Pub Pool 3

There are few activities more suited to the pub environment than pool, in fact, aside from drinking alcohol, chatting to members of the opposite sex and being subjected to terrible music, we can't think of any. The game is simple enough to pick up and play at any level of skill and inebriation, the matches are short and cheap, the equipment's hard-wearing and there's even space to rest your pint.

Considering this, it would seem to be a brave developer indeed who'd attempt to come betwixt a punter and his pub pool table by simulating the experience on a mobile screen. Yet Infospace has dared to do just that (and for the third time nonetheless) and, what's more, they've made a pretty good fist of things.

The latest instalment in the burgeoning Pub series, Pub Pool 3 assembles the motliest crew of characters you'll have had the pleasure to encounter since, well, since the last time you attended a real life pub pool league meet, and they’ll challenge you to beat them in turn for the honour of the Dog and Duck. From the goofy Big Vern to the snappily dressed Duke and the downright intimidating Ronnie, each of your opponents has their own distinct character infused with the series' distinct tongue-in-cheek humour.

Whilst in truth these characters don't actually impact hugely on the game itself (after the opening exchange they only pop up to gloat over fouls or urge you to hurry up), they do nevertheless add some welcome colour to the story as spun by the affable landlord and compliment what is otherwise a solid pool game.

The control system is both intuitive and flexible, essentially breaking shots down into the three stages of aiming (of which there are 3 options, from the simple trajectory line to the tough no-frills viewpoint), adding spin and deciding power. Whilst the latter seems to lack subtlety in initial plays, it can be mastered with practice, enabling you to pull off a dazzling range of shots. The physics of the 3D table behave exactly as you'd expect, too (although the pockets do seem a little larger than the table in our local and there's no lean to the left!), and though on our Sony Ericcson K700i test machine the balls seemed slightly less spherical in appearance than we might have liked, this is remedied on more powerful, higher range handsets.

Off the table, the performance is equally solid with options to play everything from traditional 8-ball to American 6, 9 and 15-ball, as well as pub favourite Killer. All of these games can be further tweaked to your liking via the rules menu, although our favourite feature has to be the ability to select a group of players (both mobile controlled and up to 4 humans) for a spot of winner-stays-on action. You can even gloat about it afterwards as all records are recorded and, if you're particularly good, you might unlock a one of the gratuitous awards (another staple of the pub pool world).

All in all then, this is a solid pool sim that's packed with more character than your average theme pub and offers a worthy alternative when the table's full down your local.