Stacked Member Review for the Xbox

I have been pondering what I should write about next for a while, with school winding down and a job on the horizon, I figured I might as well revisit a few older games before I do my massive review on Twilight Princess, which will be done when I actually finish the game. I decided to start with my favorite poker simulator, Stacked, With Daniel Negraneu.

While some people complained that my reviews are to long I feel like I deserve to give authentic and detailed reviews, even if the game is somewhat obsolete at this stage in a consoles life. And for the x-box version of Stacked, thats exactly what has happened. Regardless though, if you have an elder X-box and you like poker, this is the best game on the market for you.

Graphics-

For a poker game, the Graphics are not to bad, but not to good either. The character models, although few and far between, look great, as do their differences, which, like the character models, are very few. Everything else, however, looks kind of dreary. The cards are not the best animated, the chip stacks are non-existant, and the game has 4 predendered backgrounds to it's name. Not the strongest here, but it is certianly better then other poker games out there.

Final Score- C

Gameplay-

For a poker game, Stacked has perhaps the most sophisticated A.I in it's arsenal. The infamous Poki A.I actually adjusts to YOUR style of play, making the comupter controlled counterparts a formidable force. They will check raise, bluff on occasion, and trap you, depending on your style. The professional players in the game, from Evelyn Ng, David Williams, and Negraneu himself are just as vicious, falling into no pattern at all, and always changing their styles.

The Computer players follow 8 different archetypes, from Rocks to Fish to Maniacs to Pros being the 4 extremes. You have to figure out the play style by what the computer says and by their betting patterns, like real poker players. To help you, you are given odds during hands, which do help somewhat, in terms of finding out pot odds and learning how to bet accordingly. The game doubles as a teacher, and has a few movies starring Negraneu, which teacn you things from the hand ranks, to pot odds, to how to bluff properly.

And I will be honest, my game improved quite a bit after player Stacked. I went from being a passive-loose player to an aggressive-loose player, which wins a lot online, over 60,000 in the play chip section, and about $500 in real cash. So the game does work on that front as a teacher.

Unfortanatly, despite the awesome A.I and the experience you get from it, the game suffers form two flaws. The interface is really clunky, with you stopping acting to see your placing in a tourney or the stats of the game, even the options are kind of inacessable without stopping the action.The other problem is that there is only holdem in the game. It would of been nice to add some Stud, Omaha, ill even take Pinapple or Tahoe.But, as it is, we only have limit and no limit holdem, which makes it somewhat redundant, unless you love holdem so much you don't mind playing it for hours on end against A.I opponents in your basement.

Overall, room for improvement, but a major step in the right direction.

Final Score-  B-

Sound-

The sound in the game is virtually nonexistant. The cards and chips are all ok, but the voicesd are annoying and redundant. Music is bland to. But, I guess sound is not a priority in a poker game.

Final Score- D+

Overall-

Stacked with Negraneu is perhaps the best game on the market in terms of a console poker game (right next to WSOP TOC, which is really not that bad either.) That being said, it will only appeal to true poker fans and young adults or teens who want to improve their game 2 fold if they play. If you like poker, pick this up, it's the best game of the bunch for sure.

Final Score- C

Overall Score- C+