Midnight Pool 2

Many a misspent youth has been spent in dingy pool halls up and down the UK. The desire to wield a cue never leaves us, it seems – we just start playing the game later and swap Panda Pops and Quavers from the vending machine for beer and peanuts from the bar. With this sort of cross-generational appeal, it comes as no surprise to see the vast number of video game iterations of the sport.

Midnight Pool 2, sequel to the well-received Midnight Pool, is the latest attempt to bring the baize to your mobile. The format has remained pretty much unchanged, with the single-player campaign involving a tour of American pool clubs to take on their respective resident cuesmiths. With English and American eight-ball rules present alongside nine-ball, there's plenty of choice here for any pool aficionado.

On to the pool itself, then, which plays very well indeed. It's a 2D top-down affair, which removes the need for any fiddly camera adjusting. The ball physics are reasonably impressive, which is an obvious but vital element of any digital representation of the sport. Send the cue ball into a pack of balls and they'll scatter convincingly.

Lining up the direction of your intended shot is a simple matter of manipulating the thumbstick, with '0' bringing up a spin meter. Once set, a press of '5' starts the power meter moving. A further press will set the power and unleash a shot.

It's a simple and slick system which, in conjunction with a very generous shot preview indicator, ensures that the pots come thick and fast. Indeed you'll encounter little resistance throughout the single-player campaign, with some fairly inept AI letting you off the hook on the occasions that you misjudge a shot.

As before, an element of risk and reward is introduced before each match, when you are asked to place a bet depending on how confident you are of your chances. Win the game to double the money you put up and unlock a level in the Trickmaster mode (more on that in a bit). It's a nice idea in theory, but the easy difficulty level somewhat cancels out any sense of risk. I found myself putting the bet up to the maximum allowed each and every time without much of a worry.

Despite being able to breeze through the campaign in next to no time, there's plenty to keep you coming back: the aforementioned Trickmaster mode provides much of the lasting appeal. Split into four elements – Power, Accuracy, Rebound and Spin – you're asked to complete eight trick-shots per discipline. Many will require repeated tries, as they can demand precision cueing and almost perfect judgement of power.

There's also an in-game shop where you buy stat-enhancing equipment, but there's neither the need nor the opportunity to really exploit this feature. You'll get by just fine with the default gear.

Elsewhere there's the ever-dependable multiplayer mode which, being pool, lends itself very well to the whole pass-the-handset style of play. I can see this being enjoyed long after the single-player modes have been thoroughly exhausted.

For single players, though, Midnight Pool 2 is a very well executed representation of the sport that lacks a little in long-term challenge. That said, in Trickmaster mode many will find the perfect mobile experience – a series of bite-sized, single-shot levels which belie their simplicity with their exacting requirements. It may not be enough to make the overall package into world championship material, but this remains a very capable contender.