With World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets, the intense action you've come to expect from the #1 poker game francise gets cranked up even higher as you enter the largest sporting event in the world - the World Series of Poker, with the challenge to Beat The Brat - Phil Hellmuth! Build the bankroll and face off against some of the world's top pros including Johnny Chan, Chris ?Jesus? Ferguson, Mike ?The Mouth? Matusow, Greg Raymer, Annie Duke, Phil ?Unabomber? Laak, Humberto Brenes, Marcel ?They Flying Dutchman? Luske, David ?Devil Fish? Ulliott, and Shannon Elizabeth in your quest to win the championship bracelet for the $10,000 Main Event. With heated heads-up tournament action, more poker tutorials, more locations, and the most stacked list of A-list pros ever in a video game, this year's game is upping the high-stakes like never before!
Features:
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Your poker skills will be put to the ultimate test by over 30 of the world's top poker champions
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Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, and Mike Matusow will teach you their tips and tricks in a poker school setting
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With successful wins, you will unlock valuable poker tools that will enable you to become an even more skillful player
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Build your bankroll at all the favorite locations of previous years such as Harrah's New Orleans, Grand Tunica, Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino and new this year, the hottest poker rooms of the Las Vegas strip!
Average Customer Review:
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Not for avid poker players...Dec 02, 2009 This game was honestly not much of an improvement over the original WSOP game or the Tournament of Champions game. The AI is still just as terrible and the commentary is the exact same thing as the previous games, such as when Lon says "Here comes the flop" is followed by Norman Chad's "That's what my wife said on our honeymoon" Even the players say a lot of the same phrases as the previous two games.
I think the best part about the game is that is has a lot of pros that you will recognize such as Chris Ferguson, Phil Hellmuth, Devilfish, Phil Gordon, etc. etc. But to me, this was pretty much the only good part of the game.
I was surprised to see people still playing online, though it is rather empty.
If you are just learning how to play, this MAY be a good game for you. However, I would recommend signing up for a free account on one of the many poker sites that are out there and learning the game with play chips (same goes for players who are proficient players.. I'd stick to online)
I gave the game 3 stars only because of all of the pros the game has.. Other wise I would've given it a 1.5 or 2.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
a noble effortMar 03, 2009 this is almost a really, really fun game. it is good practice, but if you are one of those players that gets irritated at bad beats, let this one go. the AI in this game will re-raise you preflop with 8-4 offsuits all day long and hit them with a regularity bordering on the absurd. this tends to make the cash games really easy, but the blind structure makes the tournaments really hard.
on the other hand, it is good practice for beating games filled with really, really bad players.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Overall its an average game, but good if you get it for a good price.Dec 02, 2008 WSOP 2008 is mostly a good game with a few flaws. I enjoyed playing Omaha, Razz, and 7 card Stud just as much as NL Hold'em. My favorite part of the game was that you could create an avatar and play as many or as few tournaments in the World Series that you want. Then you can accumulate money and use it to buy accessories for your "bachelor pad." I think it makes the game a lot like creating a player on NCAA Football.
My two complaints with the game are that the cards are very small on the screen and if you don't have a large tv then I wouldn't recommend the game. It is especially hard when you are playing games that have cards showing for each player. My second complaint is that if you are not actively knocking out players then the number of players in the tournament take forever to get knocked out.
Overall, I would recommend the game if you are a big poker fan (more than just Hold'em) and have a pretty big TV (or like sitting really close to a small one).
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
texas holdemJul 26, 2008 the game is great i like it alot. the AI is pretty smart there are a few tricks you can use that would work 80% of the time but you'll most probablly eventually get caught. the online gaming unfortunetely is very bad people don't take it seriously and its much easier to win. So if u stick to carreer mode you'll find it pretty challenging:) enjoy guys
1 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Very disappointingOct 29, 2007 This is a review of World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets for XBOX 360.
There are a lot of cute features on this game. For example, you can play in a simulated tournament against avatars that look like actual professional poker players. The games are narrated by the ESPN poker commentators, so you get treated to some of Norman Chad's wit. (That may be a plus or a minus depending on whether he is to your taste.) If you bust out of the tournament, you get a "cell phone call" on the screen from a famous player (voiced by the actual player), who invites you to a simulated cash game. Of course, all this is most interesting if you actually are a big enough fan of professional poker to know who people like Phil Hellmuth, Mike Matusow, etc. are. There is also a tutorial, "Phil's Poker School," that features videos of famous players giving you advice about each of the major poker games (i.e., the ones played in a H.O.R.S.E. tournament). Finally, if you enter your name as "beatthebrat" (in the customize character menu) you will get a humorous sound effect and will notice a change in the Phil Hellmuth avatar.
However, there are two major problems with this game. First, the graphics are far too small to be viewable on a mid-sized television screen. In order to play, I have to pull the chair right up to the TV, and even then it is hard to make out which players have raised or called. (I suspect that the game was designed originally for a PC, where you'd be viewing the screen from 12 inches away.) Second, the tutorial is useless whether you are a novice or an experienced player. Having someone rapidly count up for you the number of "outs" you have in a hand will be completely meaningless to a beginner, whereas a more experienced player won't need to be told that. During games, "hints" will sometimes scroll across the top of the screen, but these include gems like "Phil says that you should bet when you think you have the best hand," or "Going on tilt can damage your bankroll." Really?? Wow!
If you are a HUGE poker fan, it might be worth taking a look at someone else's copy of this game, but I honestly wouldn't recommend buying it for yourself. Spend the money on the buy in of a real tournament instead!
based on 6 reviews
