Pool Nation Ps5 Review

[Kenneth Melniczek]

Notto be confused with a game about swimming, Pool Nation is all about banging balls in pockets and having fun while you do so. Released in its original form back in 2013 on Steam and old-gen consoles, this title has finally found its way onto the PS4 and it's this version we'll be looking at. From what we played, it's a pretty fun title with a lot of modes to explore, but it comes with a few bugbears that we're going to explore now.

While there are Online, Versus and a really cool Endurance mode, we started off in Career. You basically travel the world playing through qualifiers and rounds until you reach a final, win it, and move on to the next country. It all sounds a bit too easy, and at times it is.

The AI players you come up against at the start are appalling. If they pot one ball, the next shot will never go down. They can miss the easiest pots leaving you to wonder if it was even possible to miss it in the first place. As the game progresses, you play higher level characters, but they're still not that great. We found ourselves winning too easily, one time after an AI player missed for no good reason.

That combined with an assisted aiming system that allowed you to see exactly where the ball was heading, and a top down view, made it way too easy to dominate frames. The only way we lost one was by fouling and potting the black too early. There were overly simplistic aiming modes, and you can even turn them off completely if you want to make it a little harder, but it still feels a bit too easy.

However, we still found ourselves having lots of fun when clearing the table. The ball physics and the sound effects when the balls are hit are all spot on. This is the part of the experience that makes it enjoyable to play and, frankly, it's what kept us coming back. The cueing action also felt good, but somehow not quite as tight as the movement in Snooker 19. It doesn't take away from the experience, though.

The amount of things you can buy with in-game currency also made the experience more complete. You can get new sets of balls, cues and locations, and these unlocks really gave us a sense of purpose when it came to earning money through both career and online play.

The tables, balls and environments you play in all look great. One thing we'd say is that while you travel the world, you're always in a pool hall, so don't expect to see much of Japan or Hawaii. The halls themselves look really well designed, though, with people, posters and vibrant colours that really set the mood. The electronic music changes from location to location and gives the game the right atmosphere to help you settle into your ball potting duties.

The only graphical thing we didn't like was that every time you potted a ball, there was a slow down effect as it was going into the pocket. It removed any element of doubt over whether the ball was going in. We liked the effect, but it was massively overused and took away some fun from the experience. Otherwise, the title menu looks fresh and engaging, but could only be navigated by the stick and not the D-pad, which we found a little annoying.

There is great variety when it comes to the modes and game types that are there for you to get your teeth into. 8 Ball, UK Pool, 3 ball and Golf (where you have to pot in a designated pocket) are all included, and that's not even the whole list. We were delighted to see that snooker was there as well, although it wasn't the main focus of the title.

Online options let you play other people for in-game currency, or even take part in leagues. A welcome additional was the the offline two-player mode, so you can also play a friend on the same screen at home. However, the most fun we had was with Endurance. You basically have to keep potting balls, and all the while more balls are added to the table. When the number of the balls on the table reaches 24, it's game over. This was so much fun, and the drama was increased by each new ball floating like a ghost of future present over the location where they were about to spawn.

Alas, our time with the game saw us experience a bunch of glitches. We're hopeful they will be fixed by the time you read this, but the version we played had a few problems (especially in the trophy department - where they would pop for no reason, or wouldn't pop at all). A patch seemed to sort that out, but then the balls started going through the cushions in snooker mode. We're sure this can all be fixed, but it could have been tested a bit more pre-launch.

We reviewed Snooker 19 earlier in the year, and it seems that our complaints there are the opposite of ours here. Snooker 19's AI was very difficult, and there was a lack of game modes, but here it's the opposite - it's too easy and there are loads of things to do. Still, Pool Nation is quite a lot of fun with its variety of game modes, and it's a great shout if you're looking for something to while away the time on a rainy day and you've got a friend to play with. The glitches, which may or may not be an issue by the time you play it, should have been fixed before launch, and the AI needs a bit of work, however, it's good if you're looking for something light and fun, although it might not appeal to more hardcore fans of the sport.

