Pool Paradise

Pool Paradise lets players experience playing pool in exotic locations in the South Pacific. There are 30 different computer opponents to compete against as well as 10 different table designs to play on. There are 11 different rule types to compete in and 10 different tournaments to compete in. There are five different modes to play in including Practice, Championship, Tournament, Trick Shots and a series of mini-games such as playing a game of darts on the beach, skee ball with cue balls and even shooting coconuts out of a cannon.

Released: 15 March 2004
Platforms: GameCube PlayStation 2 Windows
Genres: Sports
Developers: UTV Ignition Games
Publishers: UTV Ignition Games
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Country: United Kingdom
Age ratings: ESRB E

About

Pool Paradise is a 2004 pocket billiards video game, developed by Awesome Studios, and published by Ignition Entertainment, released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. The game is the fourth game to be endorsed by professional snooker and pool player Jimmy White.

Keywords

pool
billiards

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players control a virtual pool player at a beach resort, with pool tables inside different huts. Players have to work their way up the tournament ladder in order to unlock features and complete the game.

The game's features, according to Booners Interactive, include 30 unique computer characters, with highly detailed hands, on an animated island with day and night cycles, and 8 virtual camera modes; 11 different game types and 5 modes of play, with 10 different tournament ladders, and 10 table sizes and shapes; and analog cueing, using a gamepad or a mouse. "Hidden features" throughout the game were also alluded to. As well as various pool and snooker games, beach darts, a coconut shy, skee-ball ramp, and the original Dropzone arcade game are all unlockable. Unlike previous games endorsed by Jimmy White, in Pool Paradise, White is a playable character, and is the best player in game.

Reception

The game received "generally favourable reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Alex Trickett of BBC Sport called the game "crisp, clean fun at a budget price"; however, he did call the game's soundtrack "uninspired". Alex Navarro of GameSpot enjoyed the European GameCube version months before it was released, stating in an early review, "Pool Paradise features a great gameplay design, as well as a ton of available pool games and side ventures." He also suggested the game was very strong on its own merits commenting "even if Pool Paradise weren't the only available pool game for the GameCube, it would still be a strong choice for any billiards fan."

GameSpot later named it the best GameCube game of April 2004, and nominated it for the year-end "Best Alternative Sports Game" award. GameSpy and Game Informer gave the same European GameCube version a mixed review, two months before it was released in Europe, and nearly three months before it was released Stateside.