A portion of a WiiWare World review... This week's WiiWare download is something we're sure every Wii owner was waiting for with baited breath... an adaptation of a mobile phone pool game. But before you dismiss this casual game as a redundant substitute for Wii Play, read on to find out why every one of you should download Midnight Pool.
First of all, anyone who remembers the control scheme from Wii Play Pool will find the interface here very familiar. However, there is much more depth to the gameplay in Midnight Pool. The game feels less like a tech demo and more like a fully featured simulation of the 'sport'. Aiming the direction your shot will take is easily handled with one of two options, either the Wii Remote (which moves too fast to really be useful) or the d-pad (which is just perfect). Before you take your shot you can pinpoint the precise point on your cue ball you will strike with your cue stick, and it actually affects the motion of the ball realistically, allowing you to pull of trick shots (such as jumping your cue ball over other balls, or adding backspin, and so forth).
Speaking of trick shots, there's a slew of 'challenges' that are unlocked after certain victories throughout the game. Some of them are extremely demanding and allow you to show off your skills by sinking balls in highly improbable combinations that would never occur in a real match. Of course, on a real pool table you could set up any challenge in as many combinations as you would like, so some sort of table editor would have been appreciated. But the inclusion of even just these pre-designed challenges is welcome and gives the player something more to do beyond just playing pool....
