To be honest, I have always had a special affection for billiards games on mobile phones since I played them in the Saipan era. At that time, "Snooker" was installed on the Nokia N73. Although the graphics were crude and the physical collisions were all based on imagination, one game could last an entire afternoon. Later, smart phones became popular, and I played a lot of various billiards games, but I always felt that it was almost boring - either the physics engine was too fake, and the ball bounced like rubber when it hit it; or the single-player mode was boring, the AI settings were rigid, and playing too much was boring.
I have been playing the game "Arcade Billiards Master" for less than half a month, and today I want to talk about my true feelings with the guys in the forum. Let's talk about the pros first: What surprised me the most was its physical realism. The eight-ball gameplay is completely based on real-life rules. There is no fool-proof function like "self-aimed line of sight" or "automatic angle correction". You have to control the force, rotation and position of the shot by yourself. Especially the plugging, the effect of high stick and low stick is very delicate, and the rebound angle of the cue ball after being hit is almost the same as that of a real billiard table. This is very comfortable for experienced players. It is not the kind of cool game that can reach level 999 in one go, but a hard-core operation that requires concentration and practice.
The special effects are also worthy of the word "arcade". The impact sound when hitting the ball is clear and crisp, and there is a slow-motion close-up of the moment the ball enters the bag. With a slight smoke special effect, it really feels like playing in an arcade. However, when it comes to "brilliant animation", I personally think it's a bit too much. If the interface can be made cleaner and have less flash tailing, it will be more attractive.
Let's focus on the battle system. The global real-time matching is really interesting. My matching can be opened instantly at three o'clock in the middle of the night, which shows that the player base is not low. I have played about fifty games so far. From the very beginning to the current platinum level, the opponents have varying levels of skill, but most of them are playing seriously. It is rare to encounter people who hang up or deliberately waste time. It is worth mentioning that there are various public events in the game, which start at scheduled times every day, including qualifying matches, championships, and limited-time challenges. Although the rewards are not huge, the sense of accomplishment of climbing up the rankings step by step from the grassroots is much better than clearing the game alone.
But there are also drawbacks. The matching mechanism is sometimes unreasonable. My winning rate is only 55%. Occasionally, I will be ranked against an opponent who is a lot higher than me in a row, and my mentality will explode immediately after being cleared by one shot. In addition, the network stability occasionally suffers. There were two times when the game was suddenly disconnected. When I reconnected, the opponent had already won. I hope the official can optimize this. As for the paid model, it is currently free and there is no compulsory krypton gold project, but skins and special effects clubs require money or activities. To be honest, I have seen too many games with this mode. As long as it does not affect the core physical parameters, I think it is acceptable. After all, the development team has to be careful.
Overall, "Arcade Billiards Master" is a sincere game, especially suitable for hardcore players who like real physical collisions and are willing to spend time studying moves. If you're just looking for a casual game to poke around with, it might not be very user-friendly. But if you are like me and miss the feeling of leaning over the table in the arcade, aiming, and thinking about adding plugs, then this game is worth a try. To be fair, it is already considered the current ceiling in the field of mobile billiards. 😌