World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions 2007 for Xbox 360

GF Rating

7

Good

Not bad at all

posted by washins (EL RENO, OK) Feb 12, 2007

Member since Jan 2004

7 out of 8 gamers (88%) found this review helpful

Interesting game, not great but not horrible either. Most everything has already been covered by other reviewers so I'll just tell you why I got the game and why I love it. But first let me say that the single-player is a bit bad. The computer makes some bad BIG calls and then sucks out on the river more often than not. These are bottom pair versus two pair and then hitting trips on the river. OK, once in a while is fine, but this is a trend for the computer and can get frustrating. Key word for offline play: FOLD!

Anyway, on to the point:

My friend and coworker have a friendly weekly heads-up tourney we play against one another (usually for lunch or a DVD, etc). He lives in a different city and recently decided to go back to school during the week in the evening, so our live Wednesday session at my place had to stop.

Making a longer story short, I picked up this game along with a Vision camera and tried it out. The setting up of on-line sessions are easy and can be customized down to every detail. The camera can be used to make "digimask" heads for your character. This adds to the experience but can be a pain to do the first time. Also the camera will display a live shot of the player whose turn it is to act. This is a nice touch, nothing great, but ok. After testing it out for a week or so he went out and did the same, now we can play our weekly game from the comfort of our couches and get in a lot more hands in a shorter amount of time.

Nothing beats the real thing, but this is good fun and a nice foundation for future titles.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

7

Good

a good poker simulator

posted by expyeb (GARDENA, CA) Oct 11, 2006

Member since Aug 2006

13 out of 17 gamers (76%) found this review helpful

If you plan on playing tournaments for real money this game may help to prepare you without burning your hard earned cash. But as far as having a fun time, its a little short. The commentary gets old fast, the same old jokes over and over. Oh, I didn't mention the constant coughing. Yeah its realistic cause you have old geezers and half-dead people in the casinos but it gets annoying. You can go into game options and turn off the background sound and speed up the game so you don't have to wait. I placed first out of 2400 players and won 4.4 mil. whoopee.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

7

Good

A Poker game worth betting on..

posted by Mirshaan (RICHMOND, VA) Nov 25, 2006

Member since Jun 2006

2 out of 4 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

Having played most of the poker games that have been out on a console for the past couple years, I can say this is one of the better ones.

PROS:
- Graphics are very good. The character models are very well done, especially the rendered characters. However the faces that are bitmapped in are strangely non-animated and odd looking.
- The AI is smarter than the average poker game and may just give you a run for your money. Different players at the table will display different styles, and don't expect that you can bully them out of hand after hand which is often the case with poker games.
- The Career Mode is deep and interesting. You start out playing in your friends basement and work your way up to the WSOP. Several different types of tournaments are available.
- Online multiplayer is fun, and you can utilize your XBox cam (if you have one)

CONS:
- The sounds are little off. The cards being dealt don't sound like cards, and the voices of characters often don't really fit the character or the situation. The commentary gets super-repetitive very, very quickly.
- The game moves slowly unless you constantly skip through play. I'd rather have the game be decently paced on its own and not be constantly having to skip scenes.
- Camera seems to get stuck in overhead view making for boring visuals.

If you like playing poker games on consoles vs. the CPU, you'll like this one. For online play against real people, you're still much better off to play online using one of the many Internet-based services. There weren't many people to play with in the online arena whenver I've tried this game, and I have gotten dropped many times in the middle of games.

I recommend this for the single player, but can't really recommend for the online portion.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

3

Bad

Worthless

posted by alecspade (JACKSONVILLE, FL) Oct 31, 2006

Member since Apr 2006

3 out of 8 gamers (38%) found this review helpful

This game is utterly unplayable. I am a regular poker player and am always looking to try out the new poker games. I just don't see how any poker video game can be successful.

The AI in the beginning is ridiculously stupid, which seems to be the standard for poker video games. I've never seen so much bad play, and not only that, suckouts seem to happen at an alarming rate.

Playing the game is either amazingly slow or amazingly fast, neither of which makes the game interesting at all. The sound effects at the table are annoying. The camera views don't add anything to the enjoyment.

