67 lines
3.8 KiB
Plaintext
67 lines
3.8 KiB
Plaintext
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3-D POOL
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3-D POOL is an eight-ball pool simulation written by Aardvark Software,
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published by Microplay, and distributed by Medalist International, a division of
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MicroProse. The package offers outstanding graphics and animation; practice,
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tournament, and two-player modes; trick shot editor; mouse control; and copy
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protection. 3-D POOL will run on any Atari ST (the basis of this review) with
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512K and a color monitor.
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3-D POOL is much the same as any other pool/billiards simulation you might have
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played. The fundamental difference lies in the absence of a cue stick; you have
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to imagine a cue-line emanating from the cue ball, outward to the center of the
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screen, around which you rotate the table to line up a shot. What Aardvark
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called "revolutionary" I initially thought was "horrible." After I got my little
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head straightened out so that the revolutionary aspect became second nature, 3-D
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POOL turned into a really good game.
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The game here is Monte Carlo eight-ball, all aspects are controlled with the
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mouse, and the screen display on the ST consists of a solid-modeled,
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three-dimensional pool table, atop which are the white cue ball and the racked
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yellow/red balls. Above the play table are six pool table icons, reference cue
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ball, power bar, left/right swerve balls, and a menu square.
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You click on a table icon to rotate the main table left, right, forward, or
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backward, and to zoom it in and out. On the reference ball, the black cross
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shows exactly where the imaginary cue stick will strike the cue ball, as well as
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which way it'll spin after it strikes. Move the table forward or backward to
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move the cross vertically (follow-spin, backspin); click on the swerve balls to
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move the cross horizontally.
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In order to line up a shot, you rotate the table. This is a smooth and easy
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process, but it takes some getting used to: You have to keep in mind that the
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black cross on the reference ball has nothing to do with the shot itself -- it
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concerns spin only. Exactly where the cue ball hits another ball or a cushion
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(or anything) is determined solely by the position of the table. The left button
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performs large rotations; the right button performs incremental rotations for
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more precise shot alignment.
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Clicking the right button on the reference ball performs an instant 180-degree
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table turn, a handy feature. Clicking the left button on the reference ball
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invokes the shot, after which the balls slide and bounce smoothly (with audible
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clicks) along their paths. Sink a ball and you shoot again; don't sink a ball
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and your (computer or human) opponent shoots. Commit a foul and, according to
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the Monte Carlo rules, your opponent gets at least two shots.
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The setup for a trick shot is preset. Load one of them and it will appear on
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the table ready to be, er, tricked. The editor itself lets you set up your own
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trick shots. There is no save feature, though, so you'll have to invent, debug,
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and perform your invention in one session.
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The 3-D POOL package comes with one copy-protected disk, an instruction manual
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for all versions, and a Monte Carlo/American eight-ball rule sheet.
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3-D POOL falls short of WORLD SNOOKER (Artworx), which has everything,
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including a cue stick and digitized voices. Nevertheless, wonderful
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three-dimensional graphics and animation, great play physics, and easy mouse
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control make for an fine, easy-to-play program. At first, I was confused about
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the table rotations and the spin of the cue ball, which are separate events.
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Once I had it all straight, though, the frustration and dislike brought on by
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hundreds of wayward shots gave way to pleasure. 3-D POOL is a good-looking game
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that anyone can play.
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3-D POOL is published by Microplay and distributed by MicroProse.
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*****DOWNLOADED FROM P-80 SYSTEMS (304) 744-2253
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