The PlayStation 4 has seen a number of popular cue sport games, including Pool Nation and Pure Pool. Break building requires a decent amount of planning, and you can tell – when playing online – those who have experience on the baize, from those who are spraying balls out of hope rather than expectation. Tactical play is rewarding. And so is a ton. Computer AI Works Well It’s possible to walk around the table, but the camera feels like it’s strapped to a tortoise on Valium. Snooker 19 was released on 17 April 2019 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The Nintendo Switch version came out on 23 August 2019. [14] [15]

Make history and break records as you assume the career of your favourite snooker pro, or start a brand new journey fresh from the Q-School academy. Whilst we will do everything we can to meet the delivery times above, there may be factors outside of our control and we cannot guarantee delivery within this time frame. It’s infuriating to break down halfway to a century because you didn’t have the necessary view to sight an angle. Some users have complained about the aiming lines not extending beyond cushions, but we would strongly dispute the need for this.Accompanying all this is a decent audio system too – well, as decent as a few ball on ball hits allow. Thuds of cue ball on target colour are good, as are the referee calls. The inclusion of some fairly decent commentary allows for a bit more immersion too and even though their scripted words don’t always correspond to what is going on on the table, and repetition is rife, it’s never really anything to get too worked up about.

The aiming system has three stages. You start from your standard television camera with a scope of aim that reflects where both the object ball and cue ball are heading. Change the power and the scope will change accordingly. Change the spin and the outcome changes again. The second stage is a ‘down on the shot’ view. This offers the same scope of aim but through the eyes of the player as he stares down the barrel of his cue. From here you can pivot the camera up or down, to varying degrees of effectiveness. Lifting the camera upwards on a long pot will often succeed only in removing your target from sight completely. If the title doesn't give it away, then spoiler alert: we're about to review a game about snooker. When you think about sports games, it might not be the first sub-genre that comes to mind. However, we here at Gamereactor have delved into this latest title to see if it's just for snooker fans, or whether there's enough here to get the neutrals putting chalk on their cue as well.If your opponent has a much higher points total than you, you stand to gain a large amount of points from them if you win (and you'll only lose a small amount of points if you lose). Then when you start to play, it’s clear that the physics engine is the star of the show and where the developer has spent the most time tweaking it to perfection. As someone who has spent a number of years playing on a snooker team, it’s impressive to see the balls react how they should. In addition to 128 real-life players, Snooker 19 is licensed with all of the correct venues and tournaments from the pro tour.

Yes, it’s not particularly the fault of Snooker 19 on Xbox One– nor the development team for that matter – it’s just the way of society which will see those frequenting the online world taking any advantage they can. As a clean player, the occasional interruption is a worry. Anybody looking to improve their actual snooker play will enhance their knowledge of angles and deflections after a few hours on Snooker 19. That for us is a testament to the solid job done here. Break Building Feels Satisfying In all cases, though, straight shots are much easier than angled shots, irrespective of distance covered. But in general, the computer AI feels about right. You can choose the difficulty level, with the hardest setting making for a test where the mantra is true that one mistake can cost you the frame. The Aiming Lines Are Fairly Balanced Ultimately, it’s a game of snooker – right? The variety is to be found in the fact that no two games of snooker are the same. Career ModePrior to the release of Snooker 19, Joanne Williams (wife of 2018 world champion Mark Williams) accused the game of "massive prejudice" as the game's cover art did not feature Williams. [13] Williams commented that the decision was due to him being over 40 years old and Welsh. [13] This led to fans imposing pictures of a naked Williams over the cover art for the release. [13] Otherwise, if you already have 500 wins to your name and a 147 highest break, what else do you have to prove?

You can play against a friend, a random online opponent, or enter any of the online tournaments held on a regular basis by developers Lab42. Snooker 19 Is Cueing Up A 2019 Release On Nintendo Switch". Nintendo Life. 17 October 2018 . Retrieved 17 October 2018. There is very little variety in the game modes available, with the exception of shootout format (timed shots) and six-red snooker. a b Square, Push (17 October 2018). "Complain About the Smell of Venues Like Ronnie O'Sullivan in Snooker 19". Push Square . Retrieved 17 October 2018. Snooker 19 coming to Switch next year - Nintendo Everything". Nintendo Everything. 17 October 2018 . Retrieved 17 October 2018.

Ripstone, Lab42 and World Snooker Announce 'Snooker 19' - World Snooker". World Snooker. 17 October 2018 . Retrieved 17 October 2018. The game featured full likenesses for all tour players, and the Q School qualification events for the main tour. [10] Matches include in-game commentary by Neal Foulds, and David Hendon, as well as refereeing by Brendan Moore. [10] Multiplayer matches mirror real-life tournaments, with in-game tournaments co-existing with events, though all events are played under a "single table" set up. [11] [12] Release [ edit ] Another quirk we disliked in Career Mode was the tendency to draw the world’s top 16 players in preliminary qualifying rounds for minor events. It is however in the online scene where things go awry though and constant matchmaking issues are a cause of concern, leaving you to second guess whether or not any online play will be happening. Should you get in then the community is pretty toxic too, not in a verbal way, but with many making use of specific break-offs that never keep in the spirit of the game. I guess early foul points against you in any match shouldn’t be too much of a worry and a clear mind will see you being able to bring your A-game to the baize, but it’s frustrating that little cheats and glitches have crept into the game.