World Snooker Challenge 2005 Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 9 September, 2005

Have a break. No, seriously, take it.

Version tested: PSP

World Snooker Challenge gives you two options: admit you're rubbish at snooker, or fail miserably in your attempts to prove otherwise.

Use the "aiming aid", and a line of arrows shows you the direction the ball will go when it's struck. With this on your side, all that's required is a bit of fine-tuning and a bit of thought about where to position the cue ball afterward. You can rotate the PSP in your hands to check the line, or cheat even more by using some manner of square edge to rule the trajectory, and intuition should give you a good idea of the length to go with the line. Snooker's similar to maths in some senses, particularly the bits about solving angular riddles - and particularly in the sense that people with weak maths skills often find it surprising and entertaining when they do something very clever. WCS's aiming aid is a bit like doing times-tables with a calculator. It's a shortcut to being good. And you know what? It'd be more satisfying to get there yourself.

If you could. I failed miserably when I stopped relying on the aiming aid. Really miserably. The reason isn't so much that I'm rubbish at snooker (I'm actually not awful), but more the size of the screen. Even with the aid, there will be plenty of occasions when your ball's harshly spat out of the jaws of a pocket even though your line seems perfect. The difference between success and failure is an adjustment so slight that a steel rule can't see a problem with either option. It's still satisfying to sink long shots and build up long breaks - and very hard to do so in many cases - but often it's the game failing you and not the other way around.

That said, all the tools are there for you to play well if you're meticulous enough - making sure your positioning is perfect to avoid having to play from tricky angles or lengths - so there's a counter-argument too. Basically it's this: don't get yourself into awkward positions and you won't fall foul of the technical limitations. So, just to be clear, I'm not saying WSC is bad because really difficult stuff is really difficult - even if it is more its fault than mine. I'm merely pointing it out.

'World Snooker Challenge 2005' Screenshot animation

The animations are quite nice. It's not a Pixar film or anything, but we can cope.

That certainly isn't a nine on the bottom of the review though, so let's continue.

The rewards for persistence are a bit on the weak side. The first one or two unlockable videos - showing off amazing shots played under the toughest tournament conditions by professional snooker players - are awe-inspiring. But having the player unlock new locations, for instance, is a dull idea. A random snooker hall pops up and it's: "You have unlocked Brighton!" That's not just tiresome; it implies that someone's untied my boss. Meanwhile, the trick-shot mode can't compete with TV or real life, and, actually, it can't really compete with itself either. The tricks are nice ideas, but the game happily shows them to you before you've had a go. From thereon the only challenge is judging the precise pixel to aim at, and then doing it again and again until it works. Of course it was fun when John Virgo got Joe Public to do it on Big Break; Joe Public wasn't doing it with John Virgo's hands.

Moreover, can I be bothered to do the washing up? Is my deadline today or tomorrow? Have I paid my council tax this month? More importantly, how long can I balance a cushion over my head on the base of my left foot, and can I pass it from foot to foot without dropping it? Is it Thursday or Friday? Why don't my socks match? Why does it matter if socks match anyway? What was that girl's name - the one I met in Bath? Gah.

If there's something I love about World Snooker Challenge, it's that it's given me the gift of time. Time! Time to think of jokes and people I haven't seen for a while; time to remember chores and think of a suitable time to complete them; time to time the time so I can put numbers in my review. Between making me wait for the game screen to load, making me wait for my opponent to finish his break (waiting, each time, for the computer to generate a suitable outcome), waiting for my opponent's replays to finish, waiting for the referee to replace the cue ball, waiting for my own shots to play out, waiting for the menus to load, and waiting for the game to notice I've finished, I've got more time than I know what to do with, and for me that's very rare. Clearly, for me, WSC is A Good Thing.

'World Snooker Challenge 2005' Screenshot rest

Have a rest. There'll be lots of that.

Ah, but, you're not after the gift of time; you're after a way to fill time. Playing WCS involves lots of sitting around waiting for things to happen, and, while that's wonderful for me, it doesn't really get you anywhere, and it's your needs I'm being paid to consider.

World Snooker Challenge 2005 is about waiting and watching more than it is about playing snooker or thinking about how to play snooker. I spent more time thinking outside the game than I did actually playing it, and when I was playing I was torn between being very bad and occasionally fluking something, and pretending to be very good and then falling foul of some imperceptible flaw. You can't say too many nasty things about the game's understanding of physics and ball behaviour, nor the skill of the professional players, which is keenly judged, but since I can't say I had too much fun playing it I can hardly speak favourably of the experience on the whole. Your time seems split between feeling hacked off and waiting around for ages - and that time won't feel like much of a gift if it cost £34.99 to begin with.

6 / 10

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Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (26) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Benno #1 7 years ago

    shabba

  • Benno #2 7 years ago

    i wonder if the pool mode would be good because pool is win and snooker is draw

  • renzo #3 7 years ago

    I'd like to see a TOCA RD2 review please. And maybe a Colin McRae one as well if that's not too much trouble.

