Going on the pool... (Virtual Pool 3 (PC))

Member Name: moistoist

Product:	Virtual Pool 3 (PC)
Date:	20/05/01 (372 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Awesome fun, Brilliant gameplay, Looks great

Disadvantages: Single player is shite in VP3, AI is a little thick or absolutely amazing

Simulating sports has been a staple diet of PC games fodder since anyone can remember. If you can recall wonderful hours of childhood spent making Mr Daley Thompson jump seven centimetres further, or any game that required waggling your joystick (easy tiger!) from side to side until it broke, just to break the world 100m record, well, weren't we all childish. Surely we've all grown up since then.

Right. Sure. That's REALLY likely...

But if you would like to find a computer game for adults that's fiendishly addictive but also has a certain 'je ne sais quoi', a certain 'style' and 'chic' that your girlfriend just CAN'T see in Quake 3 for some unknown reason, then the games in the Virtual Pool series might be your answer.
True, you can't splatter Jimmy White's innards all over a castle wall with a minigun, but you can relive that glorious feeling that there is something deeply and profoundly skillful about computer games, whilst wasting as much time as you possibly can.

There are four titles in the series, although there are only two contenders really for the title, unless you are a)skint, or b)dumb.
The original, Virtual Pool, was a classic, but you might find it in the budget basket.
The sequel, Virtual Pool 2 (original title, don't you think?) is not worth bothering with. Sooo....

THE GAMES

So in the blue corner we have Virtual Pool 3 (the creative team must have been really inspired that morning...)
And in the red corner we have Virtual Pool House.

'Eh?' I hear you thinking. 'What's up here?'
The answer is, Virtual Pool House was released just before Virtual Pool 3. It has all the games and table settings - basically it's Virtual Pool 2, but with the extra games of Virtual Pool 3, but none of the other features. It's a pool simulator, no bells and whistles, but an excellent simulator.
Virtual Pool 3
adds a totally new menu interface, a single player career mode based on money-making, and various other gimmicks which aren't worth mentioning. It also adds a celeb, well sort of...former Women's world pool champion Jeanette Lee, in a rather tasty leather number which your girlfriend won't approve of.
(Oh, and just to say that I'm not being politically incorrect in this review. The game is rather male targeted (suppose the pub/male/pool connotation is fairly obvious). These are all games for both lads and lasses. I'm just relating personal experience!)

CRITIQUE

The interface in-game is always the same, and it's really excellent. You control the cue by moving the mouse, in a 3d way - so it rotates around the cueball. You can control how high you want the butt of the cue, exactly where you want the english (spin), and then, once you've lined the shot up, how hard you hit the cue ball, by moving the mouse back then forwards. It's brilliantly intuitive, believe me you'll be doing it naturally next to no time.
Rules are all as normal pool (look around on the net to find them out if you need to.). There is one rule quibble in the snooker in all versions of the game - after a foul, if you are left in a snooker, you can't replace the previous position, only concede the shot back to your opponent who fouled...i.e there's no 'miss' rule. So no totting up 36 points worth of fouls. Sod.

Otherwise everything is well, near perfect.
Another great feature that I like is that you can customize literally anything. Room background, table size, how bouncy the cushions are, cloth speed - even what cue you're using! Although that doesn't do too much. If your sense of aim is as good as NATO's then you won't be made any better with a better cue. You'll still miss the pots. Even on the hardest difficulty the pockets are a bit too big on the snooker table in both games. The tables p
lay well on a medium speed setting, though play around with it until you get what you like.
The loadable trick shots are worth a look for mere shallow amusement. Try them in a game and prepare to buy the next round...!

Everything looks fantastic. Almost too good. The balls don't quite have the requisite shine, but Virtual Pool 4 might solve that.
Hmmm...and the sound is good too...most realistic. No commentary here, thank god.
In fact the only other criticism I can level is that the AI is a little polarised...either Mark Williams, or Mark the rat-assed barman. You have to look hard to find an opponent who suits your level.


CONCLUSION

I would recommend getting Virtual Pool Hall if you just want to play the computer or online. The single player career thing in Virtual Pool 3 is fairly lame, and the leather outfit isn't worth the price alone. Although - Virtual Pool 3 has fractionally better graphics, so you might go for that anyway. It's more likely to get patches and updates, so that might be another thing in it's favour. But overall they are both brilliantly addictive games, whilst being a little more 'serious'.

I'm going down the pub. Fancy a game?

Summary: