Pool Nation

 PC
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 82 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 65 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 82
  3. Negative: 5 out of 82

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  1. MadJaples
    Mar 31, 2014
    5
    Late coming in on this one, but I thought I would give it a VERY long shot before I stuck my cue in - which sounds a little wrong, but with oar being the traditional word .....moving on.
    Pool Nation begins by being graphically impressive. It's light bloom effects and sparkly, shiny reflections from surfaces on objects inanimate or otherwise give it a highly aesthetically pleasing appeal.    Late coming in on this one, but I thought I would give it a VERY long shot before I stuck my cue in - which sounds a little wrong, but with oar being the traditional word .....moving on.
    Pool Nation begins by being graphically impressive. It's light bloom effects and sparkly, shiny reflections from surfaces on objects inanimate or otherwise give it a highly aesthetically pleasing appeal.
    That's about as good as it gets I'm afraid - but do stay with me for the duration.

    The gameplay is actually pretty good to begin with. Not being a pro player either on or off screen, the little useful touches here and there are really very handy for complete beginners to the nuance of angles and which ball is going to go where dependant on where you hit the cue ball and how, along with where the target ball is likely to go in terms of direction more than final destination. That stuff is always going to be useful.
    Then there's the unlocks. To begin with, the added extras that can be unlocked (not that they are extras mind you, just stuff you want to get unlocked because it should already BE unlocked - who wants to perform ridiculous feats for a new decal for heaven's sake?) - if they'd waited to bring out the box of tricks (?) element at the same time as the game, they could have used the parts for that to be much better candidates for unlocking - thereby making the gameplay in general a lot more rewarding.
    The music is pleasant enough *to begin with*. I liked this music because it gave the sense of being unhurried, chill out and shoot some pool at your own pace, all's good.

    Then by the time we get to having matches with the likes of Foo Foo - more of a name for a poodle than a person by all accounts - the music turns into something of a headache inducing clubfest for the drum and bass/dance party mad. That kind of knackered it for me to be honest.

    Never mind that though, what about the unlocks for the game?
    Well...that's easy enough too, to begin with. Again, all headaches seem to start off with Foo Foo on this one for me (oh, btw, that's in the 9 ball pool, not the 8 ball - YET).

    It starts off with simple games that aren't going to give you bouts of complete and utter frustration, like if you don't pot a ball (with all balls on the table to begin with), you lose a life. That's fair enough - because to begin with, there's plenty to choose from!

    Then there's potting three balls in as few shots as possible. Again, fair enough.

    Then there's endurance, which not only is a game played to unlock things in the tournament, but also as a playable game on it's own from the main menu. This is actually a good touch, as it allows for practice, and gives you the chance to improve on your shots and the time you take making those shots. Although that's not the pool I'm used to playing - I doubt 99% of the population are either.
    Anyway, that's fair enough too.

    THEN - and this is where the real uber-cow comes along - old poodleface with her "I can pot everything in one visit to the table" - there's this godawful "pot the ball in the designated pocket". It's not a pocket you can designate either. This is entirely out of traditional practice. Usually when a player plays pool, it's the player taking the shot that designates the pocket they're going to sink a ball in.

    On initial inspection - and because I lack a gamepad because xbox does not rule my gaming world and never will (I have enough problems with their OS not to bother with their gaming platform) - I thought I'd see if there were any keys set to be able to designate said pockets before I sink this ONE ball.
    And it's frustrating. Not least because there's NOT ONE single key to designate a pocket, but because when you DO pot the ball in a pocket, you'll find the game decides to tell you to sink the next ball (placed back on the spot from whence it initially began) which is a the most impossible or absurd angle to get the ball in from with the cue ball. That particular part of the game I most dislike - which is why I took a sizeable chunk off my initial score for this game.
    Couple that with the annoying view that blocks your ability to see from one end of the table to the other in 1st person format (as opposed to birds eye view - which is static so it seems) without the bloody lights getting in the way, and you have a game that is most likely going to give you more of a headache than a cure for stress.

