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EA publishes a solid Pool app, well worth the money spent.
Anytime Pool ($4.99)
EA Mobile takes a bid on one of the most classic games of all time with Anytime Pool. With great graphics and sounds, I’d say they did pretty well. Hop on to see what this game has others don’t.
My Take
Whatever platform I own, I look for a pool shark or trick pool game. There is a handful of pool apps on the iPhone, and this is my first one to play. My first impressions was it looked complicated, but after my third shot it was a breeze to play. Good news for all those virtual pool sharks, it’s easy to pick up, but it’s hard to run the table. That means it’s not going to be a cinch and fly through the game. It has the right amount of challenge and skillset to make you think out your strategy thoroughly. Oh and I played on the Amateur skill level, the lowest of the three. It’s that good of a game.
Presentation
For starters, nice background noise, kinda like being at a bar or at someone’s house at a party. No crazy techno music, although I can tell when it loops the repeat. There is an option to turn the sounds off thankfully. For what the iPhone has to offer, the graphics are above average, giving you the feeling of looking down the cue stick, ready to perform a shot. So it’s not a top down, but more of a first person perspective. The user interface is easy to use. As much as I play pool in real life (not much), I tend to adjust my shots to the in-game mechanisms. Hey, the UI is that simple to use, I was able to find a groove by the third to fourth shot!
Gaming Cross-Reference
I owned Maximum Pool for the Dreamcast after the system was discontinued. Not to go off-subject, it just seems there was (and still is) more loyal fans of the DC makes me wonder why Sega killed it? I know it’s because of sales and competition plus other things, but the Dreamcast still rocks. Other than that game, I still play Side Pocket and Lunar Pool on the old school Nintendo. Side pocket had just about the same features Anytime Pool has, except the 3D look and feel, played in a move up the ranks style of playing.
Game Play
Surprisingly easy game play. Usually when the graphics in a sports game are good, the game play lacks. It’s one or the other when dealing when handhelds. I’m speaking in terms of all the non-Xbox360-Madden-09 players out there not enjoying the multiple button mashing sessions. This is as simple as it gets, control your angle with a drag of a finger, the game gives you a cheater line up to a point to see your angle. Once set, tap the ball spin icon and adjust your spinning in case of a tight shot to make or in fear of scratching the cue ball. And finally the strength of the hit, drag your finger to adjust how much your want to put into the shot. Pretty easy!
With three levels of game play to choose from, most of us will choose amateur over semi-pro or the hardest setting, professional. I would look into the World Tour to play against the AI first before digging into the cool feature of Facebook online play. It’s done in the likings of Mario Kart DS or on the Wii, where you exchange a nine digit code in order to play. I have not been able to take the game that far yet to be honest. But i was a little surprised to see a “Network Fee May Apply” disclaimer screen. After all, aren’t most of us paying for the Internet anyways?
Three types of games are available, US 8 Ball, US 9 Ball and UK 8 Ball. Plus there’s a set of challenge levels where you have to sink a certain amount of balls in the fewest shots. Those are cool in case you want to increase your skillset before going back into the world tour.
The Cons
On the graphics, when the ball gets close the pocket, it just disappears! It needs to fall into the pocket, because it makes the the lip of the pocket a lot wider than normal game play. Saying this, I’m not asking for a true simulation, but it can be frustrating when you are setting up the cue ball in a bad spot for your opponent.
Secondly, this game needs a game play variant. When I played at a pool hall, sometimes we would have a third player. No problem! We played a game called “Cut-Throat”. In this version, the balls are split up in 3’s (5 balls each) and your job is to knock out your other two opponents balls out of play, while protecting yours. I like the fact there’s a UK 8 Ball setup, it’s just one extra game that could be implied with the Facebook integration as well.
Conclusion
As much as I am tough on the large game houses, Anytime Pool is really good. There’s no lite version, but if you are antsy for a pool game on your iPhone, I’d take the 5 dollar hit and enjoy some good pool. This is easily a good buy.
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it’s a good pool game, for sure one of the best in app store. graphics are top notch.
but my favorite pool title at the moment is arcade pool online, where you can play via multiplayer with players all around the world. you should check this one out
nice review, cheers.
hmmm. might have to check it out. is it both online (3G) and wifi multi?
yeah, as long as you can get online, into Facebook – game on.