Inferno Pool

Released in 2009, this 3D pool game from developers Dark Energy Digital can be played in both a first-person perspective and also, at the touch of a button, a top-down view.

The main game type is the titular "Inferno Pool" mode in which a player competes against up to 3 other opponents (be they AI or Human) on a screen that's split accordingly, each player having their own table (in a choice of 4 colours) to play on.

In this mode it's either a straight race to be the first to clear one's own table or, in the timed version, have the least balls left on the table when the timer runs out. It also sees the inclusion of hampering tactics where balls potted on your table can be sent over to any of the opponents' tables either immediately or by storing a number of them up in what Dark Energy call the "Ball-zooka" and then letting them loose at the other player(s) all in one go.

Pulling off slightly more elaborate shots like bank shots, cannons (here named "combos") and jump shots as well as getting streaks of consecutively potted balls rewards players by building up their Inferno Meter. Once the meter is filled, Inferno Mode is initiated. Here each subsequent ball potted (accompanied by a jet of flame coming from the pocket) takes a random ball off the player's table with it, potentially doubling the hampering effect to the opponent in the process.

In the single player "Endurance Mode", the game starts with 9 balls on the table and at regular intervals more balls are spawned. The player is tasked with potting balls to try and keep the number of balls on the table from reaching the game-ending number of 24. The longer the player survives, though, the quicker the balls start spawning in with multiple balls appearing at the same time.

The Inferno Meter is also included in this mode, so filling it up with skill shots and streaks will, as before, trigger Inferno Mode allowing the player to remove an additional ball from the table with each pot.

The game also includes 8-ball and 9-ball variants of pool.

All modes are also available in online ranked and unranked configurable matches.