Into cue sports? Fancy a game of Snooker every now and then? I know I do. Since my early days out on my grandparents’ farm, I’ve always had a cue in my hand (they had an amazing 5×10 from the early 1900’s in their basement). These days I’m fortunate to have a full 6×12 at my disposal, and a good ‘ol Snooker match has been known to break out every now and then 🙂 So, if you’re like me, and you have an iPad handy, you’re probably going to want to check out ‘International Snooker HD’ for iPad. It’s awesome.
I’ve had International Snooker HD on my iPad for a few weeks now, and am still amazed at how awesome (and fun) the game is. There are multiple game modes, including single and two player modes… Plus, there’s a tournament mode that throws you into an 8 round tournament with some of the best Snooker players around (of course, REAL player names are not used, but you may recognize some of the names as ‘familiar’ 🙂 ).
The controls for this game are what have impressed me the most. You can adjust the power of your stroke via the slider at the bottom right of the screen. Adding ‘English’ to the shot is easy too. Just tap the cue ball at the top left corner in the desired location. To return back to neutral, or no english, simply double tap the cue ball. Aiming and viewing the table is where the controls get real neat. To aim, simply slide your finger left to right across the table. However, if you need a clearer view of the table you can swipe your finger up and down too. The cool thing about this is, if your finger is down near the bottom of the display, and you swipe left to right, the adjustment in your aim is very tiny. However, if you perform the same swipe at the top of the screen, you’ll notice your aim adjusts dramatically. So, for those finer adjustments in aim you’ll want to swipe at the bottom of the screen, but to look around the table or make big moves around the table, swipe at the top of the screen. Once you get the hang of it, it’s quite awesome.
Overall the graphics and sounds in the game are pleasing. Nothing to complain about here. The table is the standard 6×12, and the physics behind the game engine are spot-on. If you do decide to purchase this one, try loading up the cue ball with a lot of screw, boost the power to full speed and watch the action you get on the cue ball. It’s good stuff.
Like I said earlier, if you’re into cue sports, especially Snooker, this game is a must have. It’s great fun on the iPad, and the graphics, sound and controls are solid… Give it a spin or check it out via the link below for more information.
International Snooker HD ($4.99) [iTunes link]
