Game Review: Angle Ball (MSX, Mastertronic / MAD)

In terms of release numbers, Angle Ball is in fact the last of the main 310 range to be released for the MSX, with its catalogue number of IX 0204. This was also a case of a MAD release being on the main range but just charged at the MAD price point. In terms of release date within the range, this was the second to last MSX release. MSX owners had missed out on the snooker and pool game On Cue, and so having this released was a bonus. However, when checking the cassette inlay, for some reason Mastertronic decided to show the Amstrad CPC screen shots instead. Not sure why that was.

Angle Ball (or as the title screen and instructions seem to refer to it, Angleball) is effectively a new spin on the game pool. Instead of being played on rectangular table with six pockets, the table is instead hexagonal with six pockets. This will mean of course a slightly different style of play can be utilised, with the cushions being at angles to hit off (hence the name) and also, rather than the straight forward triangle of pool balls, the balls are set differently on each frame layout, meaning you need to work out a way to pot all the balls each time. That sounds promising, but how does that actually play out?

In the Frame

The game loads and a quite pleasant single channel tune plays on the title screen. You have multiple options for one player solo mode, two players, player versus computer, a frame designer where you can make your own setups, an option to select the controls and to start the game, with the numbered keys being an option to select. If you do choose the controls, it is by default keyboard with Q A O P and space being used. Why this does not default to the MSX’s cursor keys instead, I do not know. Thankfully within the control options you can redefine the keys, so you can set them as you wish, or select joystick.

In one player mode, you can choose which frame number to start at. Each of the frames represents a different layout of the balls. Ideally to score the most points, you should pot the balls in sequence, with the 8 ball being last. Depending on the frame layout, there can be any number of balls numbered from 1 to 5, 1 to 6, or 1 to 7 as well as the 8 ball. Fouls are committed by either potting the 8 ball out of sequence (ie: not the final ball of the frame) or if the cue balls go in. Both of these as well as missing a pot means your number of misses goes up by one. Miss three times, and it is game over. You do at least get the number of misses reset to zero if you do complete a frame and go on to the next one though. In two player mode, or one player against the computer, the frames are selected randomly, and each player has three misses. Whoever scores the most points wins the frame, and it is first to five frames.

We’ll Show You What We Can Do

When taking a shot, this is in three parts. First of all, position the cursor where you wish the cue ball to go. This can be directly to a ball at any angle you wish, or off a cushion if you want to play a different shot. You can then select the spin you wish to have, either top or back, left or right, by moving the control in the direction. You can then select the power by pulling down for more power or up for less.  If you have made a mistake in the position or spin and want to abandon the shot, leave the power at zero and press fire, and that will take you back to go through the process. That all works well when working out your shot.

The shot happens, and, well, it is like watching a very slow-motion replay of the shot. The balls move much too slowly, and even if you hit the ball at full power, this is hardly enough power to get across from one side of the table to the other. There also appears to be a slowdown when multiple balls are moving, and once a ball or two stops, the movement does speed up a little. Compared to say the Commodore 64 version where the pace is too fast and feels inaccurate, this goes the other way and is just too slow.

Picking the Pocket

The pockets also seem really tight on this version as well, with the green cushions on the table only giving way to a very small space to hit the ball in. This does mean that unless you are lined up almost spot on behind the ball, hitting it at any angle towards the pocket can rebound off the cushions, sometimes unfairly, and in single player mode this can mean one of your three misses go very quickly. In the other modes, it is the same for both players, so misses can accumulate quickly and means that frames are often well over before all the balls are potted. The balls do bounce off the cushions well enough, although not with much pace unless you have hit the ball when it was close to the cushion to start with, it does not always mean you have enough power in hand to pot the balls.

The balls are of course coloured the same as the spots would be on a standard pool table, and these at least are easily visible. The right-hand side as well as having the shot spin and power also has the frame score and total score as well as misses taken, with each player score being shown in two player, or player versus computer mode. The bottom left shows the frame number and name, in most cases after letters of the Greek alphabet. All at least does not obscure the table in any way so at least you are able to work out your shots. Maybe some more accuracy of the angles or even an indicator of where the ball will go when hit may have been a nice feature to add, but at least what is there does work.

Designer Dilemmas

One option which is quite nice to have is the frame designer. This means you can set up your own frame layouts with the balls positioned as you wish for the start of the frame. Once you have selected the frame number (from 1 to 24) to amend, you can amend the frame name and the ball positions. For the latter, you select the location of the balls, starting with the cue ball, and press fire and then move to the next one, until all balls are selected.  You can then store the new frame in memory or exit without any changes.  The designer menu also has options to save or load the frames that you have amended, meaning you can play those instead of the default ones. Whilst not the best designer ever, it does at least give you an option to change things around should you wish to do so.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics of Angle Ball use some nice high-resolution modes, with the table well designed and the balls clearly a circle. The screen layout is sensible, and the menus have a nice effect on their borders as well as clear and easy to read text throughout.  There is a good use of colour and that does help the game well. The music is quite nice on the title screen and there are small jingles for the end of a frame and game over, and the sound effects at least are reasonable. It does at least try to utilise the MSX well rather than be a straight port, although the slowness of movement is the major issue here.

Final Thoughts

Angle Ball does try to be a genuinely different cue sports game, with the hexagonal table meaning different shots are possible. Even though the presentation is excellent, the gameplay is a letdown. The game moves too slow when taking a shot and the tightness of the pockets means that creating a serious break can be more difficult than it can be. The fact you will only hit the ball across the table once on maximum power means that more intricate shots are not easy at all to make. The game comes more into its own with two players or player versus computer, where the solo mode, where three misses and you are out, can often prove to be far too slow and cumbersome. It is a real shame as the game idea is sound, and the frame designer gives you more options to amend the game, but the style is without the substance, sadly.

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