Ever since I started playing video games (several weeks before my birth) I've been on the lookout for a good pool game. I like pool, but it's hard for me to go to a bar and enjoy a few games, mainly because I'm so god-awful bad at it. And then there's the social element to consider: No matter where I go to play pool, someone else is there and they always want to play with me. Many people would consider this a positive benefit to pool, but unless I bring a group of my friends along (all of whom are exceedingly bad pool players), they'll be mopping the table with my pathetic useless hide.
Like a lot of people, my first experience with a video pool game was Trick Shot, produced by Imagic for the eternally glorious Atari 2600. It stunk. Don't get me wrong--I actually liked the game, but just because I was having (some degree of) fun doesn't mean I can't be honest. Three balls, extremely limited angles to shoot from (I think there were 16, but can't confirm that figure), bad stinkiness. Still, it was the only pool game out there, so I played it. Now that I think of it, that probably helps to account for why I'm so bad at the game today.
I haven't seen many pool games for the PC. I've found a few shareware titles (and even a pretty good one way back in the days of the CGA 8088), but no major commercial releases have come along until Interplay and Celeris came up with Virtual Pool. This game has practically nothing in common with Trick Shot, which is one of the highest compliments I can give any pool game. "Virtual reality" and "3D perspective" may be the hot poop in the industry right now, but this game is one of the few that actually deliver the promises those buzzwords offer. Virtual Pool really is the next best thing to being there. All that's missing is the ability to rest a drink and a cigarette on the edge of the table. You also can't welsh on any bets, but I think that's only common sense.
Virtual Pool is just what its name claims it is. This is a highly accurate 3D simulation which gives the player a tremendous amount of control and freedom. By selecting a vantage point and using the mouse to rotate around it (as well as zoom in and out) you can view the table from any angle (even directly underneath!), giving the same effect as walking around an actual physical table. The physics of ball action are impeccably reproduced as well, with every action happening just as it would in a real game of pool. Those of us used to Trick Shot can no longer say, "It's not my fault--it's the damn game's! That shot would have worked in real life!"
Virtual Pool's control scheme is equally impressive as its physics. One common problem among pool games is that there's no way to reproduce the actual feel of stroking the cue. Wrong. Instead of simply picking an angle, selecting a power setting and tapping off a shot, Interplay puts you in direct control of the pool cue via the mouse. An average shot goes something like this: You hold down the V key to move your view around the table with the mouse, looking at all the angles. Tapping the A key brings you back to the cue ball and puts you in aiming mode. Here you move the angle of the cue left and right, and also can change your viewing angle up or down. Once you aim, you simply hold down the S key and stroke the cue with a backward and forward motion of the mouse. A slow stroke results in a soft hit, while a quick push produces a stronger one, just like in real pool. English can also be applied before the stroke by holding down E and moving the cue tip until it's positioned where you want it on the cue ball.
Although the actual game is the centerpiece of this package, Virtual Pool also includes a large amount of digitized movies on the subject of pool, ranging from a history of the game to descriptions of the different games you can play (In Virtual Pool you can play four billiards variants: straight pool, eight ball, nine ball, and rotation.) to invaluable tips from your host, "Machine Gun" Lou Butera. By far the best of these clips are the ones featuring "Machine Gun" Lou - their video quality is among the best out there, and the advice you'll get will turn your game around with a little practice.
Virtual Pool only has one real weakness, and not a big one, either. The game gives you a choice of nine computer opponents with varying degrees of skill. Although you'd expect the weaker opponents (like Mrs. Offen) to be less knowledgeable about the game, this is not the case. Each opponent, from the worst to the best, has a firm grasp of cue ball placement, bank shots, and playing "safeties." The only real difference is that the easier opponents miss much more often. I think this could have been handled a little better. The computer may have mathematical precision on its side (unless you're playing with an original Pentium chip), but I know it's possible to tell a computer to disregard something it already knows. Mine does this automatically whenever I go into Windows.
One minor failing aside, Virtual Pool is an astounding game. The SVGA graphics are beautiful, the sounds are realistic, and the gameplay is so far beyond any other pool game that comparison is barely possible. This is probably the most accurate sports simulation ever seen for the PC, and it's a hell of a lot of fun to play! Interplay even offers a money-back guarantee that Virtual Pool will improve your actual pool game. I don't think they'll have many takers on that.
