Real Pool

"Well... It's pool"

The first thing I'd like to say is that Real Pool is a fun game. It's not captivating, it's not great, but its fun. Also, I consider a 6/10 a good score, especially for a pool game. That's above average.

Game play- The Game play is fine. Angles work the same way they do in real pool games. The Controls are simple. I actually found myself to be better at pool after playing this game, mostly because I knew the angles better. So it's pretty realistic. The story mode is pretty hard. The goal is to beat several great pool players. After defeating a few players, it gets near impossible. Your opponent ends up sinking around five balls a turn. So it gets to the point where you can't let your opponent have more than one or two turns. The challenge is fun though; I didn't find it that frustrating. Multi-player mode is pretty fun. Every pool game you could imagine is available, so its not repetitive at all. There is one more mode, puzzle mode, where you have a certain amount of shots to sink all the balls on a strangely shaped table. Its okay, but it quickly gets frustrating and repetitive

Graphics- The graphics are pretty good. I mean, as good as graphics can get for a few balls, a table, and a couple sticks. Nothing special here, nothing good either.

Sound- It never really bothered me, but the music could get on the nerves of some people. It is mostly calming piano music I think. It fits the situation well.

Fun-This isn't the kind of game that is so fun you'll want to play it for a long period of time, but it is fun overall. If you can handle a little frustration you can have a great deal of fun with this game. If you can handle a good amount of frustration, you might even have a lot of fun with the puzzle mode.

Rent or Buy- If you're even looking at this review I'll assume you like billiards, so this game is worth $10-$20 dollars if you can find it. If you have a friend that likes to play pool too, then you should definitely buy this game. Don't bother renting this game though, its not the kind of game you'll get your moneys worth from in a week.

Ratings:
Game play – 7
Graphics – 5
Sound – 5
Fun – 8
Overall - 6

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/09/04