Inferno Pool Review (XBLA)

Billiards/pool games aren’t all that common on consoles these days, and it’s not too surprising: video game controllers take out all the human element of lining up an angle just right and making an incredibly skillful shot. The developers of Inferno Pool seemed to realize this, and decided to embrace a fast-paced design that accepts console billiards for what it is. Favoring speed over difficulty, the main draw to this game is its titular ’Inferno Pool’ mode, though 8 Ball, 9 Ball, and an Inferno Endurance mode are also supported.

The 8 and 9 ball modes are reasonable implementations of their rules, and really don’t bear further discussion. Inferno rules are what really make this game stand out, as it is essentially a set of simultaneous speed pool games; each player has their own table. You need to sink balls quickly, as your opponents are trying to do the same, and some of the balls they sink will wind up on your table but the reverse is also true, so it’s a race to clean your table before they can empty their own. An Endurance version of this is also offered, where you play alone and try to clear the table while new balls are added on a timer. This is a reasonably engaging way to play regardless of whether you’re doing the Endurance mode or playing against other people, and it was a good idea.

The problem lies in that while this game has a decent idea and implements it well, nobody is playing it. I had trouble rounding up anyone for local multiplayer and the online play is completely deserted as far as I can tell, so this left me with just Endurance mode, or playing against an AI that is frankly way too good (no surprise; it’s a computer playing a game that relies on physics/math calculations). Endurance was okay but lost its charm after a while, and playing against an AI like this just isn’t fun.

I can’t help but wonder if Inferno Pool’s presentation chased players off. The game tries to be very ’hardcore’, with lots of edgy music and a grave-toned announcer who yells all kinds of things as if he was from Unreal Tournament. Shots involving one ball hitting another into the pocket result in cries of "combo", sinking more than one ball at a time gets a shout of "multi-ball", and finishing the game often yields him yelling "get some!" I really don’t need my billiards games to be ’edgy’ like this, so this sort of presentation got annoying in a hurry.

Overall, Inferno Pool is a competent console billiards game. It offers four genuinely interesting modes and they all play well enough, but the problem is that there’s nobody to play with. If you can round up some local players, this game is probably worth its $10 price tag... otherwise, stay away; the online play is completely abandoned, and the AI is no fun to play against.