It comes to something when even the stars of snooker acknowledge that it's a sport on the ropes, and that it needs to come up with something of real impact to drag itself out to the mire of public apathy it's found itself in.

Long gone are the days when we'd stay up to the early hours to watch Dennis Taylor beat Steve Davis, and also gone is the time when Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker would became a major gaming hit.

Which leaves us with WSC Real 09. We're not quite sure where the ‘Real' has come from, and we half-suspect that WSC (World Snooker Championship to a select few) has been abbreviated just in case someone may as a result confuse it for a rally game or something. It's a pity, though, because WSC 09 does a solid and professional job of recreating the game.

You start off by creating a profile and then you have a plethora of options. We chose to start a season, and you basically then have to qualify and play in a variety of tournaments. In between are some animated scenes of players getting ready to go and play, and suchlike, and the game tries hard to build up some atmosphere in the preamble. John Virgo and Steve Davis are on commentary duties and, conveniently, WSC Real 09 allows you to scale back games so you don't have to play 31-frame behemoths.

Once you get to the table itself (and there are tutorials you can play through to help you out), there's a short learning curve. In shot mode, for instance, you have controls to alter the power, the height of the cue, aim and spin. It's a bit fiddly, not least because the game has a habit of insisting you confirm some of your choices, but it's still fairly straightforward to get to grips with.

Furthermore, you can also choose to go into walk mode and take a stroll around the table. The trouble we found here was that the controls were too sensitive, and we ended up pegging it round the table in a manner more akin to an Olympic sprinter than a Ronnie O'Sullivan (who's one of the many professional players you'll find in the game).

But still, when we got past those niggles and learned to accept and deal with them, we found WSC Real 09 a perfectly satisfying title. And this isn't, it should be noted, simply a snooker simulation, as the game includes 8-ball pool as well.

It's hard to think what further options could have been included and you can't fault the effort that's clearly gone into doing a good job here. It's still not a vital game by any real measure, though, and it is one that you suspect will be hampered by the dwindling popularity of the game it's based upon. That's a pity, as WSC Real 09 does deserve better.

Verdict
A perfectly solid recreation of snooker and pool with some well-known players' names appearing throughout. Nothing more, nothing less.

Company: Blade

Tags: ronnie o'sullivan world snooker championship john virgo snooker dennis taylor steve davis game sport