Code Masters
£1.99

Fed up with TV snooker? Find Steve Davis just too 'interesting' for words? This may be the game to reinspire your interest in the clatter of the cue on the ball. It's a snooker simulation that feels authentic at a budget price.

You start on practise mode. This lets you play through any shot without having to worry about the rules. Then you get on to the gameplay, which is always two up, you never get to play the computer. Your break and score are always on view, and if you go out of turn or play a foul shot you get a reminder that you're breaking the rules. A black dot on an enlarged off-table cue ball shows where your cue will hit it - this means you can give the ball a bit of spin to get it where you want it.

There's also a table level view of the way the cue ball and the object ball are placed, so that you can thump away with confidence. The strength of your shot depends on the length of time you leave between taps of the shoot key.

This all sounds a bit technical, and unless you're a snooker freak you might find it a bit off-putting at first. Persevere, though, 'cos it's not a bad simulation for two quid. Snooker players'll find it a real bargain, though if you're not a fan, you may feel more inclined to keep money in your pocket, not balls.

Label: Code Masters
Author: Godwin Graham Bsc
Price: £1.99
Memory: 48K/128K
Reviewer: John Gilbert

Not another snooker simulation! That's right, it's not. but it is one of the best snooker games I've seen. It's keyboard driven; you can't use a joystick at all. Only slightly perturbed by this I selected the English language version of the game and, lined up my first shot with the rotating cue.

Moving the cue around the cue ball - quickly clockwise or very slowly anti-clockwise - a window at the top of the display shows a cue's-eye view of any white/coloured ball line ups.

This display is there to help judge the spin on the ball. If the cue hits the edge of a red that red will spin more than if it had been hit smack in the middle. In addition a ball hit on the left will spin to the right, so you've got to get the angle right. It's two-player only - no chance to stuff the computer which is irritating. The force of the cue is set by the length of time between the first and second presses of the keyboard Fire button. The longer the time the lighter the tap.

I potted a red, on about my fifth visit to the table, and I got to nominate a colour, by pressing it's value, two for yellow up to seven for black. The idea is to clear the reds and then pot the colours in order of points value - starting with yellow. I didn't mange it. Still I managed to clear most of the reds during one of my practice visits to the table, and managed to knock up a break of 19.

It feels realistic and is graphically excellent - you might be put off that you can't play against the computer however.