Does Your Adrenaline Rush When You Play Pool?

I had the opportunity to play Adrenaline Pool 2 ($2.99, iTunes link) by Eurocenter and enjoyed it — it’s a solid pool game.

The best part, though, is the multiplayer option where you can play pool against other users on the server. You can prefer to play against boys or girls (your gender is asked in your profile in the game options) or to play with friends. You can work with people who have experience (similar game score) and even with those who reside in your country. Of course, I had difficulty actually getting people to stay online to play with me, but at one point, I succeeded:

(Of course, Luv becky left right after I told her how excited I was.)

The Pros: It’s just like playing pool. Playing against online folks is a plus, and chat is awesome. Did I mention that there’s actually in-game voice chat? Well, there is. So awesome. (Keep in mind that if you have the iPod touch 2G, you need an external microphone to start conversing with your opponent.)
The Cons: I’m not sure how intuitive it is when you click on “Play vs. Computer” and the first item on the following menu is “Player vs. Player.” It’s not self explanatory at all — the Player is not a computer. If anything, “Player vs. Player” should be the last item on that secondary menu. Additionally, the controls are a little confusing. I didn’t really realize how to actually successfully repeatedly remove centering on the white ball. There’s no real instruction for how the game controls work, only how to play pool altogether. I think the game could be a little more professionally made, but otherwise, it’s not too shabby.

Worth the $2.99 price tag? Well, if you like playing pool against other people online, I saw no shortage of potential players, so you’re in for a good time. Of course, you can also play against a computer in three different levels in the absence of wifi or cell service. I’d still prefer a little more explanation on what to do and how, but if billiards is your thing, it’s a nice game to play.

Tamar Weinberg is a blogger and author of The New Community Rules (July 2009), a book on social media marketing and how to leverage existing communities for awareness and profit. She is also a new mom.