Developed by: Telltale Games
Release date: November 22, 2010
Platforms: PC
I remember I had this crazy dream one time that I was playing Poker with my friends Max, Strong Bad, and Heavy... Oh yeah, and Tycho from the Penny Arcade comics was there too. Wait, that wasn't a dream, it was Poker Night at the Inventory.
This game is as straight up as straight up gets. It's Texas Hold 'Em Poker, but instead of playing with sweaty bald guys, you play with moderately famous characters:
Max from Sam & Max, Strong Bad from Homestarrunner.com, the Heavy from Team Fortress 2, and Tycho from Penny Arcade. It's a fun lineup, Tycho included, despite me not having any connection to Penny Arcade. The conversations that go on between them is a lot of fun, and this game still gets some laughs out of me even after 18.5 hours of play time. It's a good 'Shoot the Shit With Your Buddies Over a Game of Poker' simulator. They even make fun of you for folding like REAL LIFE buddies would.
The downside to this is that they will obviously run out of dialogue at some point, and things will start to repeat. This CAN get a little annoying once you've heard the same conversation about the Heavy cutting off Max's head or whatever for the third time. It hasn't really bothered me too much, but there is a setting to turn down the frequency of conversations, or turn them off completely in the options if one feels the need to.
Gameplay never gets old, since it's literally just poker with the addition of unlocking different table patterns and card decks for every few wins. Characters have their own playstyles and strategies. Max has basically no poker knowledge, so his moves are seemingly random. Tycho on the other hand actually knows what he's doing, and plays the game a little safer, usually folding unless he has good cards. It makes for a fun time, and once you start to pick up on how the characters play their hands, it adds an extra layer to the game.
Any time I'm in the mood for poker, this is usually what I boot up to get my fix. Poker Night 2 is just as great, but I prefer the vibe and characters of Poker Night 1. I like Reginald Van Winslow as the dealer, and Strong Bad is my most favorite character in anything ever created, and the rest are just fun to hang around.
They aren't real, Orlok... They aren't real...
I also really like the music in this game. It's six blues renditions of songs from Strong Bad Emails, Sam & Max, and Team Fortress 2. Despite there only being six tracks, they don't get old or repetitive. They all sound similar and kind of blend together at a point, so it shouldn't be something that bothers you.
Both Poker Night 1 & 2 have been delisted from Steam, and physical copies do not exist. If you wish to play these games, you can safely download them for free from Archive.org. OBVIOUSLY these games are worth playing, especially since they're FREE. It's a pretty good poker game, and totally worth a try if you're itching for a few games of poker with THE GUYS.
