WSC Real 09: World Snooker Championship 2009

Bought this game a few weeks ago, really enjoy playing it, its very addictive, i think its very realistic, its not too easy, it provides a good challenge, playing the season is pretty difficult, but plenty of practice will make me more competitive

I bought this game because I'm a big fan of snooker and was looking forward to a decent simulation I could play on the playstation. This game promised so much but delivered so little, even for the reasonable price it's not worth it.

1. Graphics were a big disapointment - the players looked nothing like their real-life counterparts, the movement of them was stiff and very un-natural, and the balls themselves were blurry when moving across the table.

2. Game play - I have never played a snooker game before on any console, and although I knew it would be vastly different to playing the game for real, this game offered no real tutorial on the controls and as a result I was left trying to work them out for myself. There is a practice table, but all this consists of is an instruction telling you to pot a ball in a pocket, it doesn't tell you how to do so.

3. This is a minor complaint, but a major disappointment to me. The game boasts that it features the top 32 players in the world, and I was looking forward to playing as one of those players and taking him through a season, but when I loaded the game I found that instead you enter your own name and they give you your own player (the look of whom you cannot change, or customize) and you take him through a season, presumably eventually playing against the 32 top players in the world. This may appeal to some, but I would have liked the option to play as my favourite player - not that he would have looked anything like he does in real life anyway.

Bottom line is, snooker games don't work. I was willing to give it a chance but it's just too different, and I realise now that its a sport that just can't be played with a couple of joysticks and the push of a button. Maybe the Wii do a better version, but I doubt it. If you want to play snooker, save your money, and join a snooker club instead.

I find the game an all round success apart from 1 problem the loading screens takes to long watching who ever u play as walk from room to room , but are apart from that the grapics are good and the game play is brilliant its even giveing me some insite and how i can improve my real game of pool

this game has great graphics and cool features such as pool and online play. Its good how you can make your own character and has the professional players in there, it also has the professional events which the other ones didn't have. I'm glad i bought this game and it is worth buying if your into snooker as it is clearly the best snooker game out yet.

Good game. I had the 2007 version which was rubbish, but WSC Real 09 is a good improvement. Let me break it down for you below:

- GOOD POINTS:
- Superb graphics and great physics.
- Good gameplay.
- Lots of unlockables such as wacky waistcoats, cool cues, media articles, ace promotions and oversized shiny trophies.
- All the top players, tournaments, and venues of the season, even the Crucible.

- BAD POINTS:
- John Virgo and his constant, annoying, repetative comments such as "lovely positional", "he can barely keep the smile off his face, can he?" and "he's looking very relaxed, is he meditating over there?", I feel sorry for Steve Davis and John Parrott because they can't get a word in.
- Glitches such as the annoying box at the top right of the screen showing John Virgo or the audience, which gets stuck there for about 10 minutes and blocks the view of the snooker table.
- You can also play American pool, which is rubbish compared to English pub pool, the solid and striped balls are annoying and confusing, it also includes billiards, which is absolute cack.
- It doesn't even have the beautiful female snooker referee Michaela Tabb either... noooo!!!

OVERALL:
The game gets 3 out of 5 stars from me, although it is a slight letdown from what I'd expected, it still is a pretty great game and includes all the ball potting, water sipping, over excited commentator madness any snooker fan could wish for!!!

This game has had many bad reviews, all saying that the previous games are better. I wouldn't know about the previous games, as i haven't played them. But this one sure is a hell of a great game! The last snooker game i had was Jimmy White's Cueball on the PS1, and that was great for the time. But playing this, i was so impressed. As i have been getting back into snooker recently, this game was just what i needed when i was away from a table. The game deserves top marks, for its realism and physics of the balls.
However, i only gave this four stars for two reasons. First of all, the graphics. The people in the audience and the facial textures are pretty bad and make the game look like a well made PS2 game, or a poorly made PS3 game. But when you look at the graphics on the backgrounds and smaller details, you should be impressed. The second reason is the lack of choices. When you are creating your character, you only get about 6 hairstyles to choose from, and you cannot even edit what length it is. The game really deserves an update adding way more things to choose from when making your character.
One very small minor thing also, is that this game came out in April 2009, which means that trophies should be in this game. But no such luck.
Overall, it is a great game with many unlockables when you win games and tournaments, but it just misses out on the five star due to the lack of trophies, editing options and graphics.

