World Championship Pool 2004

World Championship Pool 2004 was one of the hottest and most fun pool games on the PS2 for a long time. With over 8 million players online and a tournament mode, one of the greatest pool games ever, it's easy to see why. The game is great, but a new version, World Championship Pool 2004, should make it even better. The new game will be released in mid-March, but for now, we've only seen the US version of the game. As we recently saw, World Championship Pool 2004 offers some fun gameplay tweaks to the PS2 version, which makes it even better. But let's take a look at the graphics.

Many of the pros from the PlayStation 2 version of the game return in the new game, including Sean Murray, now sporting a fresh look and more accurate shots. While Murray's accurate shots haven't changed, his shot-accuracy remains unchanged, so that means there is still a bit of authenticity to the shot. And while many of the presentation elements of the game have been tweaked, such as the ability to select individual player heads, the pool's visuals have been scaled down, so you'll notice even less eye candy. As a result, the game looks just as solid as it does on the PS2, and fans of the game's other modes of play will certainly be pleased with the improvements.

Visually, World Championship Pool 2004 is a bit underwhelming.

The audio in the game is still solid, even when compared to its PS2 cousin. For example, you'll hear a fair amount of sound-splattering, such as the raucous cheers of The Getaway's Johnny Cash, and the crunchy raucous, "Smell the Ties" soundtrack from E3 2003. As in the PS2 game, there's plenty of variety in the various ESPN songs, ranging from trance tracks to heavy metal songs. As far as the commentary goes, it works quite well, and it has you relying on your wits and wit as you play along. The sound effects are especially good on the PS2, thanks to the fact that they're all the same. While the PS2 version had some notable differences, the PS2 version is otherwise identical, albeit in a different way. Aside from the requisite commentary on the ESPN broadcasts, which will definitely please fans, the game's presentation is top-notch. The audio in ESPN NFL 2K5 is its strongest feature, though it might sound a little bit limited. The game's announcer, Michael Vick, and the ESPN coaches all offer their own voices and speech. The ESPN characters also feature their own unique sounds that they'll sound both in and out of the game. So while the commentary is in the same league as the actual ESPN broadcasts, it does a fine job of letting you hear them in the game, as well as make the voices seem more natural. The commentators are also pretty good, if a little goofy.

Visually, ESPN NFL 2K5 is up there with the best. While it doesn't sport the top-notch graphics in any particular department, the team design is a notch above the generic ESPN logo that's in the game. The look of the game is much more refined, and the visual effects are quite slick. The stadiums are given an entirely new look that's more detailed than ever before. The game's audio is more accurate as well, and it makes use of the ESPN broadcast voice cast to create aural variety. The commentary in the game is a rich collection of voices, and it includes a diverse array of veteran voice actors from all over the NFL.

The audio in ESPN NFL 2K5 is incredibly solid. The game features a good selection of music tracks from longtime ESPN NFL stars, and it's fairly easy to listen to what's going on. You'll find a wide variety of ambient sounds to play in the game, and you'll hear John Dick Jr. offer voice work for commentary. As far as sound effects go, you'll find a good collection of voices for things like celebrations, pick-up, and a few per-minute breaks.

ESPN NFL 2K5 will feature plenty of new gameplay mechanics to shake up the already pretty stellar gameplay. The most striking element of these new gameplay mechanics is the "new flow." In traditional football, all you have to do is move the ball past the runner. This new flow is a great way to create a more dynamic, "fluid" experience. You'll have the freedom to move the ball from one side of the field to the other at will, and since the ball is spinning faster than a short time, you'll often be able to find a better angle to shoot. To make the ball in ESPN NFL 2K5 as fluid as possible, the development team has gone to great lengths to ensure that it actually plays like it does in a football game. In addition to giving the development team a much needed head start on what to do with the game, the team has added an extra layer of depth to the game by including all-new passing mechanics.