World Champ Snooker 2004 goes online on PS2, Xbox, PC

This year's World Championship Snooker title will be going online on PS2, Xbox and PC, publisher Codemasters announced today, and will also include a myriad other improvements and additions - like an updated trickshots section and a Classic Match mode.

Set to launch this summer on the back of the rather enjoyable WCS2003, World Championship Snooker 2004 is once again underway at developer Blade Interactive, and the most significant change is clearly the new online head-to-head options on all three formats.

We also like the sound of the Classic Match mode though, which promises to revisit historic encounters, much like similar modes in other sports titles like FIFA Football. Also like FIFA [are you sure this is a sensible comparison? -Ed], there's all sorts of official bits and bobs flying around - 30 plus players including the likes of Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis, accurately modelled venues like the Crucible Theatre, and tournaments like The Masters, The LG Cup and so on.

We're also promised that the motion capturing has been expanded upon, so hopefully Blade has responded to criticism of last year's Thunderbirds approach by smoothing things over a bit. We still giggle when we see those screenshots. By the looks of the new shots though, change is definitely for the better.

What's more, John Virgo's trickshots section has been updated to include shots from both snooker and pool, and there will also be 8-ball and 9-ball modes much as there were in the 2003 version. Finally, we hear the AI has been refined. But then you probably guessed that bit...

Expect to hear more about World Championship Snooker 2004 this summer. (See, I didn't say "clack" once.)