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Playstation > PlayStation Game Cheats > PlayStation Reviews > Staff Review | |
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| Playability: Having already enjoyed many simulations of pool it was strange to play on the larger snooker table. As you could imagine, adapting was much easier than it is in real life, but snooker is a much more challenging game than pool as total ball control is essential. Thankfully the physics in World Championship Snooker are extremely accurate as the colored balls answer whatever question the cue ball asks of them. Of course get it wrong and the result is inevitable... just like the real game. It all begins at the Masterclass with a series of actual WSA coaching techniques demonstrating how to gain nigh on perfect control of the cue ball. Starting with a simple straight pot, then a three-quarter ball shot into the middle pocket. By your third lesson the helpful aiming aid is removed throwing you right in at the deep end, but soon returns when explaining spin, safety lay, advanced pots, strategy and a few trick shots for good measure. All that's left to do is check on the rules and then its time to break into the pack. You will quickly learn that the success of this game lies mainly down to the aiming system. Now I know most of you will pour ridicule over the use of an aiming aid as usually they remove any challenge from play. But for the first time in a game of this type it actually works a treat. This may sound complicated, but rest assured it isn't. There are two sets of arrows superimposed on the table. The white arrows shows which direction the cue ball will go after impact and the yellow set gives information on the object ball after impact. The yellow arrows can be aimed directly into a pocket or to a point on the table where the ball should end up. The white arrows show a curved path after impact eventually straightening out in the final direction. Some of the arrows are solid, while others remain transparent. These indicate the approximate distance the ball will travel. The aiming aid is fully operational on beginner mode, semi operational on normal mode and absent on advanced. Because of this simple system high breaks can easily be achieved, thus speeding up play. But, as in real snooker, most of the skill is down to controlling where the cue ball will end up. This allows a perfect cue ball position to be rewarded with a relatively easy pot, while slack control will be severely punished requiring either a lot of luck to continue the break... or sensibly accepting the inevitable and selecting a safety shot. Taking the shot is child's play as careful consideration has been taken to ensure the button configuration quickly becomes second nature. There are a couple of view buttons that allow a top down perspective of the entire table, a 'stretch over the table and see how things lie' button and finally a swivel mode that allows you to check that the path of the object ball to the pocket is clear. Precisely adjusting cue angle, spin, address and elevation can now set all aspects of the shot. Once satisfied with the aim the 'X' button is pressed once. Now a power-bar with a graduated scale may be set. The same button is pressed to confirm and take the shot. Moving away from Masterclass there is a full set of rules and a practice mode providing ample opportunity to 'get your eye in'. There is also a character select screen where you can enter your own name and proceed to change the polygon beings appearance to maybe look like yourself? There are dozens of different heads, shirts and waistcoats to choose from along with left and right handers. Eventually it's time for a game of snooker. Quick games can be played in the one-on-one match mode, while multi-player competitions are catered for with a Tournament option for up to 16 players. Sadly there are no doubles games where two humans may take on two CPU professionals, but you could always alternate shots in a game of singles. The main tour-de-force of the game must be World Championship Snooker mode taking the player through a local club based qualifying league, playing against the younger and lesser-known players, progressing to the dizzy heights of the Crucible itself. This is the venue where you get to complete in the World Championship against celebrities like Mark Williams, Stephen Hendry and 'Rocket' Ronnie O'Sullivan. But first there's the 'simple' matter of topping the qualifying leagues in one from five different locations, London, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham and Preston. The advanced AI system mimics the characteristics of the real professional players, simulating 'pressure' shots, tactical play and positional skills. This means that although they could rack up a century break they could just as easily 'fluff' that crucial shot leaving you to take centre stage and clear up the colors. This style of AI works brilliantly. Imagine lining up a simple red against Billy Nobody at a local venue. No problem! Now imagine taking the very same shot in the later stages of the World Championship knowing that Ronnie O'Sullivan's polygon clone will clear the table should you miss... Nervous? You bet! The main reason this game succeeds where others have missed the pot is because World Championship Snooker benefits from using an incredibly advanced physics system. This offers extreme accuracy in simulating a true 3D table as players can bounce a ball off the table, or jump one ball over another. I even managed to bend the white around a color when snookered on a red. The system simulates all kinds of spin, and the gameplay is so realistic that it will undoubtedly help improve player's real-life snooker skills. It did mine. Game Options: This is a 1 disk game for 1-2 Players. It is compatible with the standard (digital) joypad and the analog stick controls of the dual shock joypad. Games can be saved via memory card (1 block per save). |
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