28 Nov, 2010
Poker games are typically something that doesn’t make sense, why play for fake money? Now if the game is at least entertaining then you can have reason to spend a few hours playing cards with robots. Poker Night at the Inventory recognises this and instead draws you in with a great concept and excellent presentation to satisfy most video game nerds of all ages.
What would it be like to play with four legends of the internet and video game culture? Now you have the chance to try a hand at Texas Hold’em with: Max (Sam & Max), Strong Bad (Homestar Runner), Heavy Weapons Guy (Team Fortress 2) and Tycho Brahe (Penny Arcade). After a brief introduction to shoehorn a reason why such a game is being played, you sit down with the four respective greats and get to watch some great banter and play a decent representation of Poker.
There are tactile reasons to play besides the comedy. You always play with the same characters and everyone starts out with $10,000 buy in. Occasionally somebody starts with no money, so instead they buy in with an item they love so much as collateral. If you knock out the player betting with an item, you win it (and an achievement) as an unlock in Team Fortress 2. The items are really reskins of already existing items, but it is a great incentive for TF2 players to have unique items for your character classes. Winning enough games also unlocks new tables and poker decks but the game stays the same throughout.
As an actual Poker game, PNATI comes up a bit short. Playing on normal difficulty has the AI become almost schizophrenic, with them making intelligent calls/folds/raises at one moment but when the bet comes back to them — even in the same round — they fold in an act of insanity. Playing on hard gives a tougher experience as the AI is less psycho and more cunning, providing you with a serious challenge unless you’re a true card shark. Prepare to lose. A lot.
Lets be honest though, you’re not playing for the love of Poker. The characterization that TellTale Games has showed here reflects each character for how the fans know and love them. Their respective voice actors — bar Tycho who never had one before — reprise their roles and give a fantastic performance. The dialogue is hilarious for the most part, with only a few jokes getting lost if you’re unfamiliar with a specific character’s lore. Everything feels authentic and can be seen as a fan-fiction come to life, but made by somebody with actual talent. Even if you’re not a fan of some of the characters, you will still smile throughout.
Eventually the funny dialogue will lose its charm as jokes start repeating, but you can limit or turn off how frequently they talk if you want it to become less constant. Thankfully TellTale made it so when a dialogue takes place, the game can continue being played meaning you’re not forced to watch people talk in fear of missing a good joke. Once you’ve heard everything and gotten the TF2 unlocks, there’s no real reason to come back unless you want to show a friend. The lack of multiplayer drives the nail in further highlighting that this will be a short lived experience.
It wouldn’t be hard to feel cheated by the short length if it wasn’t so dirt cheap that it’s almost a steal. Humor can go a long way and the enthusiastic TF2 player will benefit from the new gear, while fans of the characters will get a few hours of great entertainment. At only £3.25 on Steam (and it works with Mac too), it’s hard to find a game so cheap that can have you smiling like Poker Night at the Inventory does.
[Rating: 4/5]
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