Poker Night at the inventory is Telltale Games’ newest title to be pushed out of their fantastic pilot program, rather than the usual adventure game, Telltale have gone back to their roots in Texas Hold'em, and have created an engaging and entertaining poker game for both hardcore and new poker players to enjoy. Most important of all however is that Poker Night at the Inventory features four recognisable faces from the gaming world.
When you step up to the poker table at the Inventory some of you may be disappointed to learn that you do not get to play as Team Fortress 2’s loveable Heavy and so forth, instead you are a nameless poker player drawn to the high-stakes table. At the Inventory you will be pitted against everyone's favourite class, the Heavy from Team Fortress 2 who will regal tales of fights between himself and the other character types. You’ll also play against the real star of the cult Homestar Runner web-cartoon; Strong Bad. With Telltale’s seal of approval on the game you will probably not be surprised to see the hyperactive lagomorph Max, from the brilliant Sam and Max. However the more surprising appearance in Poker Night at the Inventory is Tycho Brahe of Penny Arcade fame, ties to PAX makes perfect sense, but the sarcastic nerd does manage to fit in at the poker table with relative ease.
With what must be hours of dialogue for each character, Poker Night at the Inventory caters for players that have bought the title to play poker with some of the best characters in the gaming sphere, and for those that just wish to get down to business. If you just want to play poker with as little chit-chat as possible, or want to hear every tale the Heavy has to tell, Telltale Games have very handily given players multiple options in terms of how much idle chit-chat is spoken, great for when you can’t stand constant gloating at your poor poker skills.
Possibly the best thing about Poker Night at the Inventory is that it is invariably at the core, extremely cheap fun! For $5 you will have one of the most entertaining, well-made poker games that you could want, it is also an almost endless source of witty writing, and with Telltale Games' brilliant production values, you will find that Poker Night at the Inventory is something that you just can’t get from most poorly made poker games.
I am not going to profess that I am a Texas Hold’em king, in fact the little knowledge I have of poker is what Red Dead Redemption taught me, and so it is a shame that as a poker novice there is in fact no tutorial as such to the world of poker, and with the only two difficulty settings of normal and hard, novices to the game will not be let off easily. However it only takes so long for a player to become accustomed to the cut-throat environment of the poker table, and after-all a bluff can go a very long way.
With tales of the battlefield, Sam and Max’s adventures and more, Poker Night at the Inventory relies as much on its writing as it does its gameplay, so you can imagine that a lot of stories told over the table are hilarious, there will of course be the occasional sour line, but you’ll definitely find some gems in a heated hand. Possibly best of all was the most subtle advertising for Telltale Games’ website, and a story from the Heavy involving some rather violent acts upon a Demoman.
It really comes down to the fact that Poker Night at the Inventory is a proper filler title, whether you have a few hours to burn some time whilst you wait for dinner cooking, or you simply don’t want to fall asleep just yet, Poker Night at the Inventory is an excellent game to eat away at your time when you just don’t feel like playing a game that requires too much effort. Plus with an unlimited supply of money there are only your stats to worry about when you buy in on your 5th table because your mind wasn’t actually working on the last few hands.
Whether you know your flushes from your straights or not you will find oodles of fun in Poker Night at the Inventory, if you are a good poker player then you'll be rewarded with a variety of TF2 unlocks, and new decks to beat your foes on the poker table to an embarrassing mess. If you aren't a good player, then you will still undoubtedly have a good time.
If you love your poker and want a bit of variation with the characters that you are playing with, you definitely won’t find a more interesting poker game known to man, so sit down, buy in and enjoy the best poker game of your life.
Poker Night at the Inventory is available now for Windows for the low-low price of $4.95, and can be bought from Telltale’s digital download service or via Steam, and with the unique character interaction that you will receive in Poker Night at the Inventory it is possibly the cheapest value for money poker game on the market.