Texas Hold'em Tournament (WiiWare) review

[R.O.B.]

Texas Hold'em Tournament - WiiWare

Does Digital Leisure’s latest WiiWare offering fold or make a clean sweep of the table?

Rating: 5/10

Read the Texas Hold'em Tournament (WiiWare) review

Source: wiiware-world.com

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Wow, 5/10. The game must be way better than I expected.

[KeeperBvK]

It's pretty much the score I was expecting. How should it have been any lower? There isn't all that much they could have messed up in an online poker game, but also not all that much goodness to expect seeing it's a 500 points game.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by KeeperBvK

It's pretty much the score I was expecting. How should it have been any lower? There isn't all that much they could have messed up in an online poker game, but also not all that much goodness to expect seeing it's a 500 points game.

It's pretty common for churned-out poker games to suffer from game-breakingly bad computer AI. Add bad presentation/graphics/sound, poor controls, and possible bugs (I don't know, I haven't played it) and you have lots of ammo for a pretty bad score. I'm not saying the game doesn't deserve the 5/10 (obviously, because I haven't played it), just that I expected it to be really really bad.

[SKTTR]

what's wrong with having a decent online poker for 5 bucks?
i say: nothing.

i got it and it's great.

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Digital Leisure Inc.

Hello,

Firstly please let me apologize for the problems that you are experiencing and assure you that an update is coming. Unfortunately it does take some time to get the new version through Nintendo's QA process and live on the WiiWare download service. It is tough to estimate when it might go live but our guess might be in about two weeks or less.

When we built Texas Hold'em Tournament, we could only test on a limited set of development machines that we have at our disposal and when we went live we were overwhelmed by the response and a few issues came up, such as you have experienced, that we could not duplicate without thousands of players connecting and playing simultaneously.

We believe the new version will address the issues that you have encountered so connecting will be better and there shouldn't be any pauses/hangs during gameplay. It will take some time for the new version to propagate to the current users but the good news is that the US release will include these changes so all new players will be playing with the new version and will not be contributing to the current issues.

We certainly plan on releasing in North America, and hope to have details on a date in the coming weeks!

Thank you for your support and patience as we get the new version live.

Best Regards,
Digital Leisure Inc.

Just a bit of news.

[SKTTR]

Finally the UPDATE for Texas Hold'em Tournament has arrived on the Wii Shop Channel.

Download the NEW VERSION now to fix the glitchy online play.

[pdRydia]

I wonder if they'll update their review accordingly...

[Shortay]

Originally Posted by pdRydia

I wonder if they'll update their review accordingly...

What could I change/add into the review?

[SKTTR]

You could give it a better rating. A 5/10 is very underrated.

This is just 500 points, its online, Mii support makes it involving, the emote expressions and clothes shop make sense.
It has 5 online and 5 offline tournaments, and you can try to be the richest on the leaderboards so there is a good content for 500 points as well.
It has 6 save slots, so family and friends can register their own Mii.

and overall, poker itself is a strategic game and this is a good version that even includes a tutorial for beginners.

judge this game by its graphics and sound and give it a 5.
judge this game by its content, price and gameplay and give it an 8.


just have a look at the wiiware charts. this was #1 for 3 months in 6 countries.
and now it's still in the top 3 of most countries.

[Shortay]

The thing is though, after the full day I played it I thought it deserved a 5. We have to review games very quickly so we don't even get enough playtime on occasions, so the rating is usually the hardest part of reviewing games on that site.

For me, the online support was decent but not different enough from normal offline play. The problem is the lack of interaction with other players - no voice chat or proper communication (apart from those stupid emoticons). Maybe it's because I play online on the Xbox 360 a lot and have a great experience with it, but having online play doesn't automatically make any game great. In fact, Wii games are merited nowadays for just having any kind of online mode/features in the first place when it's the standard for nearly all multiplayer games on other consoles.

Sure it's a nice feature, but Mii support is hardly an inclusion that makes a game "more involving". It's such an easy thing to integrate into a game that it should be included in most Wii games nowadays. And I'll never think that a game's better because it's got 6 save slots, that would be a ridiculous reason to praise a game. Again, it's nice to have the option but come on, the main Pokémon games have never had more than one save file but does that mean they're marked down that?

A tutorial is a given, especially because there's bound to be lots of younger Wii owners that haven't even played a poker game before. If there wasn't one there would be a problem.

