With every half-cocked development house on the planet jumping on the poker bandwagon, its a tough call to find a card simulator that plays a decent hand. But while its far from perfect, World Championship Poker 2 comes the closest to nailing the classic card game and giving players convincing computer-controlled competitors to challenge.
The Artificial Intelligence of WCP2s card sharks is impressive, and after playing for a few hours youll encounter wildly different personality types ranging from overly cautious to aggressive, with the odd bluffer thrown into the mix making this the most convincing poker sim around.
The AI of computer players even extends as far as suspecting you of devious play from time to time, instigating a simple mini-game where you have to keep a marker inside a spinning circle to show a steely poker face, or else risk making an obvious move which betrays your hand.
The games multiplayer online components and RPG-style mode where you evolve your avatar also help round out this notable package, but where WCP2 falls down is its presentation: the character-creation system is cruelly underdeveloped when compared to other similar games; the venues where you play all look the same, meaning theres little excitement in earning the chance to take your skills to another country; and overall the graphics feel clunky and uninspiring, something that doesnt affect the core gameplay but does nothing to keep you hooked to the action.