The only good thing I could find out of this game is the tips offered throughout, which are solid hold'em tips and strategies for either limit or no-limit. The rest of the game is pointless and annoying. Do not buy this game under any circumstances. Rent it but don't be surprised if you're quickly returning it.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

3

Bad

WSOP 2007

posted by mikswan (LINCOLN, NE) Oct 9, 2006

Member since Aug 2006

1 out of 5 gamers (20%) found this review helpful

for being a poker player myself i think that the game gives the game poker a bad name. For example every hand takes at least 2 mins and if you fold there is no way to skip to the next hand or let alone fast forward the hand. it is really boring and i only could really only play it for about 45 mins b4 i had to shut it off

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

6

Above Average

Good, could be better.

posted by mgscj26 (BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI) Apr 11, 2009

Member since Dec 2008

The game presents a decent card playing experience, but it's lacking a bit in terms of fit and finish.

After you play a number of hands, you unlock tools that will aid your play; such as how powerful your hand is compared to potential hands, and how often your opponent folds. This might give you a good idea as to how likely it is that someone is attempting to bluff you, or the "Outs" section will show you what cards will make your hand more powerful if they happen to come up in the flop, river or turn. These things are nice, but if you're like me and haven't played a lot of poker in real life or in games, you'll be checking them constantly. And holding down the right trigger while searching through a menu to find the data you need, while it isn't exactly difficult, it just seems like the experience could be smoothed out.

The only real gripe I have is with it on a less statistical level. I imagine that when or if I were to play poker of any variety against a table of human opponents, that I would try to glean information based on body language, tells, and what else had happened that hand.

However, character models in the face leave quite a bit to be desired, it's difficult to try to get a read on someone. It begins to feel after a few games like you're really just playing the statistics rather than playing the perceptions of players and statistics alike.

That being said however, if you've slowly pummeled your opponent card players out of the game one after another, when you finally go all-in and try to take that last hand, a fair amount of tension exists while you wait for the final card to be revealed.

Essentially, if you're really into Texas Hold'Em, you'll most likely get a kick out of this game. If you're looking for an introduction, it seems to throw you into a world where you're only partially familiar with the terms, and doesn't offer the intensity of the tournaments you might watch that share the moniker of the game.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

1

Horrible

Waste of time

posted by Ferdog (TUSCALOOSA, AL) Jun 26, 2008

Member since Apr 2008

I dont really know what i was expecting renting this, but ill go ahead and let you know it was bad. The graphics.... terrible. Commentating is extremely repetetive. I play poker every thursday with a group of friends and usually end up in the top 3 out of 12 and this game is complete bull to be honest. The hands you are supposed to play dont play and the ones not even worth looking at play. I won more hands with low off suit non connectors than with pocket rockets or big slick. Not worth your time so dont bother with it.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

5

Fair

Not bad, but not good either

posted by GoldnDomer (OSCEOLA, IN) Feb 21, 2008

Member since Feb 2008

I know alot of you out there have played a game thinking that the reviews are wrong, they don't know what they are talking about? Well let me tell you, this game just doesn't capture that poker feeling for me. When you win a tournament, it isn't really all that. You feel like "i just wasted all this time for this ending?" Now I have to be honest I never made it to the WsOP table, but I did win some tournaments and just wasn't that impressed. On the plus side, if you like Chris Ferguson then you will like this game, and winning a hand off of a 2 pair low-card does feel good. So all in all, not bad, but not that good. Hopefully 2008 is better.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

2

Really Bad

Champion of Boredom

posted by MoSkillz (Highland Park, MI) Oct 19, 2007

Member since Mar 2007

That's the sum of it for World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions. The illusion of playing with your favorite star or celebrity poker player is quickly destroyed. You can't play as your favorite player or celebrity. You can't create a player. You' re the Rookie and that's that. The graphics are sub-par renderings. The characters are copies of four basic stereotyped cultures. The voice-overs are to repetitive. And there is this frequent, annoying coughing throughout the game. You'd think the virtual casino game room was infected with TB. I've downloaded better poker games for free. This game is another example of celebrity franchise exploitation. It should be called World Champions of Sucksville.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

6

Above Average

Better than the Howard L. Version of poker

posted by XBox36007 (PICKERINGTON, OH) Sep 30, 2007

Member since Sep 2007

This game is pretty good the gameplay is realistic the main screen and all display screens are cool unlike the other world poker championship. The only thing i didn't like too much about this one that is much better about the 2008 version is there isn't too many stars in this version. but still a great poker game for the 360.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

