Cue Club
| Cue Club | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Bulldog Interactive |
| Engine | DirectX |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) | 10 November 2000 |
| Genre(s) | Sports simulation |
Cue Club is a sports simulation video game developed by British Games developer Bulldog Interactive and released for Microsoft Windows on 10 November 2000. It is a realistic interpretation of pool and snooker. The game was initially published by Midas Interactive and later by GSP (now known as Avanquest), but since 2012 it has been distributed exclusively by Bulldog through the official Cue Club website.
Gameplay
Cue Club uses a fixed, overhead view of the table, and control is via mouse input.
The game features a tournament mode, practice mode, quick game, two-player head-to-head, and a bonus 'slam' mode where the balls can be hurled around with the mouse. Different rules are available including eight-ball, nine-ball, speed pool, killer (pool) and snooker, with the ability to customize the rules for eight-ball to replicate the many variants of the game. A large selection of table designs, ball sets and cues are provided, with settings for fast and slow cloth speeds, and different cueing methods.
The game also features a series of themed 'Virtual Chat Rooms' that mimic real internet chat rooms, which the player is free to explore, subject to certain conditions. For example, access may be restricted due to the chat room being too busy, or male players may be turned away if it is already occupied by too many men.
Once inside, players interact by sending chat messages though a dialogue box and requesting games. Often the conversation offered up by the computer players contains banter and joking, which the developers intended as a way of adding a sense of humor to the game. If a match is agreed the challengers go off to play. In the result of a win the player is rewarded with an increase in his or her reputation, allowing them to play harder opponents and progress through the game. A loss usually involves a reduction in reputation, making it harder to strike up matches in the future, forcing the player to start again by challenging lower-ranked opponents. When the player attains a maximum 5-star reputation, the 'boss' of the chat room will usually agree to a match. By defeating the boss, the player's membership to that room is upgraded from standard to silver, entitling them to certain privileges.
In tournament mode players compete for the eight trophies on offer (one for each chat room). When all eight trophies have been won the player then competes for the ultimate prize of the Grand Cue Club Trophy, which is the hardest tournament and features all of the bosses.
After all the boss characters have been defeated and the Cue Club Tournament has been won, the game is officially completed and an end-game sequence is played. As a further bonus, the player is awarded a 'gold-card' membership to the chat rooms, which guarantees access and preserves the player's 5-star reputation.
Critical Response
Reviews by the gaming press were favorable. Despite embracing a simple top-down view of the table, reviewers often cited the game's accurate physics engine, realistic graphics and high degree of playability as its key strengths.[1][2][3]
Supported Languages
Cue Club is localized into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese and Polish.
Cue Club 2
On 4 July 2014 Bulldog Interactive released a sequel to the game entitled Cue Club 2.