International Snooker

International Snooker could be described as the Jimmy White of snooker games. It’s got a smooth potting action, it presents itself well, and it looks great in and around the balls.

But it has one or two fatal flaws that mean it falls short where it matters.

Things start well with some attractive 3D visuals. The table and balls are rendered very nicely indeed, and Big Head Games wisely steers clear of trying to show the players.

On the table, the controls are a bit of a mixed bag. Scoring is a little too easy, with the game quick to provide you with an unnaturally clear view of each potting angle. You find yourself attempting – and making – pretty low percentage shots very early on, which is a sure sign that the balance is off.

This is backed up by the fact that good positional shots swiftly diminish in importance as you realise you can nail tricky shots with ease.

On the other hand, it can be maddeningly difficult to change your target ball – particularly when it’s 180 degrees around from the way you're facing. The movement cursor moves extremely slowly in between balls, and glues onto any ball it touches.

Any game representing a cue-based sport lives and dies by its ball physics, and sure enough this is the main area that lets International Snooker down. The balls here have a tendency to stop dead far quicker than they should, as if the game is being played on a bright green shag-pile carpet.

Conversely, applying top or bottom spin (using a less-than-satisfactory virtual button setup) appears to have an exaggerated effect, sending the ball shooting off at a phenomenal rate – before suddenly stopping dead, of course.

None of these quibbles changes the fact that there’s very little alternative for Android-owning snooker fans right now. As the main source of your cueing fix, International Snooker isn’t half bad, thanks to smooth potting and a fine 3D engine.

If you’re looking for a close approximation of the sport played by O’Sullivan, Roberts and co, though, you might be a little disappointed.