The gender sports encompasses an immensity of different titles in the world of video games. Soccer, basketball, tennis, wrestling, American football, hockey, Formula 1, speed in general… They are many and varied, but there is a generally forgotten sport or skill game that, although niche, has a very passionate audience. We talk about billiards. Today we come to bring you our 3D Billiards: Pool & Snooker Remastered Xbox Series X | S review, a revision of the 2016 game improved for the new generation of consoles and that tries to nurture the void that usually exists with titles of this genre.
Billiards for the whole family
The best thing about 3D Billiards: Pool & Snooker Remastered is that it is a game for all audiences. It offers us the possibility of playing four different game modes: 8 ball, 9 ball, 10 ball and snooker (or English billiards), all this both alone against the AI or against other players on our same console. Its gameplay is very simple. We just have to aim at the ball that we want to hit with the white and decide a power depending on the angle at which we are or the distance to the pocket where our object ball is. There are not many more playable complexities in the title of the German company Joindots GmbH, so its game of billiards is accessible to the whole family, but unattractive to the billiard-loving public.
Unfortunately there are other titles framed in this same genre that go a little further and offer an experience that is not only more challenging, but also more exciting. Although the AI opponents have various increasing difficulties as we progress through the game, 3D Billiards: Pool & Snooker Remastered is insultingly easy in its early hours, which can demotivate those who are not newcomers to billiards.
To enthrone or not to enthrone, that’s the question
Beyond the difficulty offered by this pool video game, we have no choice but to talk about the things that happen when we are in a game. It is true that 3D Billiards: Pool & Snooker Remastered has some problems with your camera and with the movement around the table, somewhat uncomfortable, but it is the least bloody of the Joindots GmbH proposal. The big mistake of the game is that on many occasions it does not correctly apply the rules of the disciplines in which we immerse ourselves or, another option, does not recognize properly in some moments what has happened on the table. Let’s take some examples. Playing 8-ball, we were penalized for pocketing the black ball when it was the only one left to introduce into the pocket, giving the opponent the victory.
The problem is aggravated when we play snooker, a form of billiards with much more technical and regulatory complexity. For example, in our snooker games we have been called a foul for making a supposedly bad kickoff (in which we touch the mandatory red ball so as not to commit a foul) or for pocketing a colored ball after having done the same with a red one, which is the procedure to follow. Likewise, every time a foul is committed, regardless of its type, we are forced to bring the cue ball to the semicircle at the top of the mat, instead of allowing us to choose between staying in the situation in which the cue ball has remained. or send the opponent to repeat the throw, all of them valid possibilities in snooker.
As if that were not enough, the initial low-level rivals are practically unplayable in snooker mode, where they commit infractions in almost all the plays and a game can hardly be developed with a certain logic and fluidity. As a positive point, we will say that the game has a small explanation with the keys of each of the modalities for those who do not know the ins and outs and do not want to fall into infractions, despite the fact that later the title itself may penalize you for fouls not committed. .
conclusion
3D Billiards: Pool & Snooker Remaster has good intentions and it offers some technical improvements over its predecessor in order to make the title feel a bit more next-gen. It’s a game recommended to play with the family with people not very used to billiards, but it will be very short both in terms of options and complexity and success for fans of this sport. In addition to the shallow playable depth, Joindots’s work features unforgivable mistakes and that greatly tarnish the gaming experience. Not only conceptual errors, but problems when applying the most basic rules of the disciplines it represents and that weigh heavily on the future of the games. If you are a fan of billiards, there are better options on the market.