Underground Pool

As the only sister of four brothers who were not only hardcore gamers but also adequate billiards players, I also tagged along to the pool halls hauling my cue and ready to show my skill in a game of 8 ball. I can think of nothing better than to chalk up my cue and make a cool break as my opponent waits for his or her turn. So it was a pleasant surprise to find Underground Pool for the Nintendo DS - a game that would, no doubt, use the DS touch screen and allow me to play in a virtual tournament while waiting on the train. Sadly, even with the right technology, this game just doesn’t deliver the goods. 

If you’re looking for a game with a story where you play a billiards player trying to climb the tournament ladder by defeating seasoned pros you are in for quite a major disappointment. Underground Pool has no story despite the fact that you can pick from a number of avatars (male or female) and your rise to the top takes you to various pool halls like the Devil’s Hideout or The Tino Twister. In fact, the game doesn’t give you a reason for going up against these pros except for the fact that defeating them means you’ll win money? Money for what, you might ask? You got me since the game doesn’t offer anything to buy. 

Forgetting the lack of a story or reason to keep playing, it’s the actual pool playing that counts, right? There’s two main game modes and they are 8 Ball (using the standard 8 Ball rules) and 9 Ball and you can play them in Challenge Mode where you can unlock new pool halls or Single Match (where you can play using any pool hall you unlocked in Challenge Mode). The game is great at playing by all the rules so don’t expect anything different throughout the Challenge Mode experience.  

Challenge Mode is played in stages, each stage contains two club tournaments you must win in order to move to the next stage. There are four stages in total so the game contains enough tournament challenges to beat and thus making the game an appropriate length. The only problem is that the game contains a number of flaws where it counts the most: gameplay and AI. The computer-controlled opponents, for example, aren’t very bright at all and make some seriously questionable mistakes even at the pro level. How a pro can somehow miss an obvious 8 Ball in the side pocket is beyond me but you’ll find yourself taking advantage of these mistakes. Unfortunately, this is what makes the game so easy to play and you’ll find yourself wishing the AI would provide some kind of challenge. At least the game provides multiplayer so you can play against friends who won’t make dumb mistakes. 

Then again, the controls will have you forgetting the awful AI in order to concentrate on centering your cue where you want it. Even using the Stylus won’t help you position the cue just the way you like it and no matter how much effort you put in applying enough force to your shot. Sure there are icons in the bottom that can aid you (such as the blue chalk) but thanks to the controls these aids are practically worthless. 

Visually, Underground Pool isn’t even very good-looking. In fact, the graphics can look pretty murky, which is probably a result of trying to capture the feel of a smoky, dimly lit pool hall. Instead, the game looks awfully grainy and if you go by the second touch screen you won’t tell stripes from solids. The sound effects are also very limited so you’ll hear very little and that’s to be expected. It would have been nice to hear the sounds of people chattering in the background and the sounds of other games in progress but at least there’s music playing over the background. 

Sadly, Underground Pool proves to be a considerably flawed Nintendo DS billiards game that doesn’t succeed in providing a challenge, easy-to-get-into-controls or much of a single-player challenge. It’s a poorly conceived Nintendo DS game that could have been a real treat for fans of the game or anyone who ever dreamed of taking their pool game on the go. I would seriously consider skipping this one and hope that one day they do get it right.   

Gameplay: 4.5
While the game doesn’t have any story to it or any sense that you’re playing for a reason, the game does include plenty of tournaments. Unfortunately, the poor controls and very limited touch screen control make this a very awkward and simplistic game you’ll want to abandon. 

Graphics: 3.0
The game’s graphics sometimes makes it hard for you to tell the stripes from solids so you’ll be thankful for the top screen. There is an awful murkiness to the game’s graphics as well so if you were looking for an attractive game you won’t find it here. 

Sound: 4.0
Underground Pool doesn’t even have some decent sound effects and if you sink the 8 Ball you won’t really hear it that well. There’s some smoky jazz music and it’s not bad at all. 

Difficulty: Easy
Your opponents will not offer you a challenge so don’t expect the top pros to give your thumbs a workout. On occasion they do manage to make some impressive shots but don’t expect much from your opponents. 

Concept: 4.5
If you like 8 Ball or 9 Ball you’re in for a real treat and you can even challenge four friends in your own tournament. The bad news is that all four stages don’t really mean a thing if there’s no real risk involved and while the ball physics are good the controls will not fail to frustrate. 

Multiplayer: 4.5
The four player multiplayer match makes up for the poor computer-controlled opponent AI but thanks to the weak controls I hardly see friends wanting to play this one for very long. 

Overall: 4.9
Underground Pool could have been a fun portable billiards experience for your Nintendo DS but limited touch screen action, unintelligent opponent AI and poor controls make this one a game you should skip. This is too bad really since the DS has the right technology to make for a fun game pool fans can really like and take on the go.