Pool Hustler Arcade Game in Billiards Snooker Directory

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The basic idea behind Pool Hustler is to travel from town to town until you face the ultimate pool master! You do this by winning matches and earning enough money to progress onto higher staked games, and defeating increasingly difficult opponents. There are also other modes to the game, such as Trick Shot, 2-player, and practice. The game is played from a first person perspective (although you have total control of the cameras position and zoom). The tables, balls, and room are all modeled well, and are surprisingly realistic. The BGs are dark, with neon lights, brick walls, posters and such. Tables are varied in style, from contemporary polished lacquer to antique wood with net pockets. Balls are easily recognizable by color or number, and move/collide in a very believable manner. The only minor gripe would be that at certain angles there is some resolution edges that appear on the table. Really, theres not much to describe here. You feel like youre in a room with a pool table, I mean, its a pool game, so what else should there be? The PSX buttons are put to use, as you have complete freedom over every aspect of the game. Buttons are assigned for camera, zoom, angle of cue, english, strength of strike, the whole nine yards. On screen gauges come up for the angle and strike point of ball. Things are pretty basic, and easy to use. I didnt even look at the control layout and was able to get into the game in a matter of minutes. In a game like this, (simulation) the sounds effects are a huge part of making the whole package believable. Everything in Pool Hustler is done well. From the sound of balls striking each other, to the rolling of the sunk shot as it travels inside the table. The music is pretty mellow, and fits the stages... not my style of tunes, but appropriate. Its pool! Looks like pool, and plays like pool. The physics are very realistic, and re-created well. Nothing seems odd. The real gameplay comes in during the story mode. You pick a game (8 ball, 9 ball, Rotation, 14.1) head to a city and place a bet against an opponent. During the match, a picture or your challenger will occasionally come up accompanied by comments such as Oh, this is a tough one, or I didnt realize you were this good. Its a nice touch.. although not spoken. There are also times when they will ask you to place a bet on a shot. Usually its some crazy trick, but you do have the option of declining. Once again, its a nice touch thatvaries the game a bit. Something also worth mentioning is, there are times when youre not sure if your angle, etc. is quite right. In cases like this, a quick press of a button gives you a view of your shot line. It really helps, and keeps you from getting frustrated because you couldnt tell if the angle was right. At first, I had a hard time judging how hard I was going to hit a ball. I soon learned, but a gauge of some sort would have helped. Specialty titles like these are pretty tough to review. If you have no interest in pool, you probably wouldnt care too much for a pool game. Those of you that do like it, will probably find that Pool Hustler does a pretty good job of imitating the real thing. It also adds a bit of a touch with the betting and various modes. Either way, a rental would be a good way to judge, and who knows, those that dont know how to play, may find that this helps them out... maybe it can do something for my pool game!

 

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