7

Good

Not the best game out, but the best poker game out

posted by RapDonkey (GRANBURY, TX) Sep 29, 2007

Member since Jan 2007

Its the best 360 poker game available which really isnt saying much. Does it compare to other non-poker games? Not at all. The voices are bad, the characters are bad and dont bother trying to find someone online to play with. But its still the best poker game for the 360 until this years TOC game is released.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

6

Above Average

Ok, Just Ok!!!

posted by ACustomer (JACKSON, MS) Sep 26, 2007

Member since May 2007

This game is ok, just ok, thats about it. The graphics are pretty good for a poker game, the online play is amazing, but it's a poker game, so after awhile this game gets old and eventually gets boring. Of course i'm not a hardcore poker fan, but this game is good for about a hour and a half, if you are a hardcore poker fan, you should buy it, if not, I wouldn't buy it. But it's up too you.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

4

Weak

Weak at Best

posted by nate52 (WESTFIELD, MA) Aug 27, 2007

Member since Nov 2006

Disappointing! I was hoping for a good poker game that I could just sit down and play for a little bit, boy was I wrong. WSOP tournaments took forever to play. If you folded you had to sit through the rest of the game sometimes. I will say that if you really want to play poker and want a idea of what it is really like then this is the game for you. The graphics were not that bad, one thing that bothered me a lot is no matter what size bet you were making the way players put in the chips were weird. You could be making a huge bet and it might like you were just throwing in a few chips for the blinds. I just warn you be prepared to wait.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

4

Weak

Not really worth it

posted by Leorga (MINNEAPOLIS, MN) Jul 19, 2007

Member since Jun 2007

It's so freakin slow, and when you do speed up you don't realize what is going on. It takes more than forever for the game to go from saying it made the move to actually making the move. Not even worth renting.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

3

Bad

Ewww, gross! -- Too much "realism"

posted by geophf (SPRINGFIELD, VA) Jul 6, 2007

Member since Jun 2006

There's something fundamental about releasing a game for mass distribution, such as this one, that I think this game developer missed: games, such as this one, are played because they are fun to play.

I found this game, however, to be the opposite of fun: from the narrator's voice that was less gripping and more sleep-inducing, to the continuous stream of coughing and sneezing from the participants, I found that approaching this game to play it again (why?) raised emotions more of disgust than of anticipation.

And what's with the audience? Surely a game like this must have a top-of-the-line randomizer. If that be the case, then why are the members of the audience in perfect sync in their movements? So last gen.

From start to finish, this game was unfun. The only lesson I learnt was to avoid the Texas hold 'em tables at the casinos.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

4

Weak

A waste of time

posted by Mnicpdx (PORTLAND, OR) Mar 6, 2007

Member since Feb 2007

This game was very disappointing. The play was very slow, and there appeared to be no strategy to the ai players. The sound was very annoying with the announcers using he same catch phrases over and over.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

7

Good

If U Like Poker, U Will Like This

posted by spudnation (JOLIET, IL) Feb 27, 2007

Member since Feb 2007

This is certainly an improvement on the weak Xbox Live game from last year. I like the career mode and it is humorous some of the outfits and voices characters have. The pacing can be frustrating, because when playing against the computer, it can be tediously slow. You can adjust this, but then the game goes really fast. I didn't feel like there was a happy medium. I played online, but many times you join a match where someone already has amassed a ton of money. Nonetheless, this is a good first entry for next-gen gaming.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

7

Good

Feels like Vegas

posted by a83ogJF (ROHNERT PARK, CA) Feb 13, 2007

Member since Jan 2007

The game gives you a great feel of how poker is played in Vegas. I like how Chris Ferguson (I think thats how is last name is spelled) gives excellent advice that is really effective. Downfall to the game is the repetitive things that the computer players say. Not only that some of "them" say that their going to call you but really their folding, wierd. If you enjoy Texas Hold'em this is the best poker game for any platform system, best online poker game too.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

1

Horrible

Simply Put

posted by GRIZZLY (OVIEDO, FL) Jan 30, 2007

Member since Jun 2006

Simply put save your self and gamefly from wasting time on this crapppy game. A few words to describe this game. Flat, boring, cheesy.i think it prob took more time to write this review then they spent making this crappp. this game is so bad i wouldnt play this if it was free. Please avoid this account at all cost.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

