GAME
Like a stone-sober afternoon of pool with your grandpa, the PC games in the Virtual Pool series by Celeris used to be perfectly competent, if a little dry. But now that the company has added an appealing billiards shark to the party, it's time to loosen your tie. Jeanette Lee, the Black Widow, stars in Virtual Pool 3 as an in-game star and tutor. A Women's Professional Billiard Association champion, Lee is perhaps the most recognizable pool-shooter on the planet.
Celeris used to code serious apps like submarine-tracking software for the military, and its Newtonian know-how certainly has gone into the onscreen action: bank, kiss, and jump shots; top-spin, cue-kill English; and other subtle passages in the kinetic billiards symphony. Celeris says it'll improve your real-world pool game or they'll give you your money back.
VP3 turns up the heat with a new rise-through-the-ranks game in which players start as street-level sharks, then move on to be amateurs and pros. Along the way, they gain fame and fortune, as well as custom cues from pool-hall casualties.
Throughout the game, Lee gives video tutorials addressing specific types of workaday shots and situations, including zone defense, escape shots, and useful basics on spin, speed, and control. You may have to view Virtual Pool 3 several times to make sense of it all, but that isn't a problem - it's fun to watch a sexy pro look so great in green. The ultimate goal is to challenge the Black Widow herself to a one-on-one showdown. This CD-ROM has something for old-school hustlers and wide-eyed beginners alike.
Virtual Pool 3 Featuring Jeanette Lee : $29.99. Celeris: www.celeris.com. Distributed by Interplay Entertainment: www.interplay.com.
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