There are loads of free online poker applications on the internet that offer the same strategic gameplay so I stand by my original review. Please don't depend on the score - as I said it's the thing that's least-focused on for me personally because I feel that people should read the actual review instead of just the score by itself. I'm sorry that you feel that the score is wrong but a review is written based on the opinion of the reviewer and I felt that it deserved no more than it received.

[SKTTR]

The thing is though, after the full day I played it I thought it deserved a 5. We have to review games very quickly so we don't even get enough playtime on occasions, so the rating is usually the hardest part of reviewing games on that site.

I can understand that. But that's not how a review should be done.
You are not to blame for. You're just doing the work you've been sentenced to.

For me, the online support was decent but not different enough from normal offline play. The problem is the lack of interaction with other players - no voice chat or proper communication (apart from those stupid emoticons). Maybe it's because I play online on the Xbox 360 a lot and have a great experience with it, but having online play doesn't automatically make any game great. In fact, Wii games are merited nowadays for just having any kind of online mode/features in the first place when it's the standard for nearly all multiplayer games on other consoles.

A matter of taste. Voice chat could be cool though. It would offer a new strategy.

The online play is the best part of the game. I never play it offline. Online play looks almost the same as the offline play (only visual difference are the Miis) but playing against human players is something completely different than imo some random, cheap CPU AI.

Sure it's a nice feature, but Mii support is hardly an inclusion that makes a game "more involving".

What? Of course! You haven't played enough! Really.
You learn to know the people behind their Miis if you really get into the game.
In the random online tournaments I have encountered most of the players more often than just once. It's like a little Mii-Poker-community. You find out how the others play, you begin to like them. You begin to know who's good, who's bad, who tends to bluff and who tends to play on the safe side. You see what the Miis are wearing and because of that you can reckon how often they have won a match.
Plus the emoticons really start to be some way of funny conversation between players.
Mii support - especially in this game - is very involving and without these avatars this game would indeed deserve a 5!!

And I'll never think that a game's better because it's got 6 save slots, that would be a ridiculous reason to praise a game. Again, it's nice to have the option but come on, the main Pokémon games have never had more than one save file but does that mean they're marked down that?

It's a welcome feature and that should be taken into account.

In a game that looks bland and comes from a developer that only made sudoku and a mediocre maze game before, it's easy to get it out of the way quickly, especially when the reviewer doesn't have a heart for poker at all.

A tutorial is a given, especially because there's bound to be lots of younger Wii owners that haven't even played a poker game before. If there wasn't one there would be a problem.

A tutorial is never given in any game. In this case, it's a little plus.
Look at other 500 points games and their content. Just compare.

There are loads of free online poker applications on the internet that offer the same strategic gameplay so I stand by my original review. Please don't depend on the score - as I said it's the thing that's least-focused on for me personally because I feel that people should read the actual review instead of just the score by itself. I'm sorry that you feel that the score is wrong but a review is written based on the opinion of the reviewer and I felt that it deserved no more than it received.

I recommend Texas Hold'em Tournament for every Poker fan with internet.
It's not a waste of your 500 points. The Miis are not only a great addition, it feels as if it's a first party Nintendo game and could be called Wii Poker or something!

I don't think, it could be done better. 8/10
Yeah, there are some minor things.
If it had better graphics: 9/10.
If it had better graphics and voice chat: 10/10.

But 5/10 because it has no voice chat and mediocre graphics?
Get a 40$ poker game on retail and see if that one has better graphics and voice chat.

I don't mean to offend you. You have certain points right. I see many games underrated because the reviewer looks at it from an different angle. Your opinion, your 5/10 is ok with me if my 8/10 is ok with you.

And another thing. A 500 points WiiWare game shouldn't be compared to Xbox360 games. It's a tiny little bit unfair.

[Shortay]

Thanks for respecting my opinion, I of course respect yours and I'm very pleased that you enjoy the game more than I do.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Shortay: Low price and high chart performance alone shouldn't make for a good review score. You actually pinpointed a few of the things that make me wary enough about this game not to download it if it ever comes to NA.

But back to Shortay's question that went unanswered before this thread turned into begging for a better score for the game: what should he change about the review now that the update is out. Obviously the update didn't change/improve on everything that netted the game a 5/10 in the first place. But if the update fixed something that was specifically mentioned as a problem in the review, then that should definitely be clarified, so as not to mislead anyone about what the game does.

[pdRydia]

Originally Posted by Shortay

What could I change/add into the review?

