Billiards
by Megasoft2000,
Price: $22.95
Reviewed March 2003
If you’ve ever fancied making great
shots in a pool game, you will want to check out Billiards.
With quite a few pool/billiard games in competition, Billiards
by Megasoft2000 stands out, especially if you are using a
hi-res Clié. Its beautiful graphics, realistic ball
movements/physics and a full set of tools will help you make
the exact shot you wanted.
Even if you are not a great pool player,
you will enjoy Billiards as it provides you with tools to
help you make good shots. You can enjoy a practice game with
ball trace and track turned on. You will know exactly where
your cue ball will hit and the result of the shot. Once you
are done with practice, you can play against the Palm, or
another player either on the same PDA or via IR. There are
7 pool games in Billiards, including 8-Ball Bar Rules, BCA
Rules and UK Rules, 9-Ball, 1 Cushion and 3 Cushion Billiards
as well as Pyramid. If you play the AI, you will find 6 classes
of players ranking from Tyro to Master. For the most part,
the AI is right on target. You will notice the Master level
has better strategy and plays a more dynamic game than the
Amateur. Billiards can’t make you a great pool player
in real life, just as Tony Hawk’s Pro skate games can’t
make you a great skater in real life. But you can certain
practice your strategy and technique with this game, and
show great brilliance in this virtual world.
The graphics of Billiards are optimized
for each specific device, though the HiRes Plus for the NX/NZ
series looks the best. The interface is very easy to use
with shortcut buttons for major tools. You control the game
with stylus. If you turn the trace and track on, you will
see the line guidance when you move the cue with your stylus.
There is a strength meter for you to determine how hard you
want to hit the ball. You can also move the crosshair on
the cue ball to determine where you want to make the contact
with the cue ball. You will find replay button and turn the
table 180-degree button handy as well. The ball animation
will reflect the strength and technique you have used to
perform the shot. The table turning feature saves you a lot
of time from having to turn your PDA to make a good shot.
On the Clié NX and NZ series,
the sound effects are quite realistic. You won’t
hear the full sound effects if your PDA doesn’t support
high res audio. Billiards is optimized for every kind of
Palm device by providing you with a .prc file for that
specific device or resolution, including Tungsten T, Sony
HiRes plus, HiRes 65K, HiRes 256Color, HiRes Gray, HandEra
Gray, 65K, 256Color, 16 Gray and 4 Gray.
If your pool playing is featured
on ESPN 2, then you might not need help from Billiards.
But for the rest of us, Billiards is a great way to get
into this sport no matter what your skill level in the
real world is.
Playing Hint and Tips
If you are not good at pool games, try
turn on the tips and tricks. You will find that you get very
good very fast.
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