After playing all the games in this years XBLA House Party, I was convinced that Torchlight was the best one of them all. Truth of the matter is that it is. That does not mean that this seemingly underdog of a Poker game does not come out fighting.
When starting to review this game I was not very excited bout it as I’m not a huge Poker fan. It did not take long for me to realize that this game needed it’s own 800 number. I think that it’s because to be a Poker game it has multiple levels of depth that will keep you entertained, even for short amounts of time. Rather you decide to play a standard game in single player or decide that you want to go all in with a tournament, there is always something to work for. You gain XP to level your avatar up during the course of the game. With each level up you will earn new rewards. It may be a table, cards or even a new style chair to sit in while playing in your customizable lounge.
You gain XP for every hand. Rather it be just being dealt in or winning the last hand while in a showdown. The great part about leveling up and earning in game rewards is that this all carries over to multiplayer. You can choose to play a ranked online tournament or just to play a social game of Hold’em with your friends online. Either way you will still continue work on you level and rewards. In all these game types you have a few variants of the game. You can play standard High, or high/low and a number of other Hold’em game types. There is also a great single player mode call ‘Pro Takedowns’. In this mode you will take down the local game pros in a1v1 style card game. As you work your way through the takedowns you will unlock more rewards. Things like new in game cloths and you will earn loads of XP with every game.
I was worried from looking at the game that people who were not familiar with Poker may have a hard time playing. Not true. The game is about as pick up and play as you can get. If you hold in right bumper there is a tip guide that shows you what hand will defeat other hands as well as good tips to play the game. For 800 MS points I’m not sure that a lot of people will see the value in a Poker gamer. Fact of the matter is that the game really will hold it’s own in replay value as well as enjoyment. The game supports Avatar awards. the achievements are going to take a fair bit of time to complete, but with a good amount of play time invested they should all come.
All and all I had a great time paying this game and still am. The online is a blast, but can quickly loose it’s appeal if your friends bank out of the game early, but other than that this game does not have many problems and I can see a wide audience accepting it. I can also see just as many turn it away. If you have lots of friend and like talking over LIVE this is the perfect game for you. And he obvious, if you like Poker pay the 800 points and you will not regret it. Full House Poker has the potential and the entertainment value to become one of the great casual games on the XBLA.
