When you think of the World Series of Poker, you think of high spectacle, huge drama, the best players in the business, and Millions of dollars on the line ready to be won. When World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets came out, everyone had huge expectations for the game. What they got instead was a run of the mill game with the WSOP namesake slapped on it.
The first noticeable flaw with this game is the graphics and animation. To say the characters are cheesy is quite the understatement. When they win, they make similar repetitive flailing motions and when they lose they get overly melodramatic sad faces. It might look cute the first couple of times, but soon players will tire of these tired antics.
Next, when you think of the best players in poker, you think of the World Series of Poker. In this game we get, a smattering of top tier pros and none of the really big stars. About the biggest start featured in the game is Scotty Nguyen, and none of the players actually act like who they represent. Also, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey, Erik Seidel and many others are evidently absent from the game. Activision couldn’t get licensing for even one major superstar?
The poker game play in this one is pretty standard with players mixing up their play and making the appropriate laydown when needed. However, there isn’t any flash or pizzazz in any of their play. That is unless you like the flailing and melodramatic sad faces.
Finally, the game does not have the feel of playing at the WSOP. It doesn’t matter what game you play, the game is presented and unfolds pretty much the same. Anyone that has actually played at the Rio knows that a $1,500 Stud bracelet isn’t going to hold the same weight as the $5,000 NL bracelet and none hold the same significance as the Main Event.
In all, this game barely makes a passable general poker game. As a game that is supposed to represent the greatest poker spectacle on the planet, it fails miserably. It’s better to tune in to ESPN if you really want to enjoy the World Series of Poker.