Pure Pool Hands-On Impressions

[Pappy Knuckles]

The league thing isn't very fleshed out. I beat jyoung in a game and got an achievement for winning the league. I guess since we were the only two in it at the moment, one win was all that was needed. I don't know exactly how it would work if a bunch of us were signed up, though. I guess I shouldn't expect but so much from an arcade game.

[jyoung]

I believe all it does it keep track of all-time wins and losses for games played under league rules. It seems like more of a leaderboard or a club than a true league.

[jyoung]

The online play works really well. I couldn't feel any lag playing PappyKnuckles. It felt just like offline.

Aside from standard stripes/solids and 9-ball, there's also a "points" mode where you try to rack up the highest total ball numbers, and one other weird mode called "killer" that I've never heard of.

Also, as I found out the hard way, there is an achievement for hitting the cue ball off the table.

Edit: "Killer" mode is actually a lot of fun. You take turns shooting with the other player. You both start with 4 "lives," and you lose a life if your turn ends without scoring a ball. If you score more than one ball in a turn, you get an extra life. First player to run out of lives loses. Or if you run out of balls first, the player with the most lives wins. Fun mode!

[jyoung]

Well, so far my only complaints are that the CPU is a bit slow to take their turn and the soundtrack, while good, is very repetitive.

Otherwise, this is a great pickup for pool fans at $10, unless you are really into trick shots, because this is just a straight pool simulation with no trick shot competitions.

[rspencer86]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

Well, so far my only complaints are that the CPU is a bit slow to take their turn and the soundtrack, while good, is very repetitive. Otherwise, this is a great pickup for pool fans at $10, unless you are really into trick shots, because this is just a straight pool simulation with no trick shot competitions.

Agreed on the CPU shot time, it seems like if they are really stumped they will take almost a minute to take a stab. I guess that's realistic, but ain't nobody got time fo' that.

Soundtrack I turned down so I could listen to my own music, so no big deal for me.

Computer AI is tough, but pretty fair. You can't be careless in your shots or you'll leave the table wide open, and the CPU is definitely capable of taking advantage. You have to use safety shots when there really isn't much there.

I've played a couple of the Speed Pot games in Career, and it is a lot of fun. Don't have much time to think about each shot, so you have to be quick on your feet and think several shots ahead.

Graphics are niiiiice. Haven't seen any issue with ball physics yet.

If anyone wants to get a game in, my PSN is MizzouTigerrr.

[Cam Fan]

Are there actual player models in the game or is this just a first person perspective? Thanks in advance.

[jyoung]

There are no visible player models, as the whole game is viewed from first-person.

[Cam Fan]

Quote: Originally Posted by jyoung

There are no visible player models, as the whole game is viewed from first-person.

Thank you kind sir. I was a little confused as I remember a teaser trailer actually showing a female winning a match.