What do Sam & Max's hyperactive rabbit-style critter Max, Team Fortress 2's Russian powerhouse Heavy Weapons Guy, Homestar Runner's wannabe lothario luchador Strong Bad and Penny Arcade's sadistic, sarcastic super-nerd Tycho Brahe have in common? According to Telltame Games' Poker Night at the Inventory, it's Texas Hold 'Em.
The staff at Telltale must have thoughts made of magic and brainstorming sessions bathed in starlight and fairy science because this was a wonderful idea. Gathering together four of the best characters from four of the hottest nerd properties and shoving them into a casual gaming experience available for a handful of change on PC and Mac is inspired. Who else would you want to sit down with for a poker game than this comedy crossover roundtable?
The plot (well, 'excuse for game') sees you, the nameless Player, sitting down with these four crazy animated kids for a poker tournament in a shady, exclusive bar. Your character won't have anything to say but your fellows have hours of dialogue to share with you. All of the characters are voiced by their original voice actors and have their 3D models taken from their respective games, apart from Tycho, who has never been voiced or animated in 3D before so that's ok, don't stress it. Even original creators like Matt Chapman (from Homestarrunner.com) and Jerry Holkins (from Penny-Arcade.com) helped out with the dialogue, to guarantee that authentic taste. Mmm... dialogue.
The game is, quite frankly, hilarious. Every character comes loaded with one-liners and back-and-forth routines, pumped full of references to pop culture and each character's individual mythos. Tycho is dry and prone to insane rages and has the highest number of cuss words in his vocabulary. He loves giraffes and Tetris Attack. He argues with Strong Bad, who considers himself the greatest thing alive and doesn't mind you knowing it. Heavy has taken Strong Bad under his wing, calling him 'Tiny Heavy' and 'Strong and Bad', and shares stories of destroying things and people who own those things. He's got hidden depths though, and a degree in Russian literature. Max, meanwhile, lives in his own little bizarre reality and, also, has stories of hurting people. It's like watching an epic and unpredictable comedy routine unravel in front of you, and you'll even get sad when you eliminate a player because you won't be able to hear any more of their schtick until the next game.
Of course, it all falls apart if the poker doesn't play well. Poker's difficult to get wrong, and while Telltale's latest adaption doesn't break any ground in the field of card-presenting, it's a fully functional game. It's not as user-friendly as TikGames' Texas Hold 'Em, and of course it doesn't offer any multiplayer, but this is a perfectly functional bite-sized game. Each character has a noticeable strategy - Strong Bad is a bluffer, Max is erratic, Heavy is conservative and Tycho is super-conservative - and the AI is pretty sharp. Occassionally, one of the card players won't have any money available, so they'll place a unique item on the table, like Tycho's solid gold Pac-Man Watch. If you win the item, you can unlock it for your characters in Valve's Team Fortress 2.Poker Night at the Inventory has a lot going for it. It's funny - real funny, not just ok-that-will-do video game funny. It's clever and plays a good hand of cards. It's got free items for TF2 and it's cheap as chips (pardon the pun - actually, don't, I'm proud of that one). It's let down by being fairly limited, especially after you've played enough games to hear all of the dialogue.
Admittedly, this will take some time, so as long as you actually enjoy card games, Poker Night at the Inventory receives a 7 out of 10.
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