Tired of blasting zombies to bits, smacking people with big lumps of sharpened steel and zooming around on hoverboards? Perhaps you need something a little more civilised...
Andy Butcher

What with variety being the spice of life and all that, it's no bad thing that there are so many different types and styles of videogame. However, it has to be said that some seem to make slightly more sense than others, and some are just downright odd. Pinball games are one example of this latter category - no matter how well designed and silkily-programmed, they're never as much fun as the real thing - and so are snooker and pool sims like Jimmy White's 2: Cueball, for much the same reason.

To be fair, there can be no complaints about Cueball when it comes to comprehensiveness. Not only does the game allow you to play both snooker and pool against either a friend or a series of increasingly skilful (or jammy, depending on your point of view) computer opponents, but you can also choose to amuse yourself with a game of draughts, a round of darts, a spin on a slot machine and even a quick blast on an arcade machine. It's like having a fully equipped pub on a disc. Except there's no booze, of course.

Similarly, it's hard to fault the implementation of any of these varied gaming options. As you'd expect from Archer Maclean, a man who's spent a significant portion of his adult life designing and programming snooker and pool sims, both of these are handled with admirable attention to detail and a host of options. Although the control system (which is, thankfully, common to both types of game) can take some getting used to, it gives you command of everything from the power of the shot to the exact angle and striking point of the cue.