Well, the update addressed one of the problems the review highlighted, right? So an addendum or note about that would be very useful to review readers.

I'm a little surprised (and pleased) you're taking this seriously. Sorry for the earlier cynicism. :[

[SKTTR]

It's your review and your opinion, Shortay. You mustn't really change anything about it.
My score and statement only goes to people with Wiis who have a passion for poker.
The casual and hardcore gamers don't really go for card games on consoles at all.
It's a niche game for a specific group of people: The ones who dig poker.

All I'm saying is, for them it's the definite choice, a good one with a fair price and they're likely to be happy with that game.

Most of the other people who don't like poker in the first place, wouldn't start to like it with this version.

I just want to clarify for all people that like hold'em poker: don't be scared away by that 5/10 as it might sound worse than it is.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by pdRydia

I'm a little surprised (and pleased) you're taking this seriously. Sorry for the earlier cynicism. :[

Shortay is one of the good ones. But will his "editor" allow a new version of the article to be added? Stay tuned for next week's episode.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

It's your review and your opinion, Shortay. You mustn't really change anything about it.

I disagreed when you seemed to be implying the review should be overhauled because it's such an injustice to the game's quality...

And I'm going to disagree again. When a game is updated like this, in a way that provides a noticeable fix, then the review should be change to reflect it. If a review is meant to give readers a sense of whether they'd like the game, it shouldn't provide disinformation. That's just not helpful to anyone, as people who get the game might not be happy, people who don't might be missing out, and the review site ends up looking bad (or in the case of NL, worse).

Hopefully if Shortay changes his review it'll go some way towards having NL's other broken reviews fixed.

Off the topic of the review and back onto the topic of the game...

SKTTR, how is the online in this? Is it all random opponents, or can you set up your own room and have friends join? Can you mark other players with notes? What if you lose your connection? Will you blind off at your previous table until you reconnect, or does the game just dump you?

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

I disagreed when you seemed to be implying the review should be overhauled because it's such an injustice to the game's quality...

Just as I said before. I'm not generalizing anything and I don't want to change the world. I only wanted to make my point clear.
I think it deserves more than 5/10 and that's it.

And I'm going to disagree again. When a game is updated like this, in a way that provides a noticeable fix, then the review should be change to reflect it. If a review is meant to give readers a sense of whether they'd like the game, it shouldn't provide disinformation. That's just not helpful to anyone, as people who get the game might not be happy, people who don't might be missing out, and the review site ends up looking bad (or in the case of NL, worse).

It's just a bug fix. The game won't crash in online tournaments anymore. I don't remember if that was stated in Shortays review, but if that was a reason for a major score loss then it should now be corrected.

I was just against it, since, you know... Last Ninja 3 gets 9/10... for just one level. What score would it get if the bug is fixed and all 5 levels are playable? I thought the reviews on NL were supposed to review the game from a bugfixed standpoint but ... well, no clear rules means its all a mess

Hopefully if Shortay changes his review it'll go some way towards having NL's other broken reviews fixed.

Yeah, just that!

Off the topic of the review and back onto the topic of the game...
SKTTR, how is the online in this? Is it all random opponents, or can you set up your own room and have friends join?

In the tournament mode (online and offline) you start off with $2000 and you can select one of 5 tables. You need to win at the first one to unlock the next and so on. You pay an entry fee of $200 to play on table 1. The other tables cost more and you have to win 2 or 3 matches in a row (you can save in between). Of course the money prizes are also higher on the expensive and harder tables. Save your prize money for the leaderboards, and future entry fees or buy clothes for your Mii to show off that you're not a noob anymore.

The second online mode is the usual friends code online play.

Can you mark other players with notes? What if you lose your connection? Will you blind off at your previous table until you reconnect, or does the game just dump you?

Mark other players with notes? What??

If you lose your connection you just lose your entry fee and have to restart that table.
If others lose their connection or quit their game, their money is divided to the other players.

On a side note: There's two kinds of money. Your personal money, that's saved with your stats. The money you pay for tables and clothes.

And then there's the chips. Every player starts with $5000 in chips and tries to win it all (have all the chips from all players and be the last one left at the table) That one wins the prize money which is added to your personal money and the online leaderboards. You won't get the chips. You always aim for the prize money.

A little hint: At first unlock all 5 tables. Don't buy clothes! If you lose all your personal money, you can always get another $2000 from the bank, but you will lose ALL the clothes you paid for! First target is: unlock table 5. When you win on it, you have hundred thousands of dollars. Now you can buy clothes.


