Previews

Hands on with World Pool Championship (2D)

We've been potting against the top pros

Hands on with World Pool Championship (2D)

I-play's World Pool Championship is coming out for mobile in two flavours: 2D and 3D. We've been having a play with an almost finished version of the 2D game.

Hang on though, I'm the World Pool Champion. I won that title fair and square down the Stoat & Tractor last weekend!

No, no, no. This is the proper World Pool Championship we're talking about. I-play grabbed the rights to launch a mobile game based on Blade Interactive's console series. It's got proper pool stars in it and everything.

Oh, you mean... erm... um...

Okay, so those of us Brits who don't follow the professional pool circuit might not recognise the likes of Jason Twist, Neil Raybone and the aptly-named Gareth Potts, but they're all real pros and they're all in I-play's game, complete with their unique stats for power, spin and accuracy.

What kind of pool are we talking here?

Good question. There are three varieties in World Pool Championship: 8-Ball US, 8-Ball UK, and 9-Ball. Obviously, it's the middle one that'll be familiar to British pubgoers. The game makes it possible to compete in one-off Arcade matches, or to pit your wits against the other players in Championship mode.

To be honest, I prefer lining all the red balls up on the table and then making the white ball hop over them Evel Knievel-style in order to pot the black at the end of the table.

Don't we all. Not to worry though: the game also includes a Trick Shots mode, with different challenges to unlock as you progress through the Championship mode.

Hurrah! So, is it any good?

World Pool Championship is shaping up nicely. This 2D version takes a top-down view that reminds us of Gameloft's original Midnight Pool (although admittedly, it's hard to think how any top-down pool game could look any different).

But the most important thing is the pace. Taking shots is quick and easy, allowing you to zing round the table for quick matches. The difficulty level looks like it's been carefully honed, too, making it relatively easy to line up and pot balls, or plan more ambitious rebound shots.

Anything to worry about?

Not at this stage, although we remain clueless about the rules of the non-UK forms of pool, so we'll be brushing up our knowledge before we review the final game. It's a shame none of the Brit snooker stars who've tried their hand at pool (eg Ronnie O'Sullivan, Steve Davis) are included, but then they're both licensed to rival publisher Player One, so it's not surprising.

Fair enough. I'm still the World Champion though.

Tsk, until you put your money where your mouth is and challenge us on the famous sloping tables in our local, that's just empty boasting...

Stuart Dredge
Stuart Dredge
Stuart is a freelance journalist and blogger who's been getting paid to write stuff since 1998. In that time, he's focused on topics ranging from Sega's Dreamcast console to robots. That's what you call versatility. (Or a short attention span.)