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Inferno Pool
Pool games were once a dime a dozen in the
old word of PC gaming and other classic consoles such as the Amiga 500
and developers
Dark Energy Digital have created a rather nifty pool experience on the
360 called Inferno Pool which throws a few twists into this classic game
as gamers attempt to knock those elusive balls into the holes.
Although
the game features your regular 8-ball and 9-ball games, the catch of
this game is "Inferno" that challenges 2 - 4 players against each other
but to compound the situation, there is also a clock counting down and
you have to pop the most balls in before the time runs out.
Of course to make
friends become enemies, every time you knock a ball into a hole, it moves
that ball to your opponent which causes some adrenaline pumping action,
albeit a frustrating one. The normal games, both 8 and 9-ball allow you
to play against the AI with a range of difficulty levels or you can play
local multiplayer via split screen (up to 4) or of course online mode via XBox
Live. Best of all while playing this game online, there was no lag and
it was quite a flawless experience.
The control system on
the 360 works well enough and the buttons are mapped well but when
you're racing against the clock, things become a tad annoying and where
this game would have worked perfectly would be on the Nintendo Wii.
Needless to say, it does take some time in mastering the control system,
especially when the clock is involved but the normal games are great for
honing your skills. Although a top view is available to assist in lining
up your shots, there is also a side view which is a tad more realistic
and does give you a little bit more control when you line up your ball
and hopefully shoot the white ball with just enough power to hit the
other ball in.
Graphically, for an XBox
Live game, it looks quite good with realistic game physics and a true
pool hall like experience. The funniest part of Inferno Pool is the
commentator who sounds like he is out of a bad Midway game but funny
enough it actually suits the Inferno mode quite well but if he does get
annoying, it's time to turn off the sound. The sound effects all mimic
the real world sounds of pool from the sound of the cue stick hitting
the ball, balls hitting each other and balls going into their holes...
very good indeed.
At the end of the day, Inferno Pool is an interesting pool experience on
the XBox 360 and although it has been available on the PS3 for quite
some time now, the 360 version is just as good. With decent graphics,
great sound effects, albeit a sometimes annoying commentator, overall
it's a fun title. The
control system works well on the 360 controller, although in the fast
paced Inferno mode, it does become quite a fiddle some affair but if
you're willing to put in the effort, you may be able to reap the
rewards.
Even so, it's still good to see a pool game at all! |
