[PS2] World Championship Cards Review
Posted by James McGee on 05.21.2008
Hedge your bets and pass this one up
You’d think making a video game about playing cards would be simple—create some digital cards, set up the games and the rules, there you go. You might also think it would be hard to justify buying just a straight up card simulator without a few added bonuses as only video games can do. You’d be right on both counts, but the question remains: how do you strike a balance between simple, accessible gameplay and over-the-top entertainment? For the answer…look well past World Championship Cards, because this game drops the ball uncomfortably in the middle. The card games at the heart of things are fun and well executed, but the window-dressing around them totally fails to enhance the experience.
It seems the developers at Crave wanted to make this more than just a collection of card games, but were not willing to put enough effort into it to make things worthwhile. The graphics and sound run the gamut between barely passable and atrocious. In terms of gameplay, there’s a weak single-player mode and a potentially enjoyable online multiplayer mode that is hampered by appearing on a system not exactly renowned for its online capabilities. Buried beneath all the blemishes is a decent enough game, but one hardly worth picking up, even with a $15 price tag.
Graphics
I understand this game is a budget title, and that the PS2 is way behind the times in this day of 1080p consoles, but World Championship Cards is not a pretty thing to look at, no matter how you cut it. Players can customize a 3D avatar, with choices ranging from standard male/female characters, to goofier fair like samurai warriors, knights in armor, and fuzzy mascots. However, the choices are pretty limited, even when you get down to the finer details like hairstyles and piercings. There’s no fine-tuning of faces or body structure, so good luck getting anywhere close to an actual representation of yourself. Once you’ve created a digital self, you can watch him/her go through only the most rudimentary series of animations while sitting in poorly-lit environments with an erratic camera.
When not sitting at the card table, players can move around their digital pad. Unfortunately, the graphics don’t improve where inanimate objects are concerned. During Championship mode, you are given the freedom to walk around your dwelling and update it with various luxuries purchased with your game winnings. There’s a decent amount to choose from—everything from shelving, to TVs, to fine art pieces—but like the avatars, nothing looks all that great. Textures are flat and details sparse. No matter how much you dress up your pad, the sub-par graphics assure that it never looks very realistic.
Yeah, the interface covers up the environment, but not seeing the graphics is a good thing, in this case.
Sound
The sound design fares even worse than the graphics. There are just a few music tracks tailored to fit the handful of locations available for play. They are generic, short, and loop incessantly. The characters are all very chatty, but they don’t have very much to say. Like the visual customization options, the vocal personalities try to tap into games like Outlaw Golf, placing outrageous characters in an otherwise mundane situation. You’ll run into stereotypes ranging from pirates, to Japanese, to flamboyant, lisping dandies, but you’ll quickly grow tired of their repetitive, choppy banter. After the first couple of games, I was compelled to mute the TV and turn up the stereo. The audio does everything but enhance the gameplay experience—it grates on the nerves.
Gameplay
There are three modes of play in World Championship Cards: Quick Play, Championship, and Multiplayer. Quick Play allows you to take on the computer in any of the 30 + card games included, and gives you the freedom to choose play location, set the number of opponents, and tweak the various rules for each game. Championship serves as the game’s “story” mode, where you work your way through a five-round tournament (with three games per round) to become the ultimate casual card player. Well, at least that’s what I assume the whole thing’s about, because there really isn’t any set-up for this story. As you progress, your pad grows from your garage, to an apartment, to a house, and so on—all of which you can trick out with that boring, low-res bling I mentioned earlier. You’re given the occasional side-quest, with such bizarre goals as defeating a group of aliens at Hearts to stave off a planet-wide invasion. These quests follow the game’s trend of half-heartedly trying to be over-the-top, but ultimately falling flat.
Multiplayer mode has the most potential, but it’s hampered by the Playstation 2’s limitations. While it’s technically capable of online gaming, the PS2 has never been a force in that area, so I always question releasing online-centric titles on the console. The PSP seems like a more logical platform for the game, seeing as how the handheld has been more geared toward online gaming from the start. If you have a choice between versions, I’d say the portable translation just makes more sense all around.
Bob struggles to see his cards in the dark.
Lasting Appeal
You get a whole lot of nothing in Championship mode, and even if you do go through the entire tournament and completely trick out your hizzy, it should take you only a few hours. Playing against the computer will serve as a diversion hardly worth booting up the PS2. So, this game’s only chance at having legs is the multiplayer. There is no option for offline multiplayer (and why should there be? If you have real, breathing friends who like to play cards, just buy a pack of Bicycles), so unless you are able to find another soul in the vast, broadband vacuum who happens to be playing this thing, you’re out of luck. Simply put, there isn’t much to keep you coming back to World Championship Cards.
Fun Factor
Now, here’s the weird thing. For all the game’s shortcomings, it actually manages to be pretty fun. I mean, you’re playing cards—it’s pretty hard to screw that up. The controls are simple and intuitive, the user interface makes sense, and nearly every game is a spot-on translation of playing with real cards. There’s really nothing to complain about when it comes to the core gameplay, aside from a lack of variety (How many different versions of solitaire do you need? And if you’re that desperate to play with yourself, again, just go buy a deck of cards). If you enjoy card games, there’s really no reason for you to not have a little fun with this one, even though it’s still pretty hard to justify as a purchase.
The 411
At heart, World Championship Cards is a perfectly adequate collection of computer card games. The biggest problems are all the annoying, pointless additions that get in the way of the core gameplay. The graphics are lackluster by any standards, the sound design is downright maddening at times, and the reward system of buying digital trinkets just isn’t satisfying. If you can find friends to play against online, you might get a bit of mileage out of this one, but that’s far from sufficient reason to run out and buy it. WCC seems far better suited to the PSP’s portable, online enabled capabilities. But as a console game, it just doesn’t make sense, which leads me to believe that the PS2 version was just a cash-in afterthought. If that’s the case, Crave lost this particular gamble.
Graphics
5.0
, dark and ugly, the graphics are far from attractive and barely serviceable.
Gameplay
4.0
All of the repetitive chatter grates on the nerves after just a few minutes, and the music is as generic as generic gets. The mute button will be your friend.
Sound
5.0
Championship mode is criminally dull, but the games themselves are solid. Multiplayer is where it’s at with this game, but good luck finding partners online.
Lasting Appeal
3.5
Beyond multiplayer, there’s no reason to come keep coming back to this one
Fun Factor
7.0
Playing cards is fun, and so is this game. But not enough to make up for the shoddy total package.
