Midnight Pool - WiiWare review

Don't bother pocketing this one

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Helpful top-down view

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    Does it well at a basic level

  • +

    Fills the 'pool on Wii' gap

Cons

  • -

    Same as free Flash game

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    Pointless motion controls

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    Controls too fiddly

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Although Midnight Pool is very far from being the worst game ever made, it encapsulates the worst of everything on Wii. First off, it’s a Flash game. You can play exactly the same game for free online at any number of portals, and by the same game we mean exactly the same game without the rubbish trimmings that add absolutely nothing to the experience.

The second thing is unforgiveable: it incorporates motion controls pointlessly. There’s enough of a connection between what you do with the remote and what you do when you’re swinging a racquet, jabbing a fist or bowling a ball for those things to make more sense with motion controls than when pushing a button. Now imagine playing pool. Does that seem even vaguely similar to jabbing a remote at a screen? No, no, a thousand times no. It doesn’t ruin the game, but it hinders playing it – particularly as it’s very keen on precision, so you’ll frequently have to attempt shots a few times because the pointer went off the screen for a second.

Apart from that, the basic ball-knocking isn’t too shabby, and at least you get nine-ball as well as UK and US eight-ball variants, so if you desperately need a pool game then this has to be a consideration. Gameloft’s usual assortment of nonsense goes along with it (who’d have thought that pro pool players were marine biologists and lawyers looking to prove something to their families?), but that’s easily ignored. If only it had the option to turn the rubbish motion controls off.

Nov 6, 2008

More info

GenreSports
DescriptionWhile it may be one of few pool games on the Wii, you would be much better off ignoring this poor recreation and playing a free flash game of pool on your web browser.
Platform"Wii"
US censor rating"Everyone"
UK censor rating"3+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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News Editor, PC Gamer

Richard is an experienced games journalist with over 15 years of experience. Currently the News Editor at PC Gamer, he has also written for Edge Magazine, Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was also the editor of Kotaku UK once upon a time. He also wrote the Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium.