Virtual Pool

by Interplay

Product Features

• The Ultimate 3D Pool Simulator
• Compatible with Sony Playstation
• Includes: 8-Ball, 9-Ball, Straight Pool and Rotation
• Realistic Physics and Geometry

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002STTP
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: July 6, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,278 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

For a pool title to be enjoyable, three features are essential: realistic physics, multiple points of view, and total control of the cue ball. Virtual pool has all three. The physics feel great: Balls go where they're supposed to and bank realistically (which in my case means my shots fail just like they should). The table is viewable from almost any angle, from right behind the eight ball, to underneath the table itself. Players may even view the action from directly overhead (something only Wilt Chamberlain could hope for in the real world). Control of the cue ball is also excellent: Hitting the ball at different points and speeds creates a wide variety of special effects. And because cue ball control is so good, putting English on the ball is never a problem. The cue stick speed control is awkward at first, but it soon becomes second nature. The PC version's mouse control would be a welcome addition but the Sony Mouse isn't supported.

Gameplay itself offers numerous possibilities: two-player, player vs. CPU (with 15 different levels of difficulty, from inept to masterful), and a one-player practice "free pool" mode. Games include 8-ball, 9-ball, Straight Pool, and Rotation. My favorite use of the game, however, was as a kind of billiards laboratory, trying out more liberal applications of English, slower shots, or more outlandish banks than I would dare use in a real game.

Virtual Pool does suffer from an abysmally slow frame rate (entire breaks seem to occur in four to five frames), and certain angles are a little fuzzy. The images in the score board are also a tad unclear. Don't expect any texturization, either; the felt is one solid block of green (or cyan, or tan). Sonically, the balls clack, thump off the banks, and yield a satisfying thunk when sunk. Predictably for a pool game, these sounds are few and far between, leaving a disquieting silence in between shots. The music is a bizarre hodgepodge of outdated hard-rockin' ballads and love themes. If Return to Porky's II came out straight-to-video, this would be the soundtrack.

Virtual Pool's full motion video (FMV) segments are one of the few instances when this feature adds more than load time to a game. In fact, this feature is principally responsible for the high value score in this review. The FMVs include an interesting and goofy history of pool, as well as thoroughly engaging technique and trick shots sections. More than 40 techniques and trick shots are explained and performed (some of them truly breathtaking) by Machine Gun Lou Butera. Each FMV is completed in roughly 30 seconds, and this kind of brevity is a breath of fresh air in realm of full motion video. After each video, the player has the option of switching over to play mode, with the table set up for precisely the same shot. This is a fascinating and useful application of the technology, with little lost in the translation from FMV to gameplay. Players will master butterflies and escape shots in virtually no time at all.

The first pool title for the Playstation, Virtual Pool contains certain sketchy graphical elements. Its 3-D perspectives, geometric clarity, and wealth of features, however, overcome these shortcomings to provide a realistic pool experience capable of improving real-world gameplay. Virtual Pool is no hustle. --Josh Smith
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Product Description

This is the game Virtual Pool for the Playstation 1. This game may not come with the original case and instructions. We stand by our products and offer a 60 day guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for you.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hmmmm...., February 4, 2005

By 

Andy Griffith "Bloodrayne" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Virtual Pool (Video Game)

Virtual Pool for the PS was the first billiards game that was available....and its age shows the moment you load it up.
The graphics and colors are plain and ugly. Striking the balls with the cue ball any faster than SLOW (especially on a break) makes the balls warp all over the table in different directions- it's impossible to track the path of a single ball. The sounds the balls make caroming off others is the same and at times, mistimed due to how fast you hit them, what other balls are around, etc. The game engine is SUPER SLOW, sometimes having to wait upwards of a minute between shots by your opponent.
During tournament play, you don't have the aiming lines like most other pool games....you have to REALLY take your time and line up your shot, sometimes from all possible angles available.
Not that that's a bad thing, because aiming lines really don't add to the skill required to play pool, but it would have been better than using the choppy camera panning around the table trying to line up your shot. The sounds the balls make when sunk in the pockets is the same, and doesn't even really sound like they would on a real table.

The one and only thing that saved this game from a less than average score were the full-motion videos starring Machine Gun Lou Butera. He shows how to make about 50 different trick shots, and I must say, he is DAMN good. I just sat there in awe watching him make some UNBELIEVABLE shots- Canoga Park Curve, and running a rack of balls in less than a minute and thirty seconds....whoa....
And not only can you watch him make them, you can try them out yourself as well, so you can feel all cool.

Overall, 5 out of 10. Championship Pool or even Side Pocket for the Super NES are more solid titles.