Cue like a pro in WSC Real 09

Live the highs and lows of a professional snooker season and hone your skills at pool, billiards and more.

WSC Real 09 brings the sights and sounds of a professional snooker season to PlayStation 3, featuring all of the most famous players and tournaments, as well as the option to play pool, billiards and bar billiards.

The Real mode controls allow you to see the table from the eyes of the player as you approach each shot and decide what you want to do with the cue ball. As in the real game, position is everything, and the game's aiming system helps you put the white where you want it. As you line up your shot using the left stick, a yellow line tells you which direction the object ball (the one you're going to hit) will travel and a white line displays the trajectory of the cue ball. However, for difficult and important shots the lines are shorter and less helpful.

The third aiming guide is a grey circle showing the predicted resting place of the cue ball. The easier the shot, the smaller and more accurate the grey area, although it assumes you're not going to hit any other balls on the way, so you'll have to factor this in when playing for a cannon. Thanks to these guides, it's relatively simple for anyone who understands snooker to start potting balls and building breaks, but this doesn't mean the game is easy; just like in the real sport, the top players are ruthless and one mistake can mean you're sitting down for the rest of the frame.

For newcomers, there's a comprehensive training mode featuring the game's commentators, John Virgo, Dennis Taylor and John Parrot, as well as an ongoing coaching option which determines your style of play and offers advice based on it.

For snooker players, there's a full season to embark on, featuring all ranking tournaments from the professional circuit, realistic venues and the top 32 players in the world. Early in your career, you'll have to go through qualifying rounds against other rookies before you can take on the big names. As you progress, you'll earn points with which to improve your created player, press clippings from your greatest moments and endorsements from in-game brands such as Cue T: the fragrance for men.

Pool players can partake in both 8-ball and 9-ball varieties, with the option of playing a full season of the former. You can also play a game of billiards or bar billiards, or take on one of the many trick shots designed to test your mastery of spin, swerve and jump-shots. For the ultimate test of cueing, there's the Golden Cue: an event designed to test the player across all disciplines. You can also play any of the game types against a human opponent, either online or offline.

For cue sports fans, WSC Real 09 offers a deep recreation of almost every variation fathomable. With all the big names, tournaments and realistic arenas, it captures the feel of a snooker season both on and off the table. The pool, billiard and trick shot options add variety and online play means there's always a challenge waiting for the best players.

It's so realistic, you'll feel like chalking the Wireless Controller.