| |
World Championship Poker 2 Featuring Howard Lederer [video game review]
Published: 2005-12-22
 By Eric Schomburg
Poker has always been a game of skill and luck. Depending on how a player is depicts whether or not a person can play the game of poker. I am a huge fan of poker and have played poker myself on a number of occasions.
Poker’s popularity is as high as reality television, and it shows with television shows, video games, and the internet.
If you’re a fan of poker, and you have your own personal video game console then World Championship Poker 2: Featuring Howard Lederer is your game.
If you have read my article regarding the difference between Activision’s World Series of Poker, and 2K Game’s World Poker Tour, then you can include this game in with those games.
I have played the first World Championship Poker and I was impressed with it, but it seemed too cartoony, not to mention there weren’t any professionals in the game; however, Crave Entertainment redeemed themselves with World Championship Poker 2.
If you have played WSOP or WPT for your PS2 or Xbox, you are familiar with how the game of poker works; however, World Championship Poker puts more of a “role playing” atmosphere into the game than just playing tournaments all day.
In career mode, you become a no-name in the world of professional poker, and to add more insult to injury Crave gave the distinct pleasure of pitting you in your mom’s basement. Ouch!
When you start out playing, you play with your “buddies,” in which should look familiar for any male or female who plays in the basement with their friends.
What’s especially nice is if you gain your “goal” while playing you get a shot at a tournament. Tournaments happen literally all over the world. What is especially nice is unlike WPT, WCP2 doesn’t just pit you in a Texas hold’em game, yet you can enter a seven card stud tournament, or a Omaha hi-lo tournament.
As you progress you can purchase cool stuff for your “pad.” Stuff like a tv, computer, furniture, and other assortments to make your pad look nice.
One superior aspect of WCP2 that clearly defeats both WPT and WSOP is the graphics. By far, the graphics are simply awesome. Greg Raymer looks exactly like Greg Raymer, right down to the holographic glasses. If you played WCP then you understand how cartoonish the graphics were; however, in WCP2 the graphics are simply stunning.
The create a player is good, but has it’s faults. The create a player is limited when it comes to faces and clothes, but it redeems itself with cool things like masks, hats, and other glasses. I was amazed that they put a Friday the 13th hockey mask in the mix, and even a huge jack-o-lantern head. Just for having a wacky selection instantly gets some Bonus points from this player.
Another great aspect of the game is the personality of your character. You can pick from an assortment of personalities. Such personalities could be a “college boy,” “abusive,” “sarcastic,” and other personalities to choose from. If you pick a woman, the personalities with be different than if you picked a man as your character. An interesting note, the sarcastic personality sounds a lot like poker brat boy, Mike Matusow.
Another superior aspect of WCP2 is the professional players. Finally, a poker video game with poker professionals that EVERYONE knows.
Howard Lederer - He is known as the poker professor for a reason, he’s just that damn good. He’s won two WSOP bracelet’s, as well as two World Poker Tour tournaments. Howard is cerebral to the poker world, and he’s simply one of the greats.
Annie Duke - Leading women’s money winner in the World Series of Poker and she’s also the sister of the poker professor himself, Howard Lederer.
Clonie Gowen - You may have seen her recently on the FullTiltPoker.net Poker tournament on FSN, or you may have seen her win the WPT Ladies Night Invitational beating out two other poker greats Annie Duke and Jennifer Harman.
Amir Vahidi - You may have recognized him in 2003 when he was at the final table at the World Series of Poker main event.
Greg Raymer - The Fossilman himself. Greg is notorious for psyching his opponent out with a pair of holographic glasses that have snake like eyes. Greg is also the 2004 World Series of Poker main event champion. You may have seen him do commercials for Pokerstars.net, and being in the 2005 World Series of Poker main event tournament.
Matt Savage - Matt is the director of both WSOP and WPT television shows. He has been responsible for directing 100's of poker shows.
Paul Darden - You may have seen him on World Poker Tour’s “Bad Boys of Poker” DVD. One of the few African-American professional poker players, Paul has done well with a WPT title and a WSOP bracelet.
Robert Williamson III - You may have seen Robert on the WSOP. He has won a WSOP bracelet. Gambling is this man’s middle name, because he started at the age of ten in perfecting his game.
One final superior aspect that knocks out both WSOP and WPT is the artificial intelligence. The computer’s AI is unbelievable. What is cool about the AI is how the players either get confused by your bluffing, or your poker face. Not to mention that the AI for WCP2 knows when to bluff, or give away their hand. The game is not easy, but if you read them well, then you will win the game.
Speaking of bluffs and poker faces, WCP2 also uses an emotional detector that clearly beats out WPT’s lackluster emotional level. WCP2's emotional level is something that you, the player, has to control just like in real poker. You try to place the level at either bluff, tell, or poker face. It’s a better emotional level, because it’s more realistic than just WPT’s emotions of disgust, anger, etc. What’s better is the emotions on WCP2 actually work against your opponent, right down to the trepidation and even trembling.
World Championship Poker 2 is by far the BEST console poker game on the market; however, it doesn’t stop there. If you have a PS2, you can go online and even use your eye toy.
If you love poker that won’t get stale after a few tournaments then World Championship Poker 2 is your game. Not only do you get the feel of real poker, but you also get the realism of making it as a big time poker player, and you don’t always have to play the same game over and over and over. It’s always a new experience
World Championship Poker 2 is an inexpensive game that is the perfect gift for anyone who loves poker. You can buy it now at any video game retailer or you can go order it online.
World Championship Poker 2 = 8 ½ out of 10
For more on World Championship Poker 2: featuring Howard Lederer, please go to http://www.cravegames.com/games/wcp2/
| |
Gambling Online Magazine's Annual Readers Poll Awards 2005 Announced
Published: 2005-12-21
 SOURCE: Bluff
Atlanta, GA - Poker is a game of power: The power to be courageous, the power to win with nothing in your hand but a fistful of determination and the power to turn rags into royal flushes. Bluff Magazine polled a panel of industry heavyweights and poker pundits to identify the most powerful and influential names at the final table of the poker industry – ‘The Poker Power 20’. This definitive list ranks individuals and organizations based on their demonstrated ability and willingness to be an evolutionary force in the industry.
‘The Poker Power 20’ is more than a list of top money earners in poker. “To truly reflect the juggernaut that poker has become, ‘The Poker Power 20’ includes the companies, the brains trusts and the innovators that have aided poker’s phenomenal commercial success,” said Bluff Editor, Michael Caselli.
The near exponential growth of poker can be measured in more than just financial terms. Poker’s success and influence is now felt all across the entire social spectrum and can be measured by the number of celebrities, heroes and revered entrepreneurs it has created, along with the unbelievable amount of new players it is attracting. All those finalists honoured in ‘The Poker Power 20’ have been integral components of this redefinition of poker in the public consciousness.
The list of finalists includes modern-day poker heroes such as Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Chris Moneymaker, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Hellmuth – everyone’s favorite guy to love to hate. It also includes behind-the-scenes poker movers and shakers such as tournament director Johnny Grooms, player agent Brian Balsburgh and WPT co-founders Steve Lipscomb and Lyle Berman. Additionally, ‘The Poker Power 20’ honors pioneering websites such as PartyPoker and PokerStars.
The results of Bluff Magazine’s ‘Poker Power 20’ will be available in its January issue.
| | |
English
Deutsch
Español
Français
Italiano
Nederlands
Pусский
Svenska