Poker Smash (360 XBLA - 800 pts)

[Gavin]

Well, I'm loving this so far - so addictive, there's more depth than I've managed to work out yet I'm sure.

Some nice little touches like a few different modes and leaderboards. Another nice little feature is the replays of the best games get uploaded for everyone else to download and admire! The #1 is bleedin insane, not sure how anyone can think that fast?

Not tried playing online yet, but believe it support live vision cam too.

Well worth the 800 pts IMHO

[VR46]

Could someone play this without knowing how to play Poker ? Ta.

[toythatkills]

You only have to match poker hands, and even without knowing poker three-of-a-kind and four-of-a-kind are fairly obvious. I can't imagine most people will bother looking for flushes etc because it just feels like slightly too much info to process all at once. Just take them as a fluke now and then.

[Destrukticor]

got this yesterday and am loving the simplicity but with underlying depth

those top replays are insanely good

[nonny]

Plays very much like tetris with playing cards if you ask me... which is no bad thing!

Loving it this far. Nice graphics & effects, the slow-down & bomb features arent overpowered and actually blend well into the normal action. Great game.

[watusi]

As i said in the marketplace thread I think this feels very similar to puzzle league with poker rules. Love it so far, seems to have a lot of hidden depths. possibly one of the best games on live!

And building up game points to buy extra skins etc makes a change, you'd almost have assumed you'd have to shell out real money for them.

And i completely forgot about the slow down feature, should help trying to get the multiplier up.

[cavalcade]

An excellent game. Beautifully crafted, with just the right mix of simplicity and depth. Reminds me a lot of Planet Puzzle League as the other poster said, but I think it's a lot better.

But it's going to sell about 6 copies. You can tell this by the howling wind blowing through this deserted First play thread. The moment I heard about it at CES, I slapped my forehead and went "Of course! What a fantastic idea for a game!" In many ways I'd almost played it before I downloaded it, such is the elegance of the concept, but to be fair to the developers they exceeded my expectations. I love the time slow and bombs, which work far better in the game that you'd have thought just by looking at a feature list, and the general look and feel are top notch. Best puzzle game on XBLA? I think so, by a country mile. Might even be in the top 5 games on XBLA.

If by chance you are reading this, and are still thinking "Poker Smash? Sounds a bit pish" then go now, download the trial, and play it for 30 minutes.

I'm going to sit here until you do.

Go on.

I'm not going anywhere. Go on, go and do it now.

Don't make me come over there and do it for you.

[merf]

i downloaded it and thought it was a bit pish.

found the controls over sensitive and kept moving things further than i wanted plus it was all just a bit dull for me, I normally like these '3 of a kind' match up games but just left me a bit cold.

nice polished looking title but not a keeper for me.

[nonny]

I agree the controls are a little sensitive but you get used to it and start making less errors.

As for the game, its excellent... the sooner you start learning full house and straight combinations though the better so there is a bit of poker knowledge required but hardly any. Havent touched multiplayer yet but the singleplayer is just solid.

Best XBLA game I've taken a chance on so far...

[cavalcade]

i downloaded it and thought it was a bit pish.

found the controls over sensitive and kept moving things further than i wanted plus it was all just a bit dull for me, I normally like these '3 of a kind' match up games but just left me a bit cold.

nice polished looking title but not a keeper for me.

I can see what you're saying with the controls, but with time and practice they come to feel excellent. Any excuses that the controls are substandard are blown out of the water when you see the replays... In many ways the controls are very brave. Most drop and pop puzzle games rely on precise digital input, which is why most puzzle games on the horrible 360 D-Pad suck monkey baws. This game neatly sidesteps this, by tuning the game to avoid the D-Pad altogether. And it works.

And the key thing here is if you play it as a "match 3" game it is rather average. The whole differentiating factor here is that it isn't just a match 3 game. The challenges the game fires at you to get a particular hand, and more complex matches possible are where the depth, and longevity lie.

But to each their own I suppose. Gaming is a broad church.

[reektan]

How enjoyable are those popping explosion sounds when you get a line - tried the demo last night and instantly bought this as it's simply Planet Puzzle League but with a poker twist - echellente

[cavalcade]

How enjoyable are the popping explosion sounds when you get a line

It does give lovely feedback when you chain too. I think my max chain is about 4 (I suck at it), but it must be orgasmic to get a 15 chain or above. Not sure my brain is clever enough to manage this though. Damn you brain. DAMN YOU.

One thing I don't like is the death metal music (sort of) on skin 4ish? Just after the tribal theme. What's that all about? Maybe I'm getting old.

[reektan]

I just zoned out completely then playing it - got on such a good run that I ended up being late into town to pick up my female. Ooops. Think a lot of the chains are quality bomb placement. Somehow, somebody has an 84x chain on the leaderboard?!

[Destrukticor]

the leaderboards are where the scary robot people live, pay them no mind, 84x chains are mental though.
More people need to buy this, if you liked puzzle league then you will like this a lot.

[PeteJ]

Can see the potential but I'm not smart enough to play it other than linking up 3 of a kind with the occasional chain and fluke Full House. Seems really polished though and its exactly the kind of title that XBLA needs.