Game-Pad©

I have always somehow been drawn to Pool games, it's very strange indeed. Every console I have owned, I think I've had a Pool game - the best of which was on N64 (I can't recall the name).

Hustle Kings from VooFoo and Sony Studios will set you back £6.29 from the PSN, and I have to say, at that price its a real bargain.

The game has a very well thought out single-player mode - which includes tournaments, career, trickshots, snooker, stat-tracking, unlocks, YouTube uploads, custom soundtracks - and an even more competent online mode featuring all of the above modes, some of which you have to unlock first through the singleplayer career. Not to mention various styles of Pool available, from the standard Red/Yellow ball version we all know in the UK, US 8-Ball, UK 8-Ball (Black-Ball), US 9-Ball, Killer, Cut-Throat, 3-Ball, Time Trial, 14.1 Continuous, Trick-Shots, and more. I don't think anything has been left out here.

Also I have to note, the online mode is already developing a very solid community, having only been release a couple of weeks there were over 10,000 people online last night. For a PSN title that has only been released in the EU so far, I thought this was very good indeed.

But Hustle Kings is all about the hustling. You take your virtual pot of cash into a “room”. Rooms then fill with challengers each bringing their “pot” of money with them. You can challenge any player in the room with a bet, and they are able to then accept, decline or reconsider the bet. Maybe they want to gamble. Maybe they don’t want to gamble. Either way, you’ll eventually jump into a game of whichever pool type the room holder’s declared, and play for credits. The winner takes the bet and the virtual credits, the loser cries into his cue. It’s all quite exciting.

Credits can either be further gambled, or spent on new characters, cues, avatars, and ball types. Aside from the bells and whistles, Hustle Kings gets its ball physics spot on, with tons of different shot options including jump, swerve, Top-spin & Back-spin etc. To be honest, if you can do it on a real pool table, you can do on this game. You even have to chalk your cue every few shots to increase precision, with a shake of your Controller. However notably the developers are charging 20p to purchase extra 'chalks' which provide boosts to things such as your accuracy, and have a limited use. 

The sound is also spot on, the click of the balls hitting each other sounds so real, you'll feel as if your literally there at the table. The music is also reasonably well done featuring an original soundtrack with Hip Hop, Jazz, Lounge and more. The game also gives you the ability to customize it to your liking - don't enjoy Hip Hop music, then Hustle Kings allows you to turn it off.

What really caught my eye is the graphical quality of the game. Pool has never looked so good running in full 1080p HD. After taking a shot the camera will often change view to show off its quality graphics. You can even see the threads on the Pool table, it's that detailed. And the balls upon a close up, will have surface marks and scratches over time, at least until you buy a new set with your hard earned credits. This of course won't affect your play, its merely a cosmetic touch, and a very good one at that.

There is really not a lot else I can say about Hustle Kings. The gameplay is....Pool, and spot on. If you like Pool, you will love it. If you don't like Pool, you probably won't even consider buying it. So it really is one for fans of this old pastime I think. Although I do hope people give it the chance it deserves. Also, if you bought Inferno Pool, buy this, you won't be going back to Inferno Pool again I promise you.

So, hope to take some virtual credits off you guys very soon.

Hustle Kings gets an official Game-Pad 8.0/10

Average Press Score according to TestFreaks: 7.5/10

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