Championship Pool
Game by The Software Toolworks
Reveiewed by Monica Wilbur
E-Mail: wilbur@utah.uswest.net


Opening Snide Remarks: Because I couldn’t afford the $2,000 pool table of
my dreams, I tried to compensate with a $20.00 Game Boy version of pool.
Ha ha, of course. Having played real pool both poorly and with sometimes
surprising success, I regret to say that my pool performance on this game
is also somewhat quite the same.  But that’s beside the point if you like
billiards and would like a greater understanding of how to swim with the
pool sharks, read on.

Gameplay section: The game is stuffed with a lot
of different pool games about ten total.  Eight ball, Nine ball, Speed pool,
etc.  Within the game are four different playing modes: Tournament,
Challenge, Party, and Freestyle.  With so much variety, the game keeps its
freshness, as each different mode and game presents it own unique challenges.
WARNING!  Don’t even try to play this game unless you read the very
informative manual!  The manual is a must because it tells you all you ever
wanted to know about pool but were afraid to ask. In fact, the manual is
almost the nicest part of the game.

Graphics: The graphics could stand to be a bit bigger and clearer.  The
only way to really view the numbers on the balls is by zooming in, which
sometimes hampers full-table view play.  Plus, the opening menu choices
are darn hard to read because the are written in calculator-like dashed
letters.  Ick.

Sound: Sound is on the low-end of average.  Lots of tinny-sounding blips
as you pocket balls and bounce off banks.  Could be much better.

Music: The music rots!  Thankfully, you can turn it off.  It is very
annoying and repetitive only one song played on continuous loop.

Play Control: The play control leaves a little to be desired.  For
example, even when you’ve lined up a shot that seems to be accurate
(a ‘ghost’ ball shows how your shot falls) it sometimes will be off a
little, and the shot you thought was perfect ends up pocketing the cue
ball BAD!  Also, the shot control that lets you put a spin on the ball
is awkward to get to you have to go through two menus to get to it.
This slows down game play a lot! Otherwise, the game’s nicest features
include the ‘ghost shot’ and the fact that it has tons of different pool
games and play modes.
Final Analysis: Unless you are a pool fanatic and have lots of patience
to calibrate the perfect shot, this game is not for you.  I’ve enjoyed
it from time to time it’s not as wearing on the finger joints as a
platform game or an RPG.  The replay value is almost unlimited and it
can be quite addicting if you are kicking some cue in the tournament mode.
But for the most part, if you huddle up in a corner with your Zelda game,
you’ll never know what you were missing.
Score
Gameplay: **** (4/5)
Graphics: **   (2/5)
Sound:  **     (2/5)
Music:  *      (1/5)
Play Control:  **  (2/5)
Total:  11 x 4 =  44/100

Final Score: 44%
Currently Known Codes:
None as far as I know. I would like some though!