Billiards Review

I once was lucky enough to call myself an owner of a pool table. Those days have passed and in its stead are video game iterations of the sport that I once loved playing with friends. Billiards for the Zodiac, which also works on other Palm devices, is the first take of the sport that I’ve played on a handheld. The recently reviewed Pool Paradise was my first console version, so for pool, gaming hasn’t been kind in quantity, so far.

Cutting to the chase, why play Billiards? Aside from getting a quick dose of pool in, the game has some beautiful visuals, realistic physics, and a large number of games to choose from. The controls are simple and the interface is intuitive.

Even for newbies to the sport, Billiards should prove to be a nice distraction from other games on the Zodiac. There are seven pool games to choose from, including: 8-Ball (Bar, BCA, and UK rules), 9-ball, 1 cushion billiards, 3 cushion billiards, and Pyramid.

Billiards allows for a vast amount of customization. You can select from two table types: pool and pyramid. In pyramid, the tables have more boxed-in holes, instead of the traditionally oval holes. You also have four player options: practice, you vs. player, you vs. IR player, and you vs. Palm. More customizations include opponent, ball size, table/rail speed, and pocket size.

Billiards might be the Tony Hawk Pro Skater of the pool sports genre on Palm OS. The graphics are bright, the interface clean and simple, and the gameplay has enough variety to keep you occupied for a nice amount of time. This won’t go down as a “must-buy�, but for the casual gamer looking for a pool simulation on Palm, this is your best bet.