World Championship Snooker 2004

World Championship Snooker 2004 is the most realistic installment of the sport so far. From the moment you start your first game it is both visually stunning (well, as stunning as snooker can be!) and accessible, even to the most inexperienced players amongst us.

The game offers a wide range of play modes which include a career mode, one-off matches, trick-shot mode and editor. There is also Pool in the form of U.S 9-ball and good old fashioned English 8-ball, which also offers you the choice of playing on a old beer-stained pub table or a more tempting tournament table.

The only problem I found with the game was a lack of willing opponents waiting for me on X-box live. Hopefully, as more people buy the game, more opponents will join the online action. The frames I have played online have all reached a conclusion without the other player leaving early, which I thought may have been a problem. It would also have been nice to see Pool included in the Live section too, but I will just have to be content in beating the AI for now.