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Full House Poker Review Microsoft Xbox 360 XBLA

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  • Full House Poker Review Microsoft Xbox 360 XBLA

    The only thing you'll see, you know it's gonna be, the Ace of Spades, the Ace of Spades.

    Although that's only correct about 2% of the time. Thank you Lemmy. What is certain is that there has been a proliferation and greater interest over the last few years for poker in general, be it televised events or taking part online. Needless to say that videogame releases have gone hand in hand with this rise in popularity, the latest being Full House Poker, Microsoft's media-dubbed interactive replacement for the axed 1 vs 100 game.

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    If you are not versed with how poker works, then this game is not going to teach you either, so it would be best to grab a book or online guide first before continuing. Full House Poker (FHP) uses the popular Texas Hold 'Em format (THE) with a choice of hand rules, although the most popular by far will be high hand, which as suggests means that the winner is the person with the best hand of the round. Should it come to a showdown of revealing your cards.

    There are two statistics that all players will need to keep track of during their career. The first is the player rank, which works very much like an RPG; you earn experience (XP) from doing well, making good calls (such as folding at the right time), busting out opponents, and making a hand on the river, and with a certain amount of XP you gain a level. Each level upgrade gives various in-game rewards such as avatar outfits; chip tricks that be performed; various chair, table and card styles; increased buy-in limits; and personal titles that can describe what type of player you are.

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    Secondly there is the bankroll. This is a representation of how much in-game money you have earned, and is normally the payoff from doing well in tournaments. It also acts as a fund for higher ranked tournaments that need an entry fee. With higher levels comes increased funding ability, should you not be able to pay fully for entry into a tournament, or need to buy extra chips during a normal session if you bust out. The penalty for either is playing a certain number of hands afterwards without being able to earn any XP.

    Options are quite comprehensive for the single player mode, should you choose to hone your skills or earn some bankroll. Tournaments and single sessions can be created with anywhere up to 29 AI players involved, with the base entry chip level, buy-in cost, blind amounts and game type all configurable. There is also a series of computer AI "showdowns" where you must bust out an increasingly more skilled set of opponents. Multiplayer allows for similar flexibility, except this time you have to worry about actual human opposition. While the AI is competent, it can be a little predictable and doesn't attempt to bluff all that often. Flaws you cannot level against real people, not at least until you begin to read them yourself.

    In fact, sometimes the playing of poker can come second to the social interaction possible, and often relaxed atmosphere that having many people around a table creates. Sure there is the occasional dumbass shouting his mouth off over the headset, but even against randoms the nature has been a lot less hostile than many other titles, and with a group of friends, can be a great way to chill out. Until one of them manages to spank you on the river and then the course banter emerges!

    Aside from creating your own multiplayer sessions, Microsoft organise scheduled group online timed challenges called Texas Heat, which act in a similar manner to the previous 1 vs 100 competitions. The only downer being that as this is technically gambling, there are likely not to be any real, physical prizes handed out. However there are various card, table and chair styles to be unlocked that cannot be earned in any other way. Part of the issue is that playing well isn't directly linked to being ranked higher in Texas Heat; performance is based strictly off XP accrual, and if you are in with a group of AI bots and not humans, you are easily more likely to be able to earn more XP in that period. It's a nice idea, but it has its flaws. Maybe it is just as well there are no real prizes to it, merely unlocks and achievements.

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    There is a real dichotomy to FHP, something that is perhaps more or only evident after great play to explore what there is on offer. On the one hand FHP is a very solid game that offers a great amount of flexibility, customisation, interaction with other people, and enjoyment from trying to out think those around you. On the other it has a few annoying bugs present that allow people to glitch results when online, cause network and timeout issues, and present the wrong blind amounts in certain tournaments.

    In the end, like any other title, it is really dependent on how much you will get out of the game that will determine whether it is a worthy purchase or not. Had the game been free, like 1 vs 100 was, then there may not be so much of a quandary. FHP is probably the most comprehensive and impressive console based poker game of recent time, but is partially hamstrung by a few flaws that should have been exorcised during the beta phase. If the majority of these are remedied or solved by the forthcoming patch, then another point could probably be added to the score.

    Pros
    - Structurally the best poker game on the 360
    - Promoting it as a social title works
    - Plenty of in-game rewards and customisation

    Cons
    - There are still bugs to fix
    - Network connectivity can be unpredictable at times
    - Texas Heat needs to be improved

    Score: 7/10

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