it on a fairly frequent basis. The pace of action in a parlour game like this is refreshingly calm and yet also quite addictive. But the bottom line is that for the cost of this game, you could be playing for real (on an admittedly low-stakes table: online or off) with the chance of actually winning money. Alternatively, for less than the cost of this game, you could get yourself a rather nice little poker set, a six-pack of strong continental lager, and nicely printed invites to send round to the boys .
SPOnG Rating: C+
If the idea of an online console poker game appeals, then this is as good as it gets. It’s nicely presented and works solidly: but without real stakes or real people, the experience is inherently less exciting than it should be. So, if you’re already a poker expert, or hold little interest in becoming one, this has to be one of the most inane video-games of recent times. Regardless, it's mostly acadamic until the PAL version gets confirmation!
