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As the title suggests, 3D Pool is a pool game played in 3D. Not the usual above-the-table stuff here - with Firebird's newest title you can view the table from any angle, which makes it the most realistic pool game yet released on home computers.

Options on the title screen let you choose joystick or keyboard options, and either one or two-player mode. In one-player, you take on five opponents of varying skill, ranging from very good to almost professional; the top level apparently being a binary version of European pool champion, 'Maltese Joe' Barbara.

Once you've chosen your options, the game proper begins. The player is asked to place the white ball and cue off. The strength of the shot and the angle of the cue can be changed before the ball is hit - aiming is simply a case of adjusting the angle of the table to suit the requirements of your shot, just like you'd walk around a real table to line up a shot!

The rules of pool are strictly adhered to, so it's just a case of potting your balls and sinking the black before your opponent does.

The computer players, as I've already said, are pretty competent but one annoying point about the C64 version is their thinking time. Just after a break, and when there are still plenty of balls on the table, the computer takes ages to think about and line up its shot, which I found frustrating, especially as I wanted to get on with the game. If you lack patience, you might find this aggravating - even though the player does speed up as the balls are potted.

The graphics are plain and simple, but are perfectly suited to the game, and there's no confusion as to where the balls are - it's almost as if you were looking at a real table! The 3D movement is also swift, and living up for a shot is very straightforward and painless.

3D Pool is innovative, unusual and very, very playable. If you don't mind the waits between goes (you could always play it with another human player), it's a definite 'must buy'.

The C64 has a bonus freebie game in the form of the old BBC classic, Zalaga, which itself is a version of the old arcade game Galaga. It's a brilliant little shoot-'em-up, and would have made an excellent budget title - as a freebie, it's superb!