Q-Ball Billiards Master does all the right things in the right places. Since pool isn't exactly the most dynamic game on the planet, detail and visual pretties went into the surroundings. Playing in the different pool halls is a nice touch, and even though the pool cue moves in a disembodied way, you see a little anime-style picture of your opponent's face when it's his or her turn. The music is really cool, and ends up being a great soundtrack. Everything from passable jazz and Sade inspired grooves to guitar-rock made the cut for music, so everyone will be happy. The sounds of the table are realistically done, including that distinctive 'crack' on the break.

An interesting aspect of the graphics is that multiple camera angles can be chosen to watch from after the ball is shot. These include one mode called 'Old Days' that looks like a stuttering camera from a silent movie, rolling frame by visible frame after your shot. In some modes, you can watch an instant replay to see how you hit the ball right or wrong, and there's just a great level of customization possible in how the game is viewed. All the menus are excellent looking, with a distinctive lounge look.

Anybody who knows pool knows there are a million different ways to play good old 8-ball, with official, non-official, international and bar rules. Much like Solitaire, there are also tons of variation games, some better known than others. Q-Ball has the 3 main games: Eight Ball, Nine Ball and Rotation. 8- and 9-Ball each have variation games in Vs. Mode, a total of 5 default game modes. 3 additional games can be unlocked by winning in Vs. Mode, and are played as 2-Player, but not against a computer opponent. They are Carrot, Bowlliards and Random Six. Bowlliards is the only 'real-life' game I've come across outside 8- or 9-Ball, and plays like frames of bowling, but with billiard shots. Interesting... All of these games come under Vs. Mode, which is probably the deepest in Q-Ball for sheer variety. Playing against AI opponents, you choose which of the default games to enter, and then play for winner. If you manage to beat one of the computer players through all 5 default games, you can win a custom cue for play elsewhere. Most cues in the game respond somewhat differently and are weighted toward a certain style of play. Winning against AI opens up options like new games and extended choice of rules and settings. Each opponent has a particular style of play, requiring that you modify your approach accordingly. With 10 computer opponents in all, Vs. Mode will give most folks plenty of play-time.

Outside Vs., Q-Ball has the expected Free Play Mode. This is just you, the night and the felt, playing the game of choice all by your lonesome. Somewhere between Vs. and Free Play is Frozen Game. This ends up being more of a puzzle mode than anything else. In several obstacle courses, balls are set on the table and it's up to you to follow a set of instructions like pocketing a ball and then getting as close as possible to a second ball. You're then rated on how well you performed, and points are tallied at the end for your final score. Frozen Game Mode is all about precision, and it's fun if approached with the right preparation and mindset. See, Q-Ball has a killer training mode, Billiard Lessons. Taught by a pro player, Yoshikazu Kimura, these lessons are actually some of the most challenging parts of the game. Everything from straight shots and power to curving, english and mass are addressed here, and you can't move on until each lesson is complete. A full Glossary of terms is available if things like mass are a mystery to you at first. By the end of all 10 lessons, you'll be jawing at the pool-hall with the best of them, a regular shark.

Q-Ball has a high enough level of customization to accommodate almost any level player. As someone who plays pool in real life almost every day, I found the physics reassuringly lifelike, but there's a period of adjustment in how shots are presented visually. Simulation level can be adjusted, and trajectory lines can be turned on and even modified to show more or less where your shot will go. Anyone who plays or has an interest in pool knows it's a deceptively simple game, and Q-Ball is true to the essence of the game. My only beef in how the interface works is that strange Power Gauge. Most video games that involve clubs or sticks (golf, baseball, etc.) have a form of readout to tell you how hard you'll be hitting the ball. Q-Ball went with a rotary meter that doesn't give you many waypoints to judge future shots on. It's easy to say that the shot you're about to take will be too hard, but adjusting for low-power shots is made more difficult by lack of marking on the meter.

Pool in real life is simple to control. You hold the cue stable, line up a spot on the cue-ball that will send it into a target ball, and hope the object ball lands in a pocket. Sure, the angles and power of your shot become maddeningly complex, but how good is the actual shooting control in Q-Ball? I think Take 2 did as well as possible, with the exception of the Power Gauge gripe mentioned above. Analog control handles the shot setup, and a button push does the rest. Moving the cue's position is analog, and you can open a menu to select where you actually choose to hit the cue-ball. Also, you can adjust the angle of the stick before the shot. Once you're satisfied with all this, pulling back on the other stick starts the windup for a shot. It's not possible to adjust your cue at this point, so everything you change will affect power only. You hit the cue-ball, and then watch the shot. In Free Play you can go to camera for a replay and retake a shot, which is nice training, but Vs. Mode just moves right along.

Helper options include a sight line and 'ghost ball' option that can be turned off and modified. Only the sight line feature has multiple options, letting you see not only where the cue-ball is going to hit, but where it will roll after the hit. At first, entry-level players may want full help options enabled, but I found they got in the way after a while. The 'ghost ball' feature shows a translucent image of where you'd hit the object ball into a pocket if you had a straight shot. From a more removed angle, you can use the ghost image as a way to judge where you need to aim so as to strike the object ball and put it on course for the pocket. Otherwise, the best helper feature available in Q-Ball is the extensive Billiards Lesson Mode. Use it.

Having seen the interface for Real Pool, PS2's other pool game, I suspect both are fairly well matched. Q-Ball may have the edge on options, but both seem very pretty and realistic. Q-Ball suffers somewhat from that awkward 'power' readout, but not so much that you feel cheated. I loved the involved Billiards Lesson Mode, and Vs. Mode really has nice depth and replay value. For someone who wants to learn more about the game and practice some theory before hitting the pool hall, I couldn't recommend Q-Ball highly enough. There's no real substitute for grabbing a cue in your hand and playing on a real table, but if your pool halls are like those in my town, at least you won't get physically beaten playing Q-Ball at home.