2

Really Bad

Boring

posted by JBKrew (FORT WORTH, TX) Jan 16, 2007

Member since Nov 2006

This game is probably the most boring game I have ever played. There were three game speeds: Slow, Really Slow, and Too Fast For Comprehension. Texas Hold 'Em is supposed to be a fast paced game, but the blocky, awkward movements of the characters and the completely inane dialogue don't allow the game to move along at anything close to normal game speed. You either end up waiting five minutes for someone to agonize over a move, or you can put it on fast play and try to keep up with the processor speed. I admit that I probably did not get to check out all of the features of this game because I was only able to keep my eyes open for five minutes before I fell asleep from waiting.
Dialogue is forced and, quite frankly, I was embarrassed for the players who were convinced to add their voices and images to this wretched game.
There is no way to speed the play along during the game. They should have added a command to advance the hand when the player is not involved. The draw of poker on TV is that there is always action on the screen. But in order to show that action, the producers cut out the hands where nothing happens. This game does not allow you to do that.
This game may have some draw to those hard core players out there who are looking for a chance to practice poker on the XBox, but if you are looking for a fast paced, exciting game of poker, you have to find a live game, or go on the internet.
This game makes me glad that I subscribe to GameFly so that I didn't waste $50 on it, just a few days while it was in the mail.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

7

Good

Good Game for being only Poker

posted by LoneWolfe (MARLTON, NJ) Jan 14, 2007

Member since Jul 2006

It is a relatively long game, which has its ups and downs. I enjoyed the challenge of the game when playing and was pleased to see that the AI came through in situations when bluffed or baited. The graphics were fairly good for a game I assume was made on a low-end budgest. All of the customizations and details were also very enjoyable and added a nice touch to the game.

I did not like how some of the AI were very suicidle at points. Calling and rasing with 2 7 off suit when obvious beat is in their eyes.

However, all in all it was a good game for playing some poker if that is what you enjoy.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

1

Horrible

Horrible!

posted by DaveClem (EL PASO, TX) Dec 10, 2006

Member since Oct 2005

The game is at a ridiculously slow pace. Yes, the characters are realistic and they move and talk... but when they stall or "act" like their thinking when they are trying to bluff... you can only get used to seeing the same acting until you realize that their reactions are generated and not real anyway so its not really going to tell you much. Additionally, the characters lines and reactions tend to repeat themselves and again.. one can only hear the same responses so many times. After awhile, I wanted to skip the other characters turns just so I could get to mine. It took FOREVER to actually play one table

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

6

Above Average

Hold'em Indeed

posted by Mwarner (PORTLAND, OR) Dec 7, 2006

Member since Nov 2005

I am a pretty big fan of poker and I would have to say it seems like they are holding out. 1st off nothing really seems next gen about this title at all aside from the amusing novelty of the Digimask creator. The single player really feels sloppy and thrown together with a few cutscenes. The AI is all over the place that seem to be totally random, a example of this would be playing any of the pro's is more or less like playing any of the other ai players, they do not seem to adopt any sort of strategy what so ever. All that being said aside from the somewhat sluggish online play it is handled very well. If you dig poker and you have a 360 I would suggest renting or picking up the game. You will end up spend countless hours online playing and maybe a a few hours unlocking single player achievements. Hopefully the next time around we will see a truly nextgen poker title.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

5

Fair

Don't Waste Your Time

posted by nintendo10 (BLOOMINGTON, IN) Dec 2, 2006

Member since Jul 2006

I was looking forward to getting this game in after I (as I'm sure all of you out there) saw the commercials of this game. As soon as I put it in, I was very, very disappointed. Game play was not thought out very well when they designed this game. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to get through ONE HAND. I ended up turning it off and playing some more Wii Sports!

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

GF Rating

3

Bad

Do not buy this game

posted by Gdgamer (VALPARAISO, IN) Nov 29, 2006

Member since Feb 2006

This has to be one of the worst poker games I have ever played. The game play is extremely slow, this may be good for people just learning to play poker. I f you are familiar with poker, you will lose intrest in this game quickly. Take some friendly advice AVOID THIS GAME IF AT ALL POSSIBLE.

Was this review helpful? Report Abuse

World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions 2007 for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

Release Date

GF Rating

Number of Players

ESRB

Compatible With

Buy