Unfortunately, there are still very few games on the market that take advantage of the X50v’s graphical accelerator. Luckily,
a new game will be released soon, which will be able to make full use
of the X50v’s potential: Virtual Pool 3 for Dell x50v.
Many thanks to Celeris for the material they have provided.
Translation edited by Francesco_q (Translation Group)
Unfortunately, there are still very few games on the market that take advantage of the X50v’s graphical accelerator. Luckily,
a new game will be released soon, which will be able to make full use
of the X50v’s potential: Virtual Pool 3 per Dell x50v...
We have
already reviewed the standard version of the software in the past
(non-vga). This current version however, is clearly ONLY playable on
the X50v, because of the technology it uses.
The game is a pool simulator, with excellent graphics, developed by Celeris.software house
When we start the game, we will be asked to insert the registration code, and as soon as we do, the initial window will appear.
We notice straight away from the resolution, that the game was design for a VGA PPC. Let’s have a look at the SETTINGS menu.
The
volume option allows us to trim the volume of the sound effects, while
the background music option lets us enable or disable the background
music
The “room graphics” is useful to enable or disable the
graphic details of the particular room where the game will be played,
and finally, “User and adversary view” lets us set the default viewing
angle of our game.
The “about” menu tells us a little bit about the game developer and various information about the game.
Finally, from the “HELP” menu we can obtain rules and instructions on how to play the game.
There are two game modes: “Quick Play” and “Career”. We will start with a quick play. From
the menu we can chose who to play against, (yourself or another
physical person, or the computer) the game mode (6 balls, 9 balls
etc.), the venue of the game, and the difficulty of the game.
Not every venue is available at the beginning, as they need to be UNLOCKED. This makes the game more exciting.
Once we’re done with all our settings, the game starts, and we can immediately notice how superb the graphics are.
The game is also very smooth thanks to the Intel accelerator. We can change the view however we like, move around the room and get nearer or closer to the table.
The following image lets us fully appreciate the graphics of the game
The commands are assigned entirely to the Stylus. As a matter of fact, we can use our stylus just as if it was the pool club. We can also select a particular angle or inclination of the club, so as to apply a particular spin and direction to the ball. Finally, to shoot, all we need to do is pull back the club to select the speed, and then quickly push the stylus in.
As
we’ve seen in the previous screenshot the quick game mode allows us to
see the ball trajectory before we actually take the shot. This
obviously doesn’t happen in the Career mode. As the ball moves on the table we hear the effects, which loyally reproduce the sound of the balls hitting each other.
Let’s now examine the second game mode: Career. Once selected the mode, we are required to enter a player’s name.
Just like before, we can chose the difficulty and a game mode.
Once everything is setup, a short film of “the Boss” will play to explain the rules and how everything is going to work.
After the short film, another short movie will show us a summary of the different venues:
We
can now chose who we want to play against. Every opponent has its own
bet and cost and therefore, given the lack of money at the beginning of
the game, we can only play against one opponent.
Once a game is over, a window shows us the results, and whether we’ve won or lost.
Conclusion:
The
conclusion has got to be positive. The graphics are spectacular, the
game is very smooth, and we can finally fully appreciate the
capabilities of our X50v.
Finally there are lots of games to be played before the game is over, so this must be appreciated.
Read also Copper Flight another game from the amazing graphics.
Pros: - Spectacular graphics
- Smooth - Lots of levels
Cons: - None
The version we have reviewed is a Beta release, and we do not yet have a confirmed date for the finished version to come out.
The game will be distributed by clickgamer, when it will be available.
Many thanks to Celeris for the material they have provided.
