Wait a minute! Didn't I just review this game? A PSP game that allows you to play poker - yes, that sounds like Hard Rock Casino. Even the interface, menus and characters look the same. Maybe this is some kind of gaming déjà vu? Actually, it's more like some sort of cruel torture! Maybe publishers Oxygen Interactive thought they'd done such a good job of creating poker in Hard Rock Casino that they felt it deserved its very own game - they obviously should have waited to read my review of Hard Rock first!

I often wonder why people watch poker tournaments on TV (other than to watch the delicious Jennifer Tilly!) and playing World Championship Poker 2 I'm still stumped as to why anyone would choose this over a real card game [One good answer might be that you can't lose any money, beyond what the game costs! Ed]. However, as with all games of the ilk, the simple fact is you can't play a game of poker on a bus at 6am, no matter how many gambling junkies you might find on there. Playing this game is almost like playing Deal or No Deal, as it's purely based on luck. Sure, you can play the odds and bet according to the strength of your hand, but there's still a large element of luck, particularly when playing against computer opponents. When you're playing against real people, at least you can bluff and they might fold even if you've got nothing, or a weak hand, but against the computer this is harder to achieve. One interesting element is the use of a mini-game to hide a tell on a bad hand, but sadly it's very poorly implemented. A circle with three shaded areas for Bluff, Pokerface and Tell is displayed, and you have to move the analog stick to stay in a certain area. No matter where you end up, you are given such a terrible animation of your player bluffing that you'd be forgiven for laughing at a real person for doing such things!

The game is split into three modes: Quick Play, Career and Multiplayer. Quick Play is, as the menu informs you, "Just one screen away from a game of poker". However, that should really be changed to "Just one screen and almost a minute's wait away from a game of poker", as the load times for this game are ridiculous. If you press start and realise you've picked the wrong option then my advice is to simply reset the game, as it'll take less time to get back to the menu this way! Quick Play is a good way of getting used to the game and there are numerous options available, including a choice of fourteen different types of poker, the number of players, bet limits and difficulty, so there's much to do if you fancy a quick hand. Multiplayer allows you to play against your friends and take all their money without the risk of losing said friend or the game resulting in a brawl (though it should be said that you can do this quite easily with a pack of cards!) The good part about playing against a real person though is of course that element of unpredictability, and being able to bluff more effectively than you can against the AI.

Career mode is where you'll be spending most of your time and in a similar vein to Legends of Wrestling or Def Jam, you take your created player around the US and then the world, winning tournaments and most importantly money, which allows you to enter more of the most exotic locations available, such as Tokyo and Las Vegas. This is possibly the most poorly executed excuse for longevity that I've ever seen in a game and within a few games I'd utterly lost all interest in playing. You simply play poker, win and then move on to the next game or tournament; there are no variations and there's no rhyme nor reason to why you're playing. A simple storyline about how you're winning the money for a reason - an operation, a new car or that you're on a mission from God would have made some sense and that's not exactly a hard thing to think of.

The only interesting part is the use of the Pawn Shop, which lends you an amount of money that you must pay back in a certain amount of time. However, instead of making this interesting by having Soprano-like cut scenes of a sleazy loan shark demanding money or reminding you of your debt, all you get is the occasional menu popup telling you about this. It's doubtful you'll play through the entire Career mode, or more importantly, that you'll be able to, as you'll find yourself at times unable to buy into certain games due to their hefty price, so until you get on winning streak, half of the game is locked, which cuts a huge chunk of longevity out of the game.

Graphically, World Championship Poker 2 is horrible. The characters are badly drawn with limited facial and body animation, and there are only a few options in the create mode, so if you have the desire to try and recreate yourself like you can in other games, just forget it. Even the environments of the poker games use the same generic backgrounds, the only plus point being the sparse but functional menus that at least mean you won't join a game when you really just want to quit. The music is a cross between irritating elevator muzak and mood music for a 1970s porn film (or so I've been told!)

The problem with this game, as with Hard Rock Casino, is simply that gambling for fake money isn't as fun as gambling for real money is, when something is actually at stake. Also the element of competition and interaction is removed when playing against the AI. Think about when you last played poker for M&Ms or pennies; the fact is that even though the pot only consisted of a few pounds or a half a bag of chocolate, the thrill of winning them is still there. With this game you could win thousands of dollars with a single hand, and yet there is no real feeling of winning that money and even losing that much doesn't have the desired effect that being beaten in any other game can give. It's the equivalent of going into a real casino and being told if you win anything you can't keep it and if you lose anything you'll get it back at the end.

World Championship Poker 2 featuring Howard Lederer isn't a terrible game, but neither is it a good one. For those wanting to play a game of poker without the hassle of dealing cards or finding friends to play against then this game is an adequate substitute. Those wanting to practice before a tournament may find this game a good warm up and the tutorials for each game type are thorough and helpful for beginners. However, if you're looking for a dazzling gaming experience to while away the summer nights then this just isn't it, as it won't be long before the repetitive nature of the gameplay sinks in and you simply stop playing.

Reviewed by David Simpson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).