Edit: There's also a third option to play online or offline: Free Mode, just a quick play round.

[KaiserGX]

Don't mind the graphics but the non Mii characters look.......... weird.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

Just as I said before. I'm not generalizing anything and I don't want to change the world. I only wanted to make my point clear.
I think it deserves more than 5/10 and that's it.

It's just a bug fix. The game won't crash in online tournaments anymore. I don't remember if that was stated in Shortays review, but if that was a reason for a major score loss then it should now be corrected.

I know... that's my point. *high five*

Originally Posted by SKTTR

I was just against it, since, you know... Last Ninja 3 gets 9/10... for just one level. What score would it get if the bug is fixed and all 5 levels are playable? I thought the reviews on NL were supposed to review the game from a bugfixed standpoint but ... well, no clear rules means its all a mess

I think the reviews at NintendoLife are just weird and unreliable, that's all. This poker review docked points for a glitch, the Last Ninja review apparently didn't even know there was a glitch and just gave a high score without even playing the game.

Originally Posted by SKTTR

Mark other players with notes? What??

Well, you play online right? So is there any way of keeping track of your real-life online opponents, so the next time you face them you can check your notes and see their style of play, etc.?

In offline mode, how bad is the opponent AI?

[SKTTR]

Originally Posted by Jogurt the Yogurt

Well, you play online right? So is there any way of keeping track of your real-life online opponents, so the next time you face them you can check your notes and see their style of play, etc.?

In offline mode, how bad is the opponent AI?

No, can't add notes to online players. You just memorize their Miis just as you would remember a real person and their playing style in reality. If you want to take notes, write them down on paper. A good thing apparently that's been lost in the lazy new age gaming days.

In offline mode I haven't played that much.
On table 1 the CPU always folds when you go all-in, so they're easily scared with that little trick. Always an easy win on that table to make a little money.
On table 2 you couldn't do that trick anymore so I s'pose the CPU AI gets better as you progress to the higher table tournaments.

[pdRydia]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

No, can't add notes to online players. You just memorize their Miis just as you would remember a real person and their playing style in reality. If you want to take notes, write them down on paper. A good thing apparently that's been lost in the lazy new age gaming days.

A well-designed digital note system is superior to paper notes as far as I'm concerned. The main problem is the danger of an electronic wipe, but that's why I back data up. Definitely worth the trouble, since my paper notes always get lost...period. Nevermind the waste.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

No, can't add notes to online players. You just memorize their Miis just as you would remember a real person and their playing style in reality. If you want to take notes, write them down on paper. A good thing apparently that's been lost in the lazy new age gaming days.

Oh, that's a shame. Making notes is one of the most common features of even the most basic online poker services. Just like in real life, real poker players take detailed notes about all their opponents.

EDIT: Actually after reading more, from the sounds of things this game isn't deep enough to require a note system, so it's probably not too big a loss in and of itself.

[SKTTR]

Personally I've never seen a poker game that actually has that feature, let alone one for $5.
You desperatly trying to be an annoying ****hole and you are very successful.
I'm not talking to anyone who can bring up the same love to games as I do.
If you want to bash a fair game, swallow your hate and choke.
I have no place for this.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by SKTTR

Personally I've never seen a poker game that actually has that feature, let alone one for $5.
You desperatly trying to be an annoying ****hole and you are very successful.
I'm not talking to anyone who can bring up the same love to games as I do.
If you want to bash a fair game, swallow your hate and choke.
I have no place for this.

What's all this talk of bashing, hate, and annoying ****holes? I just wanted to learn more about the game and am so far unimpressed. For what it's worth, I've never seen am online poker game that doesn't have that feature.

Did you develop this game or something? Because you sure are having a hard time dealing with questioning and fair criticism of it.

[KaiserGX]

BTW 5/10 isn't bad it's average.
Edit: So I go the game (thanks pyRadia! I got a points card now so I can gift you back) At the beginning I kinda of regreted it. Though after playing a few times Online I completly ignored the background and the blandess and I actually started to understand how the game works. After my first winning I have to say it was very fun. Next two times I played I one two times with a two pair! $2,000! However I lost them because I decided to exit. I learned my lesson now though. So what im saying is, this game really holds up if you want to play a simple game of poker online, especially if the Wii is all you have. I wasn't ever to keen or knew how to play the actual game but it's starting to grow on me.

SKKTR my FC is in my profile!