Previous Next

If Daley Thompson's Decathlon or Jonah Barrington's Squash sound a bit too energetic for you then perhaps Hustler is more your kind of armchair sport. The nearest you're likely to get to Dennis Taylor's snooker, Hustler is a pool-type game converted from the C64 on which it was immensely successful.

As conversions go it's hard to fault. The graphics and colour, as before are excellent and, as on the C64, six different game options are available. There are three games for one player and three in which two can participate. The degree of difficulty varies in the different games.

If you're playing on your tod you get the option to put any ball in any pocket, pocket the balls in order, or put each ball in a particular pocket. Two players get a slightly more interesting scenario. Each ball in its own pocket, mini pool - like the real thing, or a game where one player pots the balls in ascending order the other in descending order.

Cueing is executed by positioning a cross over the ball and hitting the fire button. You can apply side and screw by using the function keys.

Similar games had a spate of popularity in pubs about three years ago. Unfortunately, it only lasted about three weeks. I guess people decided they preferred The Real Thing (that's the one where you end up arguing about the rules). As that option doesn't usually exist in your living room I think Hustler will have a more lasting appeal.