Cue-bowled over

It seems to happen once every few months, and it happens without hype or explanation, it just turns up and expects a home on BBC2 for a week or two. Like a senile Grandparent, snooker is rather strict and rigid, albeit in an auspicious manner. The "action" may be quite slow, and if we're honest perhaps a little boring, but it's still enjoyable in a passive kind of way. The thing is, a snooker game requires your full attention, and that's probably why they are only ever momentarily entertaining for most, unless you have a real knack for it. Trickshot games like Virtual Pool always tend to do well because they twist the formula and add something original and exciting to it, whereas straight snooker game has trouble remaining compelling. Actually I've always felt a really good snooker game would have to appeal to me on a Solitaire level. What I mean is it would have to be the sort of game you could play for five minutes, then minimize and return to during a spare moment ten minutes on. That's why those Lucasarts Desktop Adventures titles did so well, even if they were shockingly inane and repetitive. Although my prayers haven't been answered, Codemasters have pulled a very realistic and authentic snooker game out of their hat in the shape of World Championship Snooker, featuring pretty much everything you see on the BBC during those spartan moments of John Virgo televisual excitement. The eight exclusive shots were taken from a nearly-complete version of the game that should be out before the end of the year.