  • krudster #4 7 years ago

    Colin Mcrae - we're supposedly getting it today. Will probably do a WRC v Colin face off. TOCA I'll do at some stage, although there are a lot of other games ahead in the queue right at this precise moment!
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/05 @ 09:11

  • matrim83 #5 7 years ago

    Oh hey another PSP game reviewed. You guys do remember that there are other platforms for gaming too right. Or is this a PSP reviews only site.

    Jeez how about Dungeon Seige 2 or any other games FFS.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/05 @ 09:14

  • krudster #6 7 years ago

    Dungeon Siege 2 will be with us today for outputting on monday. You do realise 24 PSP games were released for launch, right?

  • matrim83 #7 7 years ago

    Well just irked that nothing else got reviewed in a while. At least nothing decent on any other platform.

  • Genji #8 7 years ago

    Again with the waiting! I hope developers have the sense to reduce it in future PSP games.

  • Furbs #9 7 years ago

    If you want a "mini" review of TOCA, heres mine :)
    If you like the console versions, you'll like this. Its exactly the same, graphically very nice, handling is identical (it does take time to get used to it on the nubbin though), and although some people have reports a few frame rate issues, myself and a few others havent had any probs.

    Not as good as RR, or possibly even Burnout, but if you fancy something a bit more indepth then it'll do you fine.

    matrim, to be fair, theres not been alot out lately has there? I wouldnt say they've missed any high profile games (DS2 is about the only reasonably big title to come out in ages!)
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/05 @ 09:23

  • Furbs #10 7 years ago

    Dont know! :) I usually prefer the Burnout games (never been a big RR fan tbh) though, but with either game I think you'll be happy.

  • Dr_Actually #11 7 years ago

    "Not as good as RR, or possibly even Burnout, but if you fancy something a bit more indepth then it'll do you fine.
    "

    Completely, utterly different games

  • Furbs #12 7 years ago

    Yeah, thats why I said "if you fancy something with a bit more depth". Ultimately they are both racing games so some degree of comparison is valid. Or are you someone who says Forza and GT cant be compared against each other?

  • Zomoniac #13 7 years ago

    How come in the 'it's too hard' section there was no mention of just how good the computer is? My first ever game, I put it on the easiest difficulty against the easiest character for a one frame friendly. He got a break of 108. My record break is about 25. My record againt me is about 140.

  • TheDifficult3rdAlbum #14 7 years ago

    >"Have I paid my council tax this month?"

    Woops!

    /Gets on the phone to pay it before some SWAT team come crashing through the windows

  • motslaps #15 7 years ago

    only review of Colin I can find so far...

    Clicky
    Edited by 3 at 09/09/05 @ 10:11

  • symmetry #16 7 years ago

    That last link has now borked the comments section for me :/

  • Ceatlan #17 7 years ago

    And your comment has fixed them for me.

  • gaijin #18 7 years ago


    "get Advacne Wars DS"

    who says gaming isn't for spotty teenagers?

    /lunges for clearasil

  • Zuiyo #19 7 years ago

    If it was pool as in with babes in bikini, I would consider.

  • #20 7 years ago

    Mapsters review of TOCA for PSP after 3 mins play in GAME:

    Exactly the same as the XBOX version but with a shoddy framerate. Now, go and review some games that aren't remakes! ;)

  • tomato #21 7 years ago

    There is a review for TOCA here: http://www.pro-g.c o.uk/review/121/

    There's also a far more positive Snooker 2005 PSP review: http://www.pro-g.c o.uk/review/236/

  • splash #22 7 years ago

    I think that the World Snooker 2005 psp review was harsh and unfair and it was based on the writers ability to play the game. The game is the same as any other game in that practice makes you a better player. I have had the game 1 week now and have won 4 tournaments and got a highest break of 85. Learn how to play the game and it is easy.
    The other thing I want to pick up on is where the review said the game is alot of waiting around - well yes it is if you have the wrong settings. If you keep the default settings then there are alot of character animations and you have to go through watching every shot of your opponent - yes that is tiring, but you can turn them all off. Turn off the animations and turn of the CPU shots and the game becomes much quicker.
    World Snooker is a good game for the PSP and just requires a little patience to get used to the controls and the aiming aid. If you are a fan of snooker games then this is a must-buy IMO.

  • dynarama #23 7 years ago

    I've had this a week and I'm loving it. As the previous poster says, turn off the animations and the wait is hardly noticeable (apart from the first shot after reloading).

    Having the game save after each shot is a godsend and overall I find the game really relaxing.

    All I would say is that it's very very similar to the other console versions so if you like them you'll like this. Not found anyone else online yet but if that side of it works as it should then I'll be very happy.


    + The AI skip feature is still in, so you don't have to sit through any of the opponents shots. This is definitely worth a look at £20 but what would I know.
    Edited by 1 at 09/09/05 @ 14:24

  • Feanor #24 7 years ago

    If people want Eurogamer to review every bloody game that comes out the week of its release then give them a million bucks so they can hire 20 more staff!

  • krudster #25 7 years ago

    Hey, more than that!

  • Furbs #26 7 years ago

    I remember when the staff had to buy the games they wanted to review. I would imagine this isnt the case anymore? :)

  • Hicksy #27 7 years ago

    Went to get this at woolies for £20 and it's gone back up to £30 : (

    Boooooooooooo! Was a sale at £20, will wait it out for a price reduction now : (