you only have to look at the release date of this game to realise the programmers suddenly realised their deadline was fast approaching, and they still had so much to do. so many things have been left unfinished, in an unacceptable condition, or simply left out altogether.

in the gameplay, the first thing i noticed, when playing stephen hendry was the fact that he cheered and celebrated after playing a simple safety shot back to baulk, with the score at 15-0. the graphics are shoddy, with only a few movements ever performed by the players. Before entering the arena, your player chalks his cue, and half the time he uses the new special chalk, floating around the cue tip as if by magic. a high def console, with the ability to use high def graphics on all games has not been utilised at all. with regards to customising players... apparently we all have one of three hair colours, and can look one of four ways.

having had this game for one day, the commentary has already began repeating itself, and its poor anyway, the next time john virgo tells me he 'can hear people pressing buttons, everytime someone lines up to take a shot' im going to scream. honestly, and most of the time he tells me its in well well before it drops, or the crowd gasp for a miss, the second i hit the ball.

the cushions on the table are made of something strange, can't quite put my finger on it, but the way the balls bounce off them i can be sure they arent normal. i have managed to get a couple of breaks of 120+ without using any sidespin whatsoever, which is practically impossible, and anyone who has ever played snooker will know how hard positional play is without adding a bit of side here and there.

when the referee places potted colours back on the spot, be sure to watch the ball change from a dull, matte ball, to a super shiny one. brilliant...

one final thing, i know i am going on a bit, is the fact that in the audiences, there are about four people, scattered about, then the same four people, scattered about another few times, wearing the same stuff.

overall, a bloody rubbish game that should not have been put on the market, and am sure that it wouldn't have been if the world chamionships weren't on. AVOID AT ALL COSTS

this game is much better than the last version, the last one made impossible to play difficult to control, this brilliant new version makes in free flowing quicker and easier to play. The customization and Career Mode has improved 10 fold. I give this game a 5 star if your a snooker fan buy this one

I don't know who wrote the few reviews before me who say this game is "a waste of money". But it's simple, if you're a snooker fan you'll love it, if not then rent it first. The game has a very good career mode where you have to build your players skills up. Character creation could be better, there are 1 or 2 faults in versus mode but other than that. it's a great game. If your a snooker fan buy it now.

WSC Real 09 is a waste of time and money. I bought this and these's too much that's in World Championship Snooker 2007, such as the same characters you choose, it has the same commentators that also say the same dialogue and that John Virgo gets annoying when he keeps on making fun of us when we're planning a shot. I know we can mute the commentators but that's not the point.

The most annoying and stupid thing about this game is, you can't save and load your gameplay, you can only save and load your profile. What is the point in not being able to save and load the gameplay.

I tried phoning their Technical Support line and the phone just rings, rings and rings where they don't even have a Switchboard.

Another annoying thing is, when you want to line-up a shot at a bird's-eye view, the marker that shows the power of the shot is an oval-shaped marker that always gets in the way of the bottom left-hand-side pocket so you can't line it up properly. With World Championship Snooker 2007, the marker that tells the power of your shot is an oblong-shaped marker on the side of the table that allows full view of everything. Also the good thing about World Championship Snooker 2007, you can save and load your gameplay.

Another thing that is annoying about WSC Real 09 is, after you load the main part of the game, when you load your profile and the bits from leaving the dressing room etc, it takes quite a while. In World Championship Snooker 2007, things load a lot quicker.

I took WSC Real 09 back and changed it for something else.