Are you ready to hit the handheld Pool Hall? Hustle Kings has made the jump from the PS3 to the PS Vita. Is it worth the chalk dust?
Read on to find out.
Hustle Kings released on the PS3 some time ago, with full move support and online gaming. For billiard fans, it was a welcome addition to their gaming library. For those of you that picked up a PS Vita, and currently own the PS3 version of Hustle Kings, the game is free. Even better is the fact that the PS3 version can be played against the PS Vita version. While you can’t play against your own PSN account (we tried), if you have a 2nd PSN account on your PS3, start the game up under that name and you’ll be playing PS3 vs PS Vita in no time.
The game itself is very intuitive and instructional. If you’re new to it, be sure to play through all of the tutorials as they not only teach you how to play, but they also teach you the basic physics involved in billiards. The tutorials start out with basic techniques, and advance into more involved shots like jumping and curving your cue ball. These tutorials might actually help your pool game in real life, if you’re a player.
If you haven’t played through the career on the PS3, then you’ll want to start out there on the PS Vita. Early on it’s fairly easy, but the difficulty ramps up about 3/4 of the way through. Career mode consists of eight leagues, each with a set of games you’ll have to complete in order to unlock more games and more leagues.
Game modes come straight from the real world of billiards. There’s your basic 8-ball and 9-ball, along with some 3-ball. There are seven types of billiard games to play, plus ten bonus games to keep you busy. Online play is split into two types of rooms. Head-to-head rooms gives you 8-ball, 9-ball, and Black ball (similar to 8-ball). Multiplayer rooms gives you Killer, 14.1 Continuous and 3-ball. The Killer game type has up to 8 players gives you each3 lives to start with. Miss a shot, lose a life, and the turn goes to the next player. last player standing wins.
The physics for the game seem spot on. Bank shots travel exactly where thy should. The balls roll just like they would in real life. The game looks and feels just as if you are playing in a pool hall with your buddies. The touch controls really make the game feel better than it’s PS3 counterpart with PS Move controls.
The graphics for the game look great on the Vita. The backgrounds are fewer than on the PS3, but the game still looks great. The details on the tables, balls, and cues are nicely done. The game ported nicely to the Vita.
Cross platform play was one of the many selling points for the PS Vita, and Hustle Kings is one of the first titles to show off this feature. Sharing online with the PS3 opens up the player pool and should expand the online community quite nicely.
VooFoo studios did a great job of expanding their title to another console, and integrating the capabilities of the PS Vita. Hustle Kings is a fun game that’s well worth the price, especially if it’s free.
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