Monday, January 08, 2007

Most online poker games take themselves very seriously. World Championship Poker Featuring Howard Lederer: All In strays from such rigidity in an attempt to bring more people into the poker fold, no pun intended. Instead of an inflexible poker style, the game adds role-playing and even adventure-game elements. Your character begins in a sparsely furnished apartment. If you walk around your pad, you can find money stuffed behind pictures and under couch cushions, so take time to explore. Then look at the world map. There are many places where you can play, but not all are open to you at first. Some won't let you in because your reputation is not good enough; others are simply out of your price range. The only place I could find a game starting out was in the shop area of a closed garage. Playing for $2 a hand may not seem that exciting, but it lets you learn key elements of the game without going broke.Mini-games pop up during play. If a player thinks you are bluffing, they can initiate a stare-down contest. You have to stop a flashing meter at the right place to maintain your poker face. If you do, the bluff works. If not, they see right through you. As you win tournaments, you not only get more money but also can win special abilities that make the mini-games easier, improve your play by displaying the table odds or increase the power of your lucky charm, which can be used to win a game that's going badly.You can play online against others or offline alone. Your online and offline characters are connected, so if you're soundly beaten online you can build your cash back up playing offline. You can also use your money to purchase upgrades for your home, so you can impress visitors if you choose to host an online tournament there. It's not exactly The Sims, but customizing your place can be quite fun. You can even customize games to fit your own house rules or create crazy poker-type tournaments to play. While die-hard players will probably scoff at the concept of magical lucky charms and special abilities that help you win, this title offers a card game more in line with typical computer games and makes online poker much less boring.