Poker Ball

Have you ever wanted to play Draw Poker with no wagering? While simultaneously managing a mediocre Arkanoid clone? No? I mean, Yes? Then Poker Ball is for you! If you happen to live in the USA!

Or so I’ve been told by 360 owners elsewhere in the world who are unable to download the game. In my opinion, they aren’t missing out on much. While the game probably has some appeal to Poker fanatics (or Arkanoid fanatics), it doesn’t capture either game well or blend them in an interesting way.

Poker hands are built from the cards hit by the bouncing ball. Once five cards are built up, the next card hit registers the hand for scoring. You can drop cards from your hand up to that point to try and build a better hand. Apparently the largely uncontrollable movement of the ball was not random enough for the author, as most of the levels seem to have a large portion of the cards turned face down, which pretty much ruins any attempt at card strategy. And with no wagering aspect, why bother? I suppose you could imaging you are wagering your potential score, but with no solid indication of how well any particular hand scores you’d have to be intimately familiar with the game for that to work. And why would you spend that much time with it? For the ball game?

Doubtful. With odd controls requiring both a press of a shoulder button and a deflection from the proper end of the paddle to influence the ball’s movement, indistinct power-ups with ill-defined effects, and a ball whose speed can easily eclipse that of your paddle, it’s lukewarm at best.

At least it has the option to turn that vexatious music off.

If you’re a Poker (or Arkanoid) fanatic who lives in the USA, you might think it’s worth your 200 Points. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother.