Midnight Pool

Sports involving the striking of small balls - whether it's golf or snooker or pool - have long been enjoyed by middle aged and older men with too much time on their hands. A game of golf, even if you're playing on your local pitch and putt, can take 3 hours. A full game of snooker will take at least that long once you've played to best of 5. Which probably explains why these sports have become so popular on mobile phone and home consoles. You don't need to spend hours trekking across a series of fields with sand pits scattered randomly about, nor in a sweaty, smoky snooker hall. You get all of the fun but in a more pleasant environment, which is, basically, wherever you want to play. Your bedroom? The bus? The park? The choice is yours. We're sure you've got a favourite. We also think that Midnight Pool will soon be another favourite of yours.

It might just look like another pool game and, to a certain extent, it is. Except that it's so much more fun, inviting and light hearted than many others. Set in an American-style bar that's full of colourful characters (the off-duty sheriff Chris, dapper silver-haired businessman Dan and sultry socialite Sarah, among others) who're only too keen to challenge you, it's an amusing set-up and makes it more fun than playing a nameless computer opponent. You play as one of these characters and as you win more matches, more skilful characters are unlocked for you to play as and against.

There are three main modes of play: a quick one-off game against a computer-controlled character, a tournament where you bet virtual money on the outcome of your games and a two-player version where you can take on your chums. Once you've decided on your mode of play, you can choose the rules, with US style 8-ball (solids and stripes), UK style 8-ball (reds and yellows) or 9-ball on offer.

Then you're off. The whole of the table is shown on screen and you view the action from a birds-eye view, as if you were hiding in the overhead lights. This 2D approach might look a little boring compared to some of the more advanced 3D pool games around but it doesn't matter - Midnight Pool is just too much fun for a small matter like that to get in the way. Admittedly the game is tailored more to the casual pool/snooker fan, though, because this top-down view keeps things relatively simple.

The direction of the cue ball, for instance, is shown by a white line on the table, enabling you to line up and aim your shots with ease. It's not foolproof - you'll still end up potting the white or black inadvertently if you're not careful but it does keep the pace of the game up. This aiming line can be turned off but on smaller handset screens it's almost impossible to judge your shots in this way! Spin can be applied via a menu that pops up when you press 0 on your phone's keypad, otherwise everything else is controlled with the joystick.

If this sounds rather simplistic, it is - getting to grips with the game takes seconds and you'll be potting like an enthusiastic gardener in no time. The real fun lies in mastering the spin and challenging your friends and the computer characters, which offer a well balanced challenge. In fact, it's enough to keep you entertained for ages, particularly when you do play with a friend - you'll soon be fending off the requests for a quick game with a long stick!