    This one is primarily for pool lovers, the Americans should play 8 ball, the Brits should play 9 ball for a change if they don't already (generalizations I know - but as a Brit I prefer 9 ball because it's much quicker than 8 ball if you don't like having to mess about with spots and stripes).

    It falls short of perfect by a few glaringly awful design flaws, and some pretty dire music after the first round or two, but failing the middle of the road score I've given it I would still recommend getting it, even if it does give you the occasional hair-pulling bout of frustration.    … Expand
  2. mikas
    Sep 29, 2014
    6
    I have mixed emotions about this game. This pool is not bad. But i have some problems with handling and camera. When you want to lock your aim and shot, camera is not locked so you move your stick to shot and camera is moving down and up too! Its very confusing. And after shot, camera immediately move to another angle. Its fast cut with camera so i am affraid i will get the epilepticI have mixed emotions about this game. This pool is not bad. But i have some problems with handling and camera. When you want to lock your aim and shot, camera is not locked so you move your stick to shot and camera is moving down and up too! Its very confusing. And after shot, camera immediately move to another angle. Its fast cut with camera so i am affraid i will get the epileptic attack. And i am playng lots of 1st shooters and no problem, but this after shot cutting camera is quite embrassing for me. And finally last problem. Too much future look. I would like to see some old pub with old table, but there you play in very future and modern enviroment. I think old Virtual Pool 3 was much better than this. But still this game is possible to play.… Expand
  3. azgoodaz
    Jul 7, 2016
    7
    Pool is a great and fun hobby, and this game is a decent game that's based around Pool. Sadly 1) You can't change how you shoot (which is weird), the whole mechanic of moving your mouse and pressing space bar doesn't really make it enjoyable to play. And 2) There are not many people that play online, but it does offer a campaign. So I suggest playing with friends?
  4. Legendaryheart
    Jun 30, 2017
    7
    This Beauty breaks my heart bittersweetly. It made! me make a Metacritic account, made! me write my 1st review ever, here … a poison luv letter …'Cherry Pop,' that’s even a pun, right? … Dear Tart,

    I’m reviewing my Steam experience of PN, on PC. As a physics sim: brilliant. I played pool IRL (in real life) (I’m 54) decades. This, It Feels Like Shooting Pool. That is a huge thing.    This Beauty breaks my heart bittersweetly. It made! me make a Metacritic account, made! me write my 1st review ever, here … a poison luv letter …'Cherry Pop,' that’s even a pun, right? … Dear Tart,

    I’m reviewing my Steam experience of PN, on PC.

    As a physics sim: brilliant. I played pool IRL (in real life) (I’m 54) decades. This, It Feels Like Shooting Pool. That is a huge thing.

    PN Best of Times: I was, for a space of time, even, the admin of a Steam PN club for shooting Straight on PN. It was glorious, when it thrived. I have good memories. Of beer, music in the headphones, chat window, those individual opponents, pool players! I met, & fought on felt! immersively. It was Pool!

    The 'when it thrived' thing's the thing. PN now utterly is dead as a multiplayer experience on Steam, &, long-time - its multiplayer viability was way, way brief. Is that Cherry Pop’s fault? what, they're stupid? largely, yes! it is! their fault! Here, the big WTF: PN’s interface for its multiplayer lobby is ugly & dumb. Why?! why make a PC interface of a game that’s meant to be played multiplayer via a lobby - & you can’t put it in windowed mode?! I mean, I launch PN via Steam, post a game invite in the Lobby, am happy enough to let it sit till someone comes along & joins it, meanwhile of course I'll multitask, do my taxes, look at porn, whatever, write my novel, in another PC task window … No! PN will only show your lobby game, waiting for someone to join it, in full-window. It’s all or nothing, sorry you wanted to use your computer.

    Well: Nothing does show ip in the Lobby, anymore. At all, ever.

    It’s more than disappointing, because it’s a beautiful physics. It’s soul-crushing.

    /Legendary    … Expand

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  1. Gaming Nexus
    Dec 20, 2013
    88
    Pool Nation is a beautiful game that plays great and has a long shelf life.
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