Pure Pool
Every time I sit down to play a game based on some sort of real life sport, the same dilemma runs through my head. Why am I playing this virtual version of something I can do out in the real world? I may not be able to putt like Woods, score like Beckham, or run absurdly fast like Bolt, but I can head down to the nearest playing field and make a decent go at it. However, those games – PGA, FIFA, Madden – allow a form of wish fulfilment to take place on the part of the player, giving them the chance for the sport to be recreated at its highest level. Pool, on the other hand, is a more two dimensional sport. There is only so much you can do standing around some green felt, hold a stick and smacking around some balls. There is no management simulation, no on the fly formation changes and tactics, no real pop culture icons of the sport. On top of that, pool has that ease of access that American football and the like do not. When you can head down to a local drinking hole, pop a few coins into a table and play, why does virtual pool need to exist?
That’s the question VooFoo attempt to answer with Pure Pool. And you know what? It’s answered startlingly well.
When you load Pure Pool, you are brought into a classy establishment. A spacious bar, filled with frosted glass, mood lighting with the beat of smooth jazz. The ambient sights and sounds are while not what I know from pool halls, perfect for sedating you into a relaxed state. It’s pleasant and calming, which is a mood that carries on throughout the rest of the experience. Instantly, you dropped next to a table and you can just begin to knock around a fresh rack of balls. And that’s it, you’re playing. It’s that simple, you can be playing seconds after booting the game.
Like, the actual sport, Pure Pool is also easy to play. Not only that but it perfectly straddles the line between simulation and video game adaptation. As you aim your cue with the left stick, the resulting shot is telegraphed with two lines showing you where the cue ball and the target ball will head. However, it never extends that far down the table and, if you feel the need, you can turn it off. Any shot that would be easy to sink in real life is easy to sink in the game. Any sort of cushion-bouncing, ricocheting action is just as difficult in-game as in reality. If you feel like attempting that kind of shot, you can finely aim and add side, top, or backspin with a tap of a button.
Most of the time, you’ll want a narrow, down the cue view, but if you want to check out the rest of the table you can hold a button and the camera swings up, simulating a walk around the table. It’s an interesting design choice, mainly because would be easy just to through in a top down view point. It adds to that realistic feeling that much of the game gives off, however, that feeling soon sinks when you realise you just want to tilt your head to look at another pocket and you can’t because it’s a video game.
Shot power is emulated in-game in a natural way too. You pull the right stick back and the on-screen cue pulls back, then you push it forward for the cue to make contact with the ball. There are no on-screen meters or bars to let you know that you’ve hit the cue ball with 78.4% power. The only indication is how much the cue moves in the game. Table physics also seem spot on, well, based on my incredibly amateurish eye at least, and, just like in real life, I can attempt some backspin only for the cue ball to jump and land a few feet away. The balls feel weighty and make a satisfying donk when they bounce off each other. When you’re down to just the black, the lights dim and a thudding heartbeat mixes into the ambient noise. Make the shot and the slow motion Colour Of Money style cutscene, complete with a cloud of chalk dust.
The presentation is Pure Pool is second to none. The only real problem with the game control is that the default option is to have the X axis inverted, which is, let’s be honest, all sorts of weird.
So, the pool plays pretty well, and it looks nice, what next? Well, turns out not a huge amount. There’s US style 8-ball and 9-ball mixed with occasional Accumulator and Killer set into a career mode. Side attractions, like speed potting and Royal Rumble, are also available as stand alone challenges – with leaderboards – as well as built into the career mode. The career mode is functional but unremarkable. It’s a case of unlocking tournaments with stars you earn by completing objectives in each match. Think Trials: Evolution and you get the idea. Those modes are fine, but without much tutorial in game types and advanced pool technique, you may get stuck rather quickly if you are not already a pro.
Of course, once you get bored of playing on your own, you can begin to play online. The game gives you the option of just jumping into a quick match or issuing a challenge to another player. You can also download the DNA of another player – think Forza’s Drivatars, but for pool. I could comment on the modes and the player DNA, but I during my review time of the game, I could never get online. The closest I got was a spinning 8 ball before I quit back out. It was a nice 8 Ball though.
In the end, despite the lack of features, Pure Pool is actually pretty great. It does pool rather well, with amazing presentation values. However, Pure Pool comes with a caveat. There is only so much you can do with the sport. Pure Pool is probably the best version of virtual pool released. But, at the end of the day, it’s still just, well, pool.