There's a certain class of sports game that when converted to a videogame makes some people wonder why - why go through all the trouble of converting and coding it to a virtual electronic format when it is often easier and more enjoyable to play in real life? Why bother when half the fun comes from the social setting, the taking part and hanging out with friends, as well as the actual playing of the game itself more often than the act of winning? Darts can be considered one of these, as it is relatively simple to play in real life and hurling the dart towards the board and hearing the thud as it embeds itself provides a level of satisfaction that is difficult to reproduce in videogame form. Pool is another - the thwacking of the cue against the cue ball, watching it ricochet off other balls, sending them hurtling around the table - even if you're no good it's still fun!

So with this in mind, what can developers Frontline Studios bring to the digital recreation of pool that makes it more worthwhile to play than its real life counterpart? Well, for a start there is no need for a cue, balls, a table or even friends to play against (although if you are lacking friends you still might want to address this, especially with the wireless multiplayer option). The biggest advantage though is that unlike real pool, your DS can obviously be taken anywhere with you and played on the go, providing much needed relief for those insatiable pool urges. The DS's touch-screen interface also offers possibilities that other systems cannot provide - but is Actua Pool up to scratch? Have Frontline delivered a top-notch simulation or have they simply snookered themselves?

As with most things, first impressions count and so it is unfortunate that the player is initially greeted with a short and uninspiring 3D intro that sets the tone for the rest of game and its level of presentation - or rather the lack of it. Still, this is pool and a capable and enjoyable digital conversion is all that is required to keep most gamers happy. As you will probably expect, the game revolves around several tournaments played in different bar and pub type locations. Each location has an entry fee, a monetary prize amount for winning and also an opening time, although, the latter detail seems to make no difference in the slightest and is a small example of the presentation problems evident in Actua Pool.

Each tournament is a rather limited one frame knockout affair, meaning that you have to beat your opponent in one frame of pool before moving on to the next round and repeating the process until you reach the final. Win that and you win the tournament. Different tournaments have a different number of contestants and thus a different number of rounds, although with a maximum of sixteen opponents in the final tournament this still only requires four rounds to reach the final and consequently four frames of pool are all that is required to win the final challenge.

Initially you can choose to play as any one of the sixteen characters on offer, although there is seemingly no advantage or disadvantage depending upon who you pick. You can also replace the default name provided and so having to select a pre-existing character seems superfluous to requirements. Perhaps greater things were planned, such as unlockable characters and different skill levels, but if so these were cut from the end product. Even when playing against your CPU opponents there is no discernible difference in their playing styles or AI - other than being told prior to each round who you are playing against, to all intents and purposes you could be playing the same opponent time and time again. This is all the more evident when you witness the CPU players attempting crazy shots - that's crazy as in "what was he thinking?" and not as in an outrageous attempt at showboating. The AI seems to be quite partial to potting the black, missing balls completely and on occasion even potting the cue ball directly into the pocket! AI opponents even go for a wild, off the cushion shot when a straightforward pot seems the more logical choice.

Actua Pool is graphically basic and you can't help but think that more could have been achieved, even with the DS's modest hardware. Of the two screens, the lower display is used for a top down view of the table and also to set up your shot, whilst the top screen provides a true 3D display and allows for adjustable camera angles. These angles are fixed however, so instead of being able to position the camera wherever you might like in order to get the best view, you are limited to over the pocket cameras or a view from the cue ball and these are often not the best angles for which to line up your shot. Another presentation faux pas is that in some locations the actual colour and patterns for the table felt do not match up between upper and lower screens - not to mention that when using a low camera angle (such as the view from the cue ball) the pockets become see-through! The physics model is acceptable but not without its glitches - at times, the balls seem to stop too abruptly, whilst at others they glide around the table for an age. The collision detection also seems to have problems, with balls coming to rest slightly overlapping one another.

Set up options available from the touch screen include adjusting the height of the cue, the spin applied to the cue ball, the power of the shot and also the option to chalk your cue. It has to be said though that the height of the cue and the effect of chalking it appear to be negligible at best. Nowhere is it mentioned what chalking actually does and nowhere are you told if your cue even needs chalking. The fact that you can also only chalk your cue a certain number of times in the round is also questionable - this was presumably done to add a strategic element to proceedings, but it is rendered pointless by the fact that there is no indicator of its cause and effect. And as an accurate simulation of real-life pool, has anyone ever run out of chalk?! If this is supposed to be an accurate representation then why add nonsensical strategic elements?

Even though the touch screen has been utilised, everything is also controllable using the buttons and d-pad. The only exception to this is for positioning where you want to hit the cue ball, which requires more precise positioning with the stylus, thus determining the spin applied to your shot. However, other than this (which for most shots is not needed) the game is easier and quicker to control without using the touch screen at all and so one of the DS's unique selling points is rendered virtually moot.

Perhaps the most useful feature in the game is the hint ability, which simply highlights all the balls that you can hit without causing a foul. But why not extend this capability even further by - for example - dynamically showing you which direction the balls will go when you hit them? Or provide tips and advice on how to pocket a desired ball? After all, in the real world it is easy to learn and judge how much power to apply to the shot or to guess where the balls will move, but in videogame form there is less tactile feedback and so this aspect is often harder.

With presentation that's lacking flair, no tournament options, sub-standard opponent AI, no rule variations other than 8 or 9 ball pool and limited stimuli to continue playing, Frontline Studios appear to have just gone through the motions with Actua Pool. If you're desperate for a pool game and want to play on the move then you might find some enjoyment here, but otherwise it's an average and uninspiring simulation at best and one that can be chalked off the list for all but the most dedicated. The simple fact is that Actua Pool unfortunately doesn't bring anything new to the table.

Reviewed by Dominick Hardy for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).