The Best Snooker Video Games
Snooker doesn’t have the vast catalogue of video games that other sports like football has and it doesn’t have annual updates like you get with the FIFA or Football Manager series. After all, there is no real scope for the introduction of new tricks and skills like the ‘rabona’ or for a thriving transfer market where you can buy and sell players. But snooker video games have still come a long way since Visions’ Snooker in the early 1980s was available for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.
If you just want a game of snooker, then there are several different titles on the market that offer you a great gaming experience. Here we take a look at some of the options:
International Snooker
This game was released in 2013 and is downloadable for both Mac and PC. The creators worked on the game with Michaela Tabb, who was the most well-known snooker referee before quitting the sport earlier this year.
There is a lot of depth to this game, which allows you to build a snooker career and potentially emulate Stuart Bingham by becoming a shock world champion. From the graphics side of things, it is a good feature that you don’t actually see the player, i.e. yourself, bending down to the table when you are playing your shot. You just see the cue so you get a clear and clean view of the table. There is a crowd in the background and you can see your opponent sat in his chair while you (hopefully) compile your 147 break.
There is a power bar on the right of the screen to determine how hard you want to hit the cue ball, and you can see where you are aiming the white ball to hit the colour, and also the subsequent predicted path of the two balls. There is a practice mode which helps you to get used to using the power and spin functions.
If you choose the career mode, then you can play a full year on the snooker circuit and hopefully watch yourself rise to the top of the rankings. There is a detailed stats area which gives you the chance to see how many frames you’ve won, how many balls you’ve potted and the size of the breaks you’ve made, among other things. You can also win trophies and there are multi-player equipment upgrades depending upon your level of success.
WSC Real 11
You might have watched or bet on the event in the past but have you ever fancied playing at the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield? Well, this game for the Xbox 360 and PS3 gives you that chance. You can even copy Ronnie O’Sullivan by taking off your shoes to play your shots. This game is based on the 2010/11 snooker and pool season and features 32 professional players, with realistic graphics of them as well, along with all the official tournaments from that season.
The graphics in this game as a whole are to be commended and the gameplay is also recommended as you do get a realistic roll of the ball after you’ve hit your shot. There are good custom options in this game as you can create your own tournaments online and also build your own profile, rather than just use one of the players in the game. There is commentary to accompany the game, but if you find this annoying, then there is always the mute button…
Quick Snooker
Sometimes you just want to have a quick game of snooker and Quick Snooker offers just that. It is a free download and you can have a game against four computer opponents. If you do want to take things a little further and show off your talent, then you can also play opponents from across the world. Using the mouse to set the power, spin and direction of your shots is easy enough, and the graphics are simple and clean.
Pub Snooker
Another free download, Pub Snooker is a flash game which presents you with a top-down view of the snooker table. Again, it’s a game you can make as simple or in-depth as you want it to be. You can have just a one-off game to get some practice in. Or you can participate in tournaments and different challenges as you build up your experience.
