Reviews

For anyone who enjoys a game of pool then this title is definitely good enough to take a closer look at.

Arcade Pool is a very simplistic, top-down style pool game which is very quick and easy to get to grips with. Rather than fussing over finesse features of the game such as using spin on the cue ball, you merely rotate the direction of your shot in a simple 360 degree clockwise/anticlockwise movement. The line of the cue ball and trajectory of both this and the target ball are given as a guide to help you both pot the ball and gauge where the cue ball will end up afterwards.

You get to play as either a guy or girl in single player mode, in which you take on various opponent. If you beat them you will be rewarded with extra bonuses, such as new cue colours, table colours and even additional opponents.

In two-player mode, it's a straightforward game of pool where you play your friends in a battle to see who can pot all the balls quickest - or just who manages to fluke the most!

Last but by no means least, you get to challenge your potting skills in the Pot the Lot mode. This game will put the balls in a variety of locations around the table and give you a set amount of shots to sink them all. To my cost I tried a Virgo Trick Shot (ask your Dad) and potted the black in the first shot, which meant game over for me. The second time round I went for the four red balls, then sunk the black and progressed to the next level. This does sound fairly simple, but you have to be careful not to pot the cue ball or else it's game over, as with any foul.

This game would benefit from being able to put spin on the cue ball, as straightforward shots typically mean you can't play the game as you normally would in reality or on other pool games. Due to the lack of control of the cue ball, apart from the speed/power of the shot and the white ball trajectory, you are left either amused or bemused by the shots you have to pull off so as to not foul or pot more than one ball per table visit.

Another thing that this game would benefit from is the ability to progress without having to connect to the WAP internet to unlock the next advancement. Unfortunately this isn't possible, which can leave you stuck playing the same opponents over and over (is this the mobile equivalent of putting down 20p for your next game - Ed). Personally I found this very restrictive and it did impact on the fun I had.