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A deathly silence descended on the audience as the long haired one approached the table. Only the black remained, if he could just manage to sink this one he'll become the SU Towers champion receive a 50p luncheon voucher as reward. He winds up hit cue arm and lets rip. Oh no, he's spooned it off the table and into someone's lap!

Think you can do better? Go for it. 3D Snooker is a simulation of this famous sport, well known for its balls, pockets and dickie bows. It looks extremely similar to 3D Pool which appeared a couple months ago but is hardly surprising considering they're both by Zeppelin Games and they're both green baize table based games. The similarity is no accident - 3D Pool was a stonkingly good game.

To be honest the only real differences I see between pool and snooker are that pool is faster to play and far more simple. But then snooker with its strategy elements can be a far more involving game and, in the long run, more fun to play.

Like 3D Pool, one of the most obvious plus points of 3D Snooker is its colourful and easy to follow combination of two different camera angles, one overhead and one 3D, making shots easy to aim and beautiful to look at. But there are plenty of other features to enjoy too including two player modes, slow action replays and full tournaments.

The obvious first choice is a standard one player game, which can be tricky - the computer is no slouch, but far more possibilities can be entered into in the form of two player games and 8 player tournaments. Two player games can become surprisingly competitive and very intense, as you and some pals battle it out for the title of King Of The Cues. Play is fast and accurate so there shouldn't be too much argument about spawny shots.

Graphically 3D Snooker is very simple but then that makes sense. No memory has been wasted on commentators and crowd scenes. What is there ie. the table and balls are really colourful and nicely done. Animation is good too and the balls fly around the table quickly and smooth as you like. There's no real sound other than the odd chink of balls here and there, but then that's all that's needed.

Playability wise this game is great. Ball control is really well weighted and the computer can be a pretty challenging opponent provided you put it on a respectable difficulty level. Combine this with two player and tournament options and you have a winner.

There have been plenty of pool and snooker sims over the years and I'm glad to say that this one joins the ranks of the genre's immortals.

Label: Zeppelin Games Memory: 48K/128K Price: £3.99 Tape Reviewer: Steve Keen

I'm a great fan of snooker games and over the years I've seen some very good ones - and some very bad ones. Most of the bad points involve bad ball control, limited gameplay and lack of challenge. Gladly though 3D snooker has none of these. It's enjoyable, challenging, lasting and good fun.