It only feels like five minutes since we were reviewing Snooker Nation Championship which was one of two snooker titles to come out in close succession earlier this year. While it lacked the licensed players and venues, we found it to be more fun than Snooker 19 but we did find quite a lot of snooker nerds disagreed with us which kind of felt like the old PES vs. FIFA debates but back when PES was clearly the better game but FIFA had all the real players.

Add to all that the sharp, HDR visuals and a really lovely soundtrack of chilled out ambient tracks and this is a great package. You also have lots of balls, table decals and cues to unlock for customisation purposes which adds an extra wrinkle to this fully featured pool game. But there is a fly in the ointment and it has pissed us off maybe a little more than it should.

Kids can learn about the sport of billiards in this pool simulation game. They'll have the opportunity to learn rules for a variety of game types ranging from nine-ball to snooker. They also can learn how to hit shots with spin and curve -- even jump shots and slip strokes, if they're patient -- and then apply this knowledge when they play pool in the real world. Kids will put to use and perhaps come to better understand some basic physics concepts, such as force, angle, and spin, as they strike and observe the outcomes of various types of shots. Pool Nation FX can help teach players about the sport of pool, though more advanced shooting techniques may prove too inaccessible for kids to learn much more than the basics.

Multiple difficulty levels let players choose skill of their computer opponents, how much assistance they'd like while aiming. Controls for anything beyond basic shots are non-intuitive, tricky, take some time to master.

Parents need to know that Pool Nation FX is a downloadable pool simulation game. It doesn't have any language, sexuality, illicit substance use, or violence. It encourages players to get together for a friendly, competitive, social gaming experience in the same room. There are no characters beyond the still images and names meant to represent computer opponents. Online play against strangers is permitted but without support for voice or text communication. Online games allow players to gamble but only with virtual currency.

POOL NATION FX offers virtual versions of popular billiards games -- including eight-ball, nine-ball, and snooker (among many others) -- in a variety of settings, such as penthouses and tournament halls. Shots are controlled by adjusting power, spin, and a variety of other parameters when striking the cue ball. Two views -- one from behind the ball and an overhead perspective of the entire table -- provide multiple ways to work out angles and plan shots. A simple career mode places players in championship events with qualifying and elimination rounds, providing opportunities to earn virtual cash that can be spent to unlock new content, including interesting ball designs, fancier cues, and new locations. Players also can practice on their own or play against human opponents in local multiplayer. An online mode lets kids play one-off games against other people, wagering virtual cash on the outcome, or test their skills in ongoing leagues.

The good news is that Pool Nation FX gets the basics of billiards right. All the most popular pool games are represented, the ball physics are spot on, and players have plenty of control over their shots. With multiple skill levels and aiming assists, there are entry points for both rookies and pool veterans. Beginners can simply line up and whack away, hoping the cue ball ends up someplace useful, while more skilled players can carefully plan out ways to run the table after a break. It even looks pretty nice, thanks to detailed environments and imperfect polishing applied to balls to add realism.

That said, it's not very inspired. There's little here we haven't seen in previous pool games. Worse, the interface grows much more tricky should you decide you want to try shots that involve anything more complicated than adding a little spin. Add in overly long pre-game loading times and a confusing menu design bound to leave some players a bit baffled, and the result is something altogether lackluster. Hard-core pool enthusiasts may stick with it for the long haul, but for most others it will simply be a curiosity that fails to hold much interest after the first few games.

Discuss screen time. How do you determine when you ought to stop playing a game? If you feel physically or mentally drained after a long play session, try doing something active afterward to regain a bit of verve.

Back in 2012, a game by the name of Pool Nation launched on Xbox 360. Pretty much overlooked by everyone other than hardcore fans of cue and ball action, it was a surprisingly good take on the sport, featuring a ludicrously addictive Endurance mode, great visuals, and smooth gameplay.

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