With Pocket Pool for PSP, Eidos Interactive and Conspiracy Entertainment attempted to mix together the sport of billiards with several lingerie-wearing models to create a "must-have" game for the male demographic. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to the sum of its parts.
While Pocket Pool offers a nice variety with multiple game types (rotation, blackjack, snooker and others), they all play the same cruddy way. Players pull off shots using the D-pad, which can be downright uncomfortable -- even with small tap-ins to the corner pocket. Worse yet, the actual ball physics never seem as realistic as they should. Either the balls rolls too slow (as if they were stuck in mud) or way too fast (as if they've suddenly become weightless). Players can adjust the speed to a level in-between, but the speed resets each time the game is shut down.
Those playing solo will be pitted against some of the worst computer-controlled opponents ever conceived in a sports game, able to get aggressive for no reason in particular. Even worse, the guys sound like complete jerks, firing off insults even when the player performs more efficiently than them. The women fare a little better, but not by much. Players can opt to have a friend join in for a two-player match, but that doesn't save the game.
Presentation-wise, Pocket Pool can't overcome its problems. The game's camera system becomes a real nuisance, forcing players to tap buttons helplessly in order to get their desired angle. It should've been a lot simpler to go from behind-the-ball view to overhead view, rather than having to manipulate fourteen settings in-between. The graphics look okay, although the rooms and tables don't really differ that much in terms of variety. The same goes for the music, a boring collection of tunes that hurt instead of help.
Hot, scantily clad women save Pocket Pool from being a complete waste of time. Over the course of the game, players win matches and unlock galleries of several curvaceous models. These consist of amateurishly produced video clips and a decent array of pictures, but players can probably track down Internet galleries for a far lesser price than the $30 Pocket Pool commands. Also, why not go for something more risque rather than items that can be found in any given Victoria's Secret catalog? It's a Mature rated game. It makes no sense.
Forget Pocket Pool. It scratches before the game even begins. Players should just go out and spend their hard-earned money on real pool (and real women) instead.
Final Score: 3 (out of 10)
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