Pool Paradise

Not every great video game is full of exploding limbs and dismembered corpses. Heck, I remember a day when Tetris dominated everything. Nowadays it seems as if the only games that stand a chance against the likes of Halo, Zelda and SOCOM are your mainstream sport titles. Well, Ignition Entertainment and Awesome Studios have changed all of that with Pool Paradise, the latest pool game from the mind of Archer Maclean.

First and foremost, Pool Paradise is an incredibly accurate representation of the greatest bar game of all time, pool. Pool, in and of itself, isn't a complicated game. You use a pointy stick to poke some balls and knock them in holes. Anyone can play the game, but it takes years of constant practice to master. Much like in real life, Pool Paradise is accessible to everyone, right from the get-go. However, it takes several racks before even a seasoned veteran feels at home on the virtual table. The game engine allows you complete control over every aspect of your shot which, while excellently executed, does take a little bit of time to grow accustomed to. One word of advice: Get familiar with the camera controls. Just like in the real sport, lining up your shot is the most important aspect of your game and knowing how to best manipulate the camera is a learned skill.

Just about every nuance of the sport is packed into Pool Paradise and this is most evident with the wide variety of different games that are packed in. Eight-ball (both US and UK versions) to 10-ball, 9-ball to Bowlliards, Killer to 6-ball and everything in between are all packed into this title. Each one of the eleven game modes is complete with the regulation set of rules and takes advantage of Pool Paradise's fantastic physics engine. Inevitably, you will find your favorite variation within this game and you can sit back and sharpen your skills without all of the distractions you'll find in an everyday pool hall.

Beyond the variations on the game of pool, Pool Paradise has several different game modes in which you can sharpen your skills. After borrowing your initial $200 from the game's loan shark (a wonderfully punny play on words), I strongly recommend that you head to the practice table to learn the different games if you are a relative newcomer to the sport of pool or to refine your virtual shot if you fancy yourself as a pro. Once you feel like you've got your feet on solid ground, head yourself over to the competition hut wherein you can climb your way up the ranking ladder. You earn additional cash in the competition hut through playing matches that everyone else on the ladder offers to you. Yes, this is a form of gambling. No, you can't actually collect your winnings. Slowly, as you earn more money, you make your way up the ladder and open your way to the higher ranked opponents. By doing this you can earn mucho dinero and unlock all sorts of goodies. Of course, money without glory is nothing so Pool Paradise also allows you to compete for trophies (and more money) in various tournaments. Overall, you could literally play this game for weeks on end and still not get to everything.

In addition to being an excellent simulation, the graphics are stunning. One of the draws of Pool Paradise is that Awesome Studios goes above and beyond the call of duty in their renditions of the island. Sure, it would have been a fantastic simulation regardless of the package, but the visual variety and vibrant color palette is a perfect backdrop to everything that the game does right. One peculiar thing is that, instead of rendering and animating the entire body of you and your competitors, Pool Paradise includes only the player's hands. Don't get me wrong, they are done very well and are impressively expressive, it is just that watching this is like watching Thing (from the Addams Family) play pool. What is really hilarious is that there are actually 31 unique sets of hands for the 31 computer controlled players. You wouldn't think that you could do so much while using so little.

Of course, today's gaming community is a fickle lot and it takes a number of extras to pull in most of the mainstream crowd. Fortunately, Pool Paradise delivers here, too. Earning cash by winning matches and side bets allows you to purchase access to additional pool cues, crazy tables and side games that include skeeball, darts and the classic arcade game, Dropzone. With many of these items costing thousands of dollars each, it will take a very long time to actually access everything that this game has to offer. Fortunately, there are so many ways to get there that the trip will never get stale.