Reviewed: April 13, 2005
Reviewed by: Daniel Sayre
Publisher
Paprikari
Developer
Paprikari
Released: March 8, 2005
Genre: Simulation
Players: 2
ESRB: N/A
7
6
5
7
6.5
System Requirements
Trial Version Download
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
DDD comes to us care of the fine folks at Paprikari. The games sets itself as “ a 3D pool game with cutting edge graphics, realistic physics and smooth gameplay that guarantees many hours of fun and pleasure” A description not far off the mark.
Pool games, while not a very crowded genre as of late, still have a veritable avalanche of back catalog games available. Two of DDD Pool’s strongest draws are price ($19.99) and size (11mb), but will they be enough to set it above the competition?
DDD Pool has five different game modes. “Practice” consists of you and a full set of fifteen numbered balls to practice your shots. Nine-ball is a standard nine-ball game, except all standard rules and moves are not observed, most notably no push shots or automatic game forfeiture after three consecutive fouls. Eight-ball is much the same way (along with certain rules not being enforced.) You can also set the number of frames you wish to play for the two games.
The other two game modes are to see how fast you can pocket a nine-ball table or a full fifteen-ball table. Those can only be played solo and you can make an internal top ten board if you manage to get through the challenge quickly. There is no online rankings for your scores or any on-line multiplayer to speak of.
Both the nine-ball and eight-ball can be played against either the computer or another human player (but only one in the same physical room.) The computer has three levels of difficulty and each does a good job of simulating an opposing player. The hard AI, for example, is quite proficient but will still not perfectly sink every shot. The difference is AI is noticeable, but doesn’t ramp up too sharply.
All in all, it’s pretty barebones; there are quite a few extra things that could’ve been added. “One Pocket” or ‘Continuous” game modes for example. Jump shots are not represented, I tried my hardest to jump the cue ball, but to no avail. The game also lacks any in-game option settings. A graphical setting when you run the game is the extent of the tweaking.
You have a wide range on control over the shot, you can adjust shot angle, where on the ball to hit, and how much force you wish to use. “Force” can be determined either by a click-hold method or by holding down the “s” key and using the mouse. Unfortunately, there is no way to change the controls so you have to get used to them the way they are setup. This is a glaring omission and one I’m quite surprised was skipped, control re-mapping should be standard for every game as far as I’m concerned.
The game was reasonably stable; crashes were infrequent (only about two the entire time I played.) In this day and age, for an unpatched game, that’s quite impressive. Controls were also spot on and I could usually “feel” how much pressure I needed to apply if I went with the “non-click” option.
The graphics are entirely proficient, while this means they aren’t bad, it also means they aren’t great. I wasn’t expecting much from a game like this in the graphics department, and I got exactly what I was expecting. There are four different rooms to play pool in, but the majority of the focus is always on the table, so it’s largely needless. The only graphical representation of both you and your opponent is the cue stick, which magically appears and floats.
The menu, yes “menu” as in singular, allows you to choose five different ball quality settings, which seem to just make them more reflective, as well as the game type and AI difficulty. On the cosmetic end, the menu only properly scales to 1024x768, after that it appears in a window.
The game opening CGI isn’t anything to write home about either. On my 2.0GHZ, 512MB, Radeon 9700 Pro, I ran the game at 1600x1200 with maximum graphical quality with nary a stutter.
Truly, truly, barebones, now this doesn’t really bother me personally. But the only sound effects are the balls hitting each other, the table, and going into the pockets. The menu has its own music, but it’s the same song every time.
So much more could’ve been added, music during the pool games, pool hall ambiance, smack talk from the computer competitor, etc. Most of which would’ve been relatively easy to add. Sound was the area most underdone with the game, presumably to concentrate on pure gameplay.
Eschewing any type of story or tournament mode, it’s simply pure pool. Now a simple tournament could’ve been added, but I wasn’t anticipating one with the under $20 price tag. The game is simply pool, so as long as you enjoy pool the replay is pretty high. Due to slightly imperfect nature of pool, no two games play exactly alike, which further helps replayability.
The game is only $19.99 and that also goes a long way towards “looking past” some of the omissions. As a $50 game, DDD Pool simply would be worth the money, but the game becomes much more attractive at the lowered price point.
“Barebones” is a word that’s been thrown around a lot in this review. It fits the game quite well. Such a no frills approach makes sense for a game like this in some aspects. Animated avatars certainly aren’t needed for a good pool game, but other stuff (like customizable controls) certainly are.
For $19.99 you get an average pool game with a few modes of play. That’s the extent of it, and that’s a fair trade off in my opinion. I had fun and the game is perfect for a quick pick-up game or two. If you want an extravagant Pool experience, I’d get it elsewhere. But if pool gameplay is the only thing you care about, and money’s tight, DDD Pool fits the bill.