Poker Smash Review ( 8.5 out of 10 )

February 10, 2008 ... Review by Mike

XBLA
800 Points ($10)

The fundamentals of Poker Smash are the same as Planet Puzzle League (PPL) … you move blocks left and right in order to match colors to clear them, and then move cards around to try to chain your clears. However … that is where PPL stops and Poker Smash picks up. You can also match poker hands like flushes, straights, and full houses to clear them out. And on top of that … there are special weapons like bombs and bullet time to make the game-play even more interesting.

You can play Poker Smash similarly to PPL … but don’t expect to do as well. PPL is very fast paced all the time … where as you must be bit more methodical in Poker Smash to get big points. I think I prefer the fast paced action to Smash’s set em up and knock em down philosophy.

This game is not without it’s flaws … but 80 % of it is my preference ... and 20% is a hardware issue. First off ... I wish I could play this game with a good D-pad rather than with the “touch and go”ness of the analog stick. For me ... A game such as this requires Precision tapping ... and I have an issue being precise with the stick. Also if you’re trying to get a high score like I was ... there is a good chance this game may crash on you.

Even with the flaws … this is a must buy for puzzle game fans seeing as it is only $10 … and features some of the best arcade style multi player on XBLA. I’ll give Poker Smash a 7.5 out of 10.

Poker Smash (XBLA) At a Glance
	8.5	The Goods	Innovative puzzle action, amazing multi player, new challenges with every game.
		The Flaws	game has a tendency to freeze
	Great	The Verdict	Puzzle fans should grab this game as it will provide hours of replay for $10.

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