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American Billiards | 
 enlarge | From: Masque Publishing
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $18.73
You Save: $1.22 (6%)
New (2) Used (1) from $18.72
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 11522
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows 95, Windows Me, Windows Nt, Windows 2000, Windows Xp
Genre: Arcade Games
ESRB: Everyone
Media: CD-ROM
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: Windows 2000
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 1.3
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: 100722
Model: 10269
UPC: 098252102696
EAN: 0098252102696
ASIN: B000IFLEPW
Release Date: November 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | 10 original tables to chose from, plus the traditional version | | • | 4 billiard roooms to play in | | • | Undo your last shot | | • | 7 unique ball sets | | • | 3 difficulty levels |
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| Accessories:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
American Billiards brings the pool hall to you, when you can't go out for a game. Multiple games and great graphics combine with easy-to-learn gameplay, for a great new way to play. Choose from 3-Ball, 8-Ball, 9-Ball, 14+1 and Snooker
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| Customer Reviews:
fun, but many flaws. February 13, 2008
The Good:
Control of shot variables- You first set direction, power, and english independently, then "click" to shoot, as opposed to simulations combining power and the action of taking the shot with a single "swoosh" of the mouse (the latter makes it more realistic for some, however I find moving a mouse to be so far removed from the motion of a pool cue anyways, that I'd just assume have the greater control/convenience provided by this way).
"Camera Angles" are good- some 3-D simulations don't have a great range of view (must "click" from overhead to table level view), but this one lets you smoothly PAN from table level to about a 60 degree+ above view, which is one facet of realism that is a must in a 3-D pool game, else I'd just assume it be 2-D.
Graphics- Actually average, but not a top priority for me, and I had no complaints. Everything's relatively clean, OK rooms. If looks are real important to you, I'd probably skip this one.
Music- Again, not important to me, but they actually have a good variety and decent quality music on this one (and best of all you can turn it off).
The Bad:
Physics- Probably the worst physics out of any simulation I've played. The ball movement is so bad, they might as well "cut scenes" from the pre-shot to post-shot of the table. The balls accomplish ridiculous feats like rattle and pop out of one pocket, only to shoot right into another pocket and rattle and pop out of it in the same shot. The balls go from 100 to 0 mph almost instantly. It just doesn't feel like you are playing, as it does with some simulations. You can adjust friction of the table, and size of the balls, but nothing helps the realism at all.
Rules- It might be "American" billiards, but they are definitely not using the BCA rule book. Anything goes on combinations, no ball-in-hand on 8 ball, and other quirks that don't take much to get used to.
Buggy- as mentioned by the first reviewer, there is a problem with this software that results in "memory failure" and the program closing. I thought it was my computer until I read others have the same problem.
The Funny:
Everything has an Asian feel, from the rooms, to the tables, even the half dozen different ball styles available- none will be similar to what you find in American pool-halls or homes. Not that it matters, just ironic that the most foreign styled billiards game I've ever played is "American" Billiards.
This game has so many problems as a billiards "simulation", I wouldn't even recommend it as such. But it's still a good game you can get into, has a steady learning curve, good computer "opponents", and features like "alternative" tables (triangle and cross shapes) that add some variety. Overall it's fun, and that's ultimately what I judge a game by. However, if you seek realistic simulation- skip this one. For the best simulation, GrandBilliards (dotcom) is the closest thing to playing on a real table I've ever seen, but unfortunately you can only play it online.
Still can't beat Virtual Pool 3 February 27, 2007
I was having problems running Virtual Pool 3 on XP so I tried this game. It's not as good as it looks on the box. Even at the highest resolution, the game is fuzzy and not clean like Virtual Pool 3. The physics are wrong too. Sometimes when you shoot the balls fly way too fast across the table. When the balls drop in the pockets they just kind of disappear inside them not really giving a realistic dropping feel.
There's also this see-through target ball ahead of you that you cannot remove. It was a little distracting. The sound in this game pops too but you can turn the sounds and very annoying music off. The final straw to delete this game from my hard drive was getting a "memory access error" and the game crashing back to the desktop.
Virtual Pool 3 has a new demo that works perfectly with XP so I just play that instead. You can upgrade the Virtual Pool 3 demo to a full version but they only let you download it to so many computers so that's not worth the full cost to me.
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