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Pure Pool
* Format: PS4 (PSN -version reviewed), PC * Unleashed: Out Now * Publisher: Ripstone * Developer: VooFoo Studios * Players: 1-2 (offl ine & online) * Site:
http://www.ripstone.com/pure-pool.php
Straight to business. First and fore- most, the question that needs answer- ing before all others is: Does it simu- late the game of pool well? The answer is yes; the answer, in fact, is that this game reproduces what goes on on a pool table just about perfectly. The ball physics (oo-er missus, etc.) couldn’t have been done any better, with each and every shot giving you the same results as a real game of pool would (provided the balls and baize were in good condition). Just as important- ly, judging and delivering power (by pulling back then pushing forward the right analogue stick) has been fine- tuned brilliantly. If there’s a shot you can make in real life, you can replicate it exactly in Pure Pool.
Once you start to look further than the fundamentals, that’s when things start to go wrong. Firstly, in the broadest sense there simply aren’t enough op- tions when it comes to what, exactly, you can play. You get 8 ball, 9 ball, killer, accumulator, and… that’s it. A few other challenges come up in the course of the single player mode but there’s no billiards, no snooker, no trick shots, not even the red/yellow pool balls that the UK pool-playing public
are accustomed to. Speaking of which, anybody who’s spent hours playing pool in the country’s pubs with friends and family will know that there’s a legion of unofficial rules regarding what is allowed when one player fouls. There is, sadly, no option to adjust the rules to your liking. Nor can you set up your own challenges or trick shots. There is an XP system, but all levelling up grants is bragging rights and, oc- casionally, a new cue indistinguishable from the last.
The games may not offer huge variety, but you do get many hours worth of offline play, with tournaments against opponents that offer a decent chal- lenge. That said, they’ll sometimes make uncharacteristically bad shots for no apparent reason – and, infuriat- ingly, they’ll often take ages to line up even the simplest of shots. An option to skip or fast-forward the turn of the AI would have been extremely wel- come. Even worse, we once waited a full five minutes for an AI opponent to take their shot, which they never did; forcing us to quit mid-game. What will grate for many is the hand-holding ghost lines on-screen, that show you exactly where the cue ball and coloured ball will go before you take a shot. Granted, the lines be- come less useful the further away you take your shot, but the fact that they’re compulsory for single player tourna- ments is frustrating. Also frustrating is the fact that, although you can disable the training lines when playing on- line (this isn’t explained though – set
your skill to ‘master’ before joining a match), there’s absolutely no way of knowing whether or not your oppo- nent has done the same. There’s no lobby system in place, and no way of choosing ‘lines on only’ or ‘lines off only’ when searching for an opponent. These lines don’t appear when watch- ing your opponent play regardless of whether or not they’re using them – so unless you make an agreement with a friend (and trust them to stick to it), you can never be sure if one of you is playing with an unfair advantage. Speaking of online play… one day, things might work almost perfectly; the next, a quarter of joining attempts might fail. Incidentally, you can down- load “DNA” that aims to replicate any player offline via AI, though the suc- cess of this interesting idea is debata- ble. You can, at least, share a controller with a friend for (relatively) stress-free local play – though this doesn’t get round the fact that camera control isn’t sufficient for complicated double shots that will travel the length of the table. The complaints are minor niggles, but this many niggles add up to a noggle. At half the price it would be easier to recommend; as it is, bear in mind that eight quid will get you a good pool game here – but definitely not a great one.
written by Critical Gamer’s Luke Kemp
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