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View Full Version : REVIEW: Wontom Poker has just been released!


Menneisyys
05-10-2006, 11:28 AM
Ever wanted to mass-play Poker in a local Bluetooth network? Wontom Poker has just been released!

Good news for anyone wanting to play poker on a local Bluetooth network without having to have access to the Internet (where alternate, Internet-only multiplayer poker games like Texas Hold'em by Realdice (http://www.realdice.com/games.html) can’t be used because they require an Internet connection to play): Wontom Pty Ltd (http://wontom.com/), a new Pocket PC developer, has just released their local Bluetooth multiplayer Poker title. (Please do read the first chapter of the Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/menneisyys/102005MPPPCGames.asp) if you are unsure about what the difference between Internet-only and local Bluetooth games is.)

The demo is fully playable; the full game costs $19.95 USD. The game is available for download HERE (http://wontom.com/).

The game

There isn't much to be said: if you ever have played a computerized poker game, you know all of them. An in-game screenshot can be seen in here (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/wontom-ingame-1.bmp.png), showing four of my PDA’s participating in a game.

Fortunately, much as this title is seemingly the first of the developer, they haven't fallen into the trap of releasing something really bad (unlike with a lot of other newbie developers; for example, BlazeDev reviewed yesterday (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/index.php?blog=3&title=blazedev_releases_3d_star_racer&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1)) as their first game and only gradually getting better.

The game doesn’t have in-game chatting capabilities but, as it’s local Bluetooth-only (meaning players some feet away from each other), there is no need for that either. As it doesn’t support any kind of central Internet server either, you won’t be able to play remote games. To play Internet games, you’ll need to stick to the above-mentioned Realdice title (http://www.realdice.com/games.html).

Compatibility tests and reports

The game has very good compatibility: it’s compatible with all devices starting with WM2003 (there's no PPC2k/PPC2k2-compatibility, sorry – I’ve explicitly tested the latter on my iPAQ 3660). What is more important, it’s compatible with both the Microsoft and the Widcomm Bluetooth stacks. Very few multiplayer games are like this: right now, only Battle Cake by HeroCraft HiTech Co. Ltd. (see the Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/menneisyys/102005MPPPCGames.asp) on this game) supports this networking model.

The only “incompatibility” I’ve run into was WM2003’s inability to display the full icon of the game as can be seen in this screenshot (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/WM2003WontomPokerBadIcon.bmp.png). On a WM5 QVGA device, there were no such problems as can be seen in this HTC Wizard screenshot (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/WM5QVGAWontomPokerIcon.bmp.png). Finally, on both of my test VGA devices, the Pocket Loox 720 and the Dell Axim x51v, correctly rendered the icon (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/WM5VGAWontomPokerIcon.bmp.png).

The devices don’t need to be paired to be able to discover each other. Also, I have not run into any Bluetooth incompatibility problem either, no matter how I set up the gaming network - that is, which Pocket PC hosted the game. Clients were able to discover the server without problems as can be seen for example in here (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/wontom-DiscoverOtherPDAs.bmp.png).

I haven't noticed speed problems, unlike with the Realdice title, which is on the verge of unplayability on some, especially VGA devices (see the The Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/menneisyys/102005MPPPCGames.asp) for more information).

Game installer CAB file transfer support

The game also has a feature of transferring the game (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/wontom-gametransfer-1.bmp.png) itself to another Pocket PC if it's not running the game in server mode. This feature may prove useful for people that don't know much about Bluetooth / infrared / memoy card-based file transfer.

This requires that the CAB file of the game is present (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/wontom-gametransfer-2.bmp.png). If it is, it will be sent (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/wontom-gametransfer-3.bmp.png) (quite slowly). File transfer also works to MS BT stack devices too (tested with the HTC Wizard and the Del Axim x51v). Some older BT Widcomm BT stacks are not supported, file transfer-wise (for example, 1.3.1, as can be seen in this screenshot (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/wontom-gametransfer-4.bmp.png)).

VGA (high resolution) support

Unfortunately, the game, as opposed to the Realdice title (http://www.realdice.com/games.html), doesn't support high resolution on VGA devices. It, however, worked OK.

It only uses the upper left quarter of the screen in native VGA mode (http://www.winmobiletech.com/052006WontomPoker/WontomNativeVGAMode.bmp.png) - that is, avoid using the latter when running the game.

Verdict

Compared to the Realdice title (http://www.realdice.com/games.html), the completely different networking model will be a godsend for many players - and a curse for others. It's up to you to decide whether you need local Bluetooth-only or Internet-only gaming capabilities. Also, if the Realdice game is slow on your particular device, then, this title may be a good alternative.

Recommended Reading

The Definitive Multiplayer PPC Game Roundup (http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/menneisyys/102005MPPPCGames.asp).