Christmas, the argument goes, starts earlier and earlier every year. As soon as the kids are back to school in September, it seems, the advent calendars are appearing on the supermarket shelves and thoughts turn to turkeys, gifts and a certain bearded fat man.
If that's still not early enough, however – and there are certain members of the Pocket Gamer team who are more ardent in their festiveness than others – you can get into the spirit all year round with Christmas Midnight Pool. A holly-bedecked edition of Gameloft's existing Midnight Pool game, Christmas Midnight Pool ups baize from the Ol' Southern barroom and relocates to a winter chalet in the Rockies.
You come in out of the cold with a mere $150 in your pocket and dreams of winning many times that amount on the pool table. And so it is that you meet and, in theory, beat the locals at 8- or 9-ball pool (either UK or US rules) in a tournament, a one-off match or a series of challenges.
As opposed to the 3D pool and snooker games that are emerging on to the market, Christmas Midnight Pool is a strictly 2D affair. You view the action from above and play from this perspective, too.
We're certainly not complaining, as the look of the game is as rich as a well-fed fruitcake. The tables are elegantly scuffed, the balls small but detailed, and the characters that hang out in the chalet are finely-drawn figures with no bones about their lack of photo-realism.
In short, it's everything you could want from a pool game, and the seasonal baubles that adorn it – from Christmas tree backgrounds to candy-stripe borders on the power gauge – add to the effect without going over the top. The other holiday touches include an effort at a Chrimbo-esque soundtrack and egg nog-influenced dialogue, but neither are particularly brilliant and not a scratch on the visuals.
Of course, the Christmas part of Christmas Midnight Pool is nothing but a layer of wrapping paper on the existing edition of Midnight Pool. The game itself remains unaltered and this is no bad thing – the physics of the balls as they ricochet, bounce and roll around are spot on and the table and cues behave exactly as you expect them to.
While the challenge offered by the computer players in matches and tournaments isn't steep (they've obviously been at the mulled wine), the real fun comes with the multiplayer mode that enables you to take on a chum while you're waiting for the Queen to come on the telly.
Passing the handset between you, you can have an enjoyable game of pool that's easy to play and as short or long as your ability allows. Aiming is aided for the uninitiated, with a white line superimposed on the table showing where your cue ball and target will head when you let rip, whereas trick-shot masters can add spin, curve and even air to the white.
It all makes Christmas Midnight Pool a gift that keeps on giving and certainly good enough to enjoy throughout the entire year.
Christmas Midnight Pool
Polished, festive and fun, this pool game's certainly no turkey
