Expert Pool

Pool and snooker games have come a long way on the PC, considering the limitations inherent in an activity where all you need is a table, a stick and some hard balls. For pool enthusiasts there's Virtual Pool 2, as enjoyable, smooth and hi-res a conversion as you could hope for, while those with a penchant for larger tables and deeper gameplay have Jimmy White's 2: Cueball. So what, you may ask, does Expert Pool offer that we haven't already got?

For one thing, Expert Pool has 3D players moving around the table, more modes of play than you could shake a cue at (including trick shots) and 13 different venues. In every other respect, however, Expert Pool represents a step backward. Pool Shark also featured 3D players, but all they seem to do is get in the way and slow down play. The physics are far from spot-on, and hitting the balls very hard usually results in at least one going in - usually the white one. The commentary is dire and the graphics are very ropey. Perhaps they should have spent more time on what happens on the table than what goes on around it.