Virtual Pool Hall

Last updated

Virtual Pool Hall
Virtual Pool Hall Front Cover.jpg
Developer(s) Celeris [1]
Publisher(s) Interplay Entertainment [1]
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: December 29, 1999 [2]
Genre(s) Sports simulation – snooker & pool
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Virtual Pool Hall is a sports simulation video game developed Celeris and published by Interplay Entertainment as an entry in the Virtual Pool franchise, an improvement and sequel to Virtual Pool 2 and PC sequel to Virtual Pool 64 . The game was initially released on PC in December 1999. Pool Hall is the first game in the Virtual Pool series to have playable Snooker in addition to the regular pool gamemodes.

Contents

Gameplay

Virtual Pool Hall boasts 128 computer AI opponents to play against, with various different game modes. [3] 8-ball and 9-ball pool returns, as well as the choice of 4 different tables to play on. [4] The game also features new gameplay modes, including other table based games, such as billiards, and snooker, as well as other mini-games, such as golf, Honalulu and bowliards; which are all games based on billiards. [4]

The game also offers instructional videos with professional player Mike Sigel, with the option to pause the video to play the shot being attempted by the professional. [4]

Reception

Critical Reception for Virtual Pool Hall was generally high, with review aggregator website Game Rankings scoring the game 77.50%. [5] GameSpot scored the game at 8.2/10 saying that the graphical quality was very good, saying "the balls and table look top-notch", and the gameplay was "as fast and enjoyable as ever". [3] However, the review also suggested that the multiplayer support was poor, as the game had no built in multiplayer mode, but simply 3rd party support for multiplayer. [3]

IGN also gave the game an 8.2 out of 10, stating that the game has "startling precision" when it came to realism of the physics. [4] They also cited the "impressive visuals" on display, and finished off saying "basically, Virtual Pool Hall has everything you've been looking for in a PC billiards simulation." [4] [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Virtual Pool 64</i> 1998 video game

Virtual Pool 64 is a 3D first-person sports simulation video game that was developed by American studio Celeris and released for the Nintendo 64 by Crave Entertainment on December 17, 1998, in North America, and in Europe on February 26, 1999. The game features simulations of 11 forms of pool. It is part of the "Virtual Pool" game franchise, which also includes the PC games Virtual Pool, Virtual Pool 2, Virtual Pool Hall and Virtual Pool 3. The game has been simultaneously lauded as "a top-notch simulation" and criticized as dull, lacking both player incentive and engaging characters.

<i>Pool Paradise</i> 2004 video game

Pool Paradise is a 2004 pocket billiards video game, developed by Awesome Developments, 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.

<i>Jimmy Whites 2: Cueball</i> 1999 video game

Jimmy White's 2: Cueball is a snooker and pool video game developed by Awesome Developments and published by Virgin Interactive as a sequel to Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker. It was originally released in 1999 for Windows and Dreamcast. A PlayStation version was released in 2000 in Europe and North America, distributed and released by Bay Area Multimedia. Archer Maclean, the designer of the original game, led the development team. The game includes mini-games connected with a pub setting. A Game Boy Color version of the game was released in 2000. A sequel to Cueball, called Jimmy White's Cueball World, was released in Europe for the PC in 2001. The game received mixed reviews from critics, with the PC and Dreamcast versions faring better than the PlayStation port.

<i>Virtual Pool 3</i> 2000 video game

Virtual Pool 3 is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game, developed and released for Windows and PlayStation by Celeris.

Virtual Pool is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game series with computer simulations of cue sports which was developed by Celeris. The games in the series simulate pool, snooker and carom billiards. The Virtual Pool series focuses on accurate simulation and improving the player's ability to play the sport in real life. Virtual Pool releases are sold with a money back guarantee to improve a player's external game.

<i>Midnight Pool</i> 2005 video game

Midnight Pool is a sports simulation video game by Gameloft Montreal. The pool simulator was originally released for mobile phones. Versions with enhanced graphics were later released for Windows, WiiWare, and iOS and under the name Midnight Pool 3D for phones and the N-Gage platform. It is part of Gameloft's Midnight series, which includes Midnight Bowling, Midnight Casino and Midnight Hold'em Poker.

<i>Actua Pool</i> 1999 video game

Actua Pool is a sports simulation video game developed by British companies Gremlin Interactive and Mirage Ltd as part of their highly successful Actua Sports series of sport simulators of the mid-to-late 1990s. Actua Pool, a pool game, was originally released on the Microsoft Windows platform and the Sony PlayStation home console in 1999; these versions were also published under the name Pool Shark. The game was very well received, praised for its realistic physics engine and challenging AI opponents, although the game spawned a sequel which was not as successful. In 2007, Actua Pool was ported to the Nintendo DS handheld game console.

