Pool Nation Review

David Brown

If any of you are like me, you remember the game Yahoo Pool, it was a fun past time for me when I was bored at home or sometimes during my breaks in school.  The simple joy that comes from playing pool with others is fun.  There is a lot of skill involved and even a dash of math.  These are all things that make pool a great game.  With the release of Pool Nation by Mastertronic, we are seeing the reemergence of Pool.

Available now on Xbox LIVE, Pool Nation offers you a number of game modes including the traditional 8 ball and 9 ball modes along with a spattering of other game types.  Each of these game types has its own set of rules and play quite differently.  There are some modes where you can win quickly and others where the action is drawn out. Aside from the exhibition modes, there is also a tournment mode and an endurance mode.

In tournament mode, you play through a number of different tournaments each with a ladder of opponents to climb through. You always move forward by beating your opponent at the mentioned game, but you also have the option of completing extra objectives that will net you new skins for your stick, table and even the balls.  This is a fun little diversion and something that adds challenge to an already technical game.  I found that after playing through a few tournaments that there are a lot of unlockables.

The other mode that I mentioned is the endurance mode.  In this mode, you are tasked with keeping you table clear of 24 balls for an extended period of time.  You have to sink them as fast as possible if you want to last in this mode.  With each ball you sink you fill a meter which can then be used to pause time for a few seconds giving you the edge you need to get to higher time periods.  I found this to be a fun mode, even though I only made it to around 7 minutes on my best attempts. 

The biggest concern in a game like this is the controls. In my opinion they offer a nice amount of precision so that you can never say that the controls are the reason you have messed up a shot.  There isn't much in the way of sound aside from the background music and the sounds of pool balls, so this really is a moot point.  I will say that the graphics are quite impressive and have a good degree of photo realism to them, immersing you a bit more in the game.

I want to conclude by saying that this game isn't for everyone.  I loved it because I am a fan of pool and pool games, but I doubt that this will convert anyone into the game who hasn't played before.  If you don't care for pool then this is not for you. If you like pool then I say give this game a try.  It is worth the money that you will be paying for it and will give you a nice way to kill a few minutes here and there. Check this game out now on Xbox LIVE today.