Joystiq review: Bankshot Billiards 2 demo
by Christopher Grant 
{ Nov 19th 2005 at 2:45PM }
Don't like the smokey, dirty feel of a pool hall? Intimidated by the leatherclad gentlemen eying you sideways everytime you scratch and shout, "Oh fudge!"? So are we and luckily there's a game for us. Bankshot Billiards 2 is one of the Xbox 360 Live Arcade launch titles we downloaded demos for last night. This is just a review of the demo and not the full version, which you can purchase for $15 (1200 points that is).
What do we want out of these demos? Were looking to be hooked on
a simple and addictive arcade-style experience. Bankshot Billiards 2 is unfortunately not that experience.
Like the rest of the demos, Live multiplayer is not an option so we are limited to single-player games or local
multiplayer. Since a pool demo cant be level-locked, they impose time limits. Short time limits. You only have 1:30
minutes during your turns to win! At least for our skill level, we could barely get more than a couple balls in
(usually by accident).
You have a choice of singleplayer games like 8-ball, 9-ball, Cutthroat, Euro 8-ball, 14.1 continuous, 3-ball, Trick
Shots, Time Trial, and Golf. The last three have only have one premade shot available while the first five and local
multiplayer are little fun with the time limitation. This leaves us with 3-ball. Simple yet hard as hell 3-ball. Your
goal: sink 3 balls as quickly as possible. This should be easy, even under a minute and a half, but its consistenly
difficult. Each win brings renewed determination, but 3-balls a cruel bitch-goddess, taunting us with her charms but
remaining out of reach.
While the game is technically competent with simple controls and clean, detailed graphics, we had trouble getting into it. For free you could do worse than the simple pleasures of 3-ball, but at $15 it is at the upper price range of Live Arcade titles. We wish the developers allowed us to play full games by determining some other method of limiting play (20 plays, then an imposed time limit?). If you chose to actually buy it, you would find a plethora of options and what we imagine would be the deal-clencher: Live support. In the meantime, its back to the pool hall for us.
Overall Score: 7.5/10
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
swoosh bnd @ Dec 18th 2005 9:13PM
I hate those demos that give you time limits, the best demo ever was Marble Blast on Xbox Live arcade, they let you play a limited # of levels but you could play those as much as you wanted.
Giddieon @ Dec 18th 2005 9:13PM
Oh Jesus Christ how the hell can you review a game off its Demo... What numb shit thought this was a good idea...
Paranoised @ Dec 18th 2005 9:13PM
How about spending 15 bucks and reviewing the game properly?
YellerBananer @ Dec 18th 2005 9:13PM
I've played it, sounds like you don't know what you're doing. 3ball can be finished easily in 1min 30, maybe you should try upping your aiming aids inthe options. Like others said, review the full game not a demo.
I have the full and there is no timelimit in any mode.... The point is to get you to buy it, or maybe you think it should all be free!!! ya sounds great.
Hushed Casket @ Dec 18th 2005 9:13PM
This game deserves at least an 8.0/10. Joystiq is reviewing these games without playing the full version. They are not accessing features that can add (or take away) value to the game. I don't think that's fair to us or the game developer.
Joystiq's review is nearly accurate, IMO. However, they are estimating how the rest of the built-in features play-out without playing them. That's judging a book by it's cover (or first few chapters).
Carry on...