One of the main things to note about this game is the massive amount of content. Each game mode is filled with a whole lot of stuff to do, and gamers will appreciate all of the hard work that the developers placed here.
The meat and potatoes of this version is definitely the online stuff, which is actually very good. You have friendlies, leagues and pool halls or you can play for cash if you want, and all of your hard earned results are placed in the leaderboard. The best way to fully enjoy Pool Nation FX is to check out the pool halls, as these are filled with people most of the time, and you can actually spectate some games to learn new mechanics and other cool tricks.
An important thing to note is that the full game costs around $12.99 or the regional equivalent, but you can play the game for free if you want, albeit you will be very limited right off the bat. In fact, they allow you to play only 8-ball pool halls. You also have the ability to play a bonus match each day, something that is very fun and exciting, as it does offer the ability to gain real money. Of course it will take a little bit in order to get the hang of it all, but the experience is really cool and it does deliver a lot of spectacle, which people do want with such a title. I found the practice mode to be very useful since its completely customizable.
The gameplay itself is similar to Pool Nation, but I felt that the camera was changed in a bad way. Sure you can zoom in or out a lot better and faster, but the issue is that you can do all of that as you play and it can be a little uncomfortable. Aside from that, the overall guidance you want to have as a beginner online is slim to non-existent so you can play the game for free, but you do need to pay in order to get access to the offline unlock.
Most of the time the people I played with online were respectful and didn't exit the game, but you do encounter some of them, from time to time, that just hate to lose. This is where the game shines, because the player that stays online and plays will always be protected, and I think that many more games should learn from this.
I have to note the fact that they have a versus mode and an endurance mode, not to mention that you can play artistic pool as well. For me, the cherry on the top is the inclusion of snooker and the offline/career mode which is amazing! You are free to choose the court, balls and all the other stuff can be customized as well, so there’s no real limit in regards to how much you can modify here, that’s how amazing and fun the entire experience really is.
I never got bored while playing Pool Nation FX, because you can always find new people to play with and the fact that you don’t have to spend that much in the first place is quite extraordinary. Sure, there are some hiccups here and there when it comes to the higher system requirements when compared to the original, a few bugs and the fact that some people quite mid-game, but let’s face it, Pool Nation FX delivers a ton of content for what you pay, and the fact that you can try it out for free before purchasing the online and offline unlocks is a good trial!
In the end I appreciated the game overall and the pricing model is just and fair towards the user. The game evolves all the time with new content being added often, and it’s a stellar investment for all pool lovers. I recommend it to all serious players that want a solid, one of a kind pool experience!
Reviewed for PC