<i>Pool Revolution: Cue Sports</i> 2008 video game

Pool Revolution: Cue Sports is a sports simulation video game video game published by Hudson Soft for the Wii's WiiWare service. The game simulates a variety of cue sports.

<i>Championship Pool</i> 1993 video game

Championship Pool is a 1993 sports simulation video game released for Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, and MS-DOS. The pool game was developed by Bitmasters and released by Mindscape. The game was officially endorsed by the Billiard Congress of America.

<i>Virtual Pool</i> (video game) 1995 video game

Virtual Pool is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game released by Interplay Productions in 1995. It is the first of the Virtual Pool franchise of computer simulations of pool games developed by Celeris.

<i>World Snooker Championship 2007</i> (video game) 2007 video game

World Snooker Championship 2007 is a sports video game developed by Blade Interactive and published by Sega for PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

<i>Virtual Pool 2</i> 1997 video game

Virtual Pool 2 is a 3D, first-person sports simulation video game developed by Celeris and released by VR Sports on behalf of Interplay Productions in 1997. It is the third release of the Virtual Pool franchise of computer simulations of pool games developed by Celeris. VP2 is the second main series title in the Virtual Pool series, and would later be released alongside Virtual Pool 1.

The World Snooker Championship (WSC) is a series of video games based on snooker featuring licensing from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. The first game in the series was released in 2001 and the last in 2011; a new licensed World Snooker game, Snooker 19, was released in 2019. The first four games were published by Codemasters and developed by Blade Interactive Software. Later games were published by Sega, Deep Silver and Koch Media.

<i>Jimmy Whites Cueball World</i> 2001 video game

Jimmy White's Cueball World is a sports simulation video game published by Virgin Interactive as the sequel to Jimmy White's 2: Cueball, itself a sequel to Jimmy White's 'Whirlwind' Snooker. The development team once again being led by Archer Maclean, who designed the other two Jimmy White titles. The game was released in December 2001 in Europe, with a North American release was planned to be released a year later by Titus Software under a budget range using the Virgin Interactive brand name. PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were planned, but were later cancelled.

<i>Virtual Pool 4</i> 2012 video game

Virtual Pool 4 is a sports simulation video game developed and published by American studio Celeris as an entry in the Virtual Pool franchise, a sequel to Virtual Pool 3. The game was initially released on Windows in August 2012. It was released to Steam on May 11, 2015, worldwide, after a period on Steam Greenlight. The game has two releases, an offline version of the game, and an online multiplayer version. The game has also had an additional iPad release.

<i>Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition</i> 2005 video game

Virtual Pool: Tournament Edition is a sports simulation video game developed by Celeris and published by Global Star Software as an entry in the Virtual Pool franchise, a spin-off sequel to Virtual Pool 3. The game was initially released on Xbox with a planned PlayStation 2 version which was later cancelled.

<i>Virtual Snooker</i> 1996 video game

Virtual Snooker is a sports simulation video game developed by Celeris and published by Interplay Productions as an entry in the Virtual Pool franchise, the second in the series after Virtual Pool and the first spin-off from pool games, focusing on the game of snooker. The game was released on DOS in July 1996 and is the first game in the series game to contain snooker as a playable game.

<i>Steve Davis World Snooker</i> 1989 video game

Steve Davis World Snooker is a sports simulation video game developed by Binary Design and published by CDS Software. It simulates different types of cue sports, specifically snooker, pool and billiards. Released under licence from 6-time Snooker World Champion, Steve Davis, it is a sequel to their 1984 game Steve Davis Snooker.

<i>Steve Davis Snooker</i> 1984 video game

Steve Davis Snooker is a sports simulation video game developed and published by CDS Software in 1984. The budget release published by Blue Ribbon Software reached the top of the UK charts in May 1988. Steve Davis Snooker simulates the cue sport snooker. Released under licence from 6-time Snooker World Champion, Steve Davis.

<i>World Snooker Championship: Season 2007–08</i> 2007 video game

World Snooker Championship: Season 2007-08 is a sports video game developed by Blade Interactive and published by Deep Silver exclusively for Nintendo DS.

References

  1. 1 2 "Virtual Pool Hall". Moby Games. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Virtual Pool Hall International releases". Giant Bomb . Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Virtual Pool Hall Review". GameSpot. January 18, 2000. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Virtual Pool Hall Review". IGN. February 1, 2000. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Virtual Pool Hall for PC -". Game Rankings . Retrieved December 14, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Virtual pool Hall review". Computer Games Magazine (January 1, 1999).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.