I love poker but I suck at it generally and never have the confidence to actually play in any casinos I’ve been in... ok so I haven’t been in that many but when I was I didn’t have the guts to play. Imagine my joy then that I can now play at home with friends if I want without the embarrassment of losing money I don’t have. The DS brings us World Championship Poker and let me tell you, it is brilliant!

The game has a variety of modes, single player, career, multiplayer and so on. You can get right into the thick of the action with quick start or you can embark on a poker career. If you choose career mode then you have the choice of playing a male or female character and have the option of customising them by changing their hair, face, body, shape, accesories and so on. I like that you have the choice of playing around with your character and it makes you feel more integrated in the game. In career mode you have a first person perspective of the casino on the top screen and a map on the bottom so you know where you’re going. You start off at The Wild Corral, the most basic casino and through tournament play in there you can increase your initial money of $5000 and open up other casinos that are bigger and better (The Amazon, The Nebula and The Renaissance). You have a choice of games to play such as various poker games (Omaha, Texas Hold Em), blackjack, video poker and more. You can also walk along the streets and check out other places, some of which house amusing little side games such as darts and ice hockey. Overall, career mode is a fantastic aspect of this game and it has been keeping me busy for hours. One poker tournamet lasted over four hours!

Multiplayer is another area of this game that totally rocks. You can play against your friends in the traditional way only without ever having to deal a card. Brilliant. Works really well and doesn’t scrimp on any features. It is a great laugh all from a single card since its download play. This is just such a brilliant feature of the DS in general and its games like this that can really benefit from it most.

The graphics on this title are really good considering that it's basically poker and cards on screen most of the time. The other characters that you play against are fairly detailed and they have their own quirks and characteristics that really add to their personality. The casinos are bright and unusual and each has its own varying style and theme. I was impressed with the way the graphics have been made interesting when they really didn’t have to be. Nice.

The sound on this title is pretty amusing. The characters have their own sayings from the yeehars of the cowboy to the coughing of the old man. There are casino background noises all the time and it’s nice hearing someone shout Blackjack and so on. I liked the sound and again it was a good adddition to a game that doesn’t really need sound overall. Perfect for the deaf gamer as the sound isn’t neccessary for the title to be played.

Female gamers will love this game as much as men because you can play females right from the start and many of the characters are female. You have as many options with the female characters as you do with the male characters so a big thumbs up for this one.

Overall, I think this is a must have title for any DS owner. It is addictive insane fun and makes poker even better than normal if you can believe that. Get a few mates who own DS machines and all play against each other. This is where it comes into it’s own but don’t worry, the single player game can keep you occupied for a hell of a long time. Fantastic title so get it now.