LADYDRAGON.COM - ULTIMATE 8 BALL

Looking for a good pool game? Then Ultimate 8 Ball is for you. Developed by Mirage Technologies Ltd. and published by THQ, this game almost brings the reality of playing pool right on your PC.

If you are not familiar with pool it has a tutorial at the beginning so you can learn different shots. They also teach you how to do expert shoots like hitting 3 balls at the same time. Afterwards you can practice the shot you want to learn with any number of balls.

You can play 14 different games: eight ball (us and UK's rules), nine ball, ten ball, six ball, three ball, straight pool, rotation, speed pool, killer, ten pin, bank pool, one pocket, or cut throat.

In your main menu you have 4 selections to choose from: quick start, match, hustler, or tournament. Quick start let's you play the regular 8 ball game right away. With Hustle you have 3 levels of difficulty, and you will be matched against players depending on the level you have chosen, then 11 separate games to select from.

The Tournament is for 4, 8, or 16 players and you can choose from 11 games. In the Match selection you can play up to 16 players, all the games and in four different places: Z Generation, Neon City, The Pit, and Candy's Bar. You also have the capability to play with a real person over the net, up to 2 to 16 players. You can also challenge the champion and try to defeat him to be the new king of the pool.

8 Ball will challenge you with players that could beat even the most experienced player or you can play a novice player if you feel like it.

"Explore the inside"

" Play all different games"

There are many pool tables to see and a large variety of backgrounds with incredible detail.

The Controls are quite a challenge to use for peoples that are not familiar to this type of game. There are no options to change the interface of the game and it is not easy to use, but after you get used to it, you will not think about it. Also the lack of voice interactivity with other players is a lack that some players do not like, all the training is with text, no voice.

The graphics of Ultimate 8 Ball on the PC are very well done, detail is fabulous and 8 Ball is compatible with 3D accelerators so it gives a smooth and nice eye candy 3D scene. The training option is really a plus for this game for players that are not used to play pool. It teaches you everything you will need to beat the best of the best. The views are quite good and help you to make a good shot and win. The quasi-reality this game gives you makes you feel you are almost playing pool for real, you might even wonder if it trains you for real.

Each pool player will find many hours of fun without being bored with this game, it is almost like you are there. From the beginner that wants to explore the pool world by learning hot shots, to the expert that wants to pit their skill against the best players, you can play to the limit and try to win and be the champion.

Companies

Developer
Mirage Technologies

Publisher
THQ
www.thq.com

Category
Pool simulation

_NOTES

Interest : 92 %
Maniability: 79 %
Graphics : 90 %
Sounds/Musics : 82 %
Originality : 93 %

TOTAL : 87 %

Requirements:

Interface
Windows 95/98

Processor
166 MHz Pentium® or more

Memory
16 MB RAM

Hard Drive
5 Mb