Pool Party (Wii)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.0 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Chris Watters
• Reviewed on: 09/21/2007
• Updated on: 11/21/2007
• Released on: 09/05/2007
• Originally published on GameSpot: Pool Party (Wii) Review

The game of pool is fundamentally simple. Use a stick to hit a ball into other balls to make those balls fall into holes. It is a game played casually and competitively, in bars, basements, and pool halls. Pool Party presents a version of this popular table game that does a reasonable job of capturing the technical elements of pool while failing dismally to present these elements in an appealing way. No matter how much you enjoy 9-ball, snooker, or any of the other variations included herein, you'll find it hard to get past the bland artistic presentation, poorly tuned controls, and obtrusively unpleasant sound.

Pool Party offers a fairly straightforward bill of fare. Choose one of 13 different game modes that range from the traditional (9-ball, 8-ball, straight pool) to the exotic (blackjack (score 21 pts. to win), killer (3 misses and you're out)) to the British (full and short snooker). While deliberating over which mode to play, prepare for your first of many barbs of annoyance. An in-your-face upbeat jam repeats every 15 seconds, while a robotic woman's voice exhorts you to "select your game mode" every eight seconds. This is representative of the audio philosophy at work throughout the game, though, mercifully, the menus are the only place where you cannot mute the offending noise.

After selecting your game, it's off to the "Environment" selections, where you choose your venue, table, cue, ball set, character, music, and ball speed. Every one of these options is purely aesthetic and has no noticeable effect on the gameplay. This rule extends, disconcertingly, to ball speed as well. You can increase the available options by winning matches, but since there's no improvement from say, a nicer cue, you're essentially just unlocking new skins for the various elements.

Once you've made your selections you're transported to a table where the balls are racked and ready to go. You aim your cue by tilting the analog stick, or by pointing the remote while holding A. The analog stick makes small angle adjustments difficult, but a slight slip of the remote and you'll have spun around backward before you know it, so it's best to try a cautious combination of the two. You can change the vertical angle of your strike with the D pad and aim the cue at a specific point on the ball by holding the 1 button and pointing. Again, pointing is overly sensitive, so you'll likely find yourself using both hands to steady your aim. You set your power meter by holding B and using the analog stick, or by holding A and B and pushing the remote toward or away from the screen. The problem here is that shooting merely requires you to hold down B and make a slight forward motion with the remote, so it's easy for a small twitch of the wrist to trigger a premature shot. You can imagine the frustration when, after meticulously selecting the angle of a soft put-in shot, you misfire and send the cue ball rocketing around the table like an angry bee in a jar. A few such stings will make you more cautious, but this oversensitivity can make setting up and executing your shot feel like an exercise in tense precision, as if you were attempting a crazy trick shot on ESPN2 instead of playing a leisurely game.

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