Hustle Kings

So I recently picked up the PSN exclusive Hustle Kings. On the outside is a very smooth billiards sim with a lot of neat add ons. The first reason I picked up Hustle Kings besides the fact I like billiards is that I am seeing add on content for the game and its all been free so far which is a big bonus for me when money is an issue. As soon as I loaded up the game and add on content I could tell that a lot of work went into the graphics. Everything is rendered beautifully and even the billiard balls are shiny and bright.

There is a lot on content here to begin with. There is a full online mode where you can wager in-game cash used to purchase other billiard balls, cues, and avatars. There is also free play and campaign. I do have a complaint when it comes to the campaign mode. The difficulty is on a very steep curve. I don't consider myself to be the best billiards player but I know I'm not the worst and even on the easier levels the game is very unforgiving. You miss just a couple of shots and the computer puts a lot of distance in between the two of you. Other than that I do feel the campaign is very well fleshed out and has a lot of play and having to buy into tournaments can make losing punishing in that you may have to go back to make more cash.

If you don't want to go back to play levels you can always just into the online. I have yet to try out this feature as I'd like to unlock some of the extra items beforehand. I did talk of the games DLC and to this date they have released two extra pool tables. They are both shaped tables and add in some extra play that is unique beyond the standard game.

The main feature that sold me on this game was actually quite odd. You have the ability to listen to your own stored music. All you do is from the game press the PS button on your controller, scan down to your music folder, and pick the song or playlist and the game automatically redirects you back to play. The music cancels out the in game music but the sound effects remain intact. It really is very nice to be able to sit back, relax, and play with some of my favorite songs in game.

Overall there is a lot here for the $10 asking price. I find the good to outweigh the bad and highly recommend this game if you are a billiards fan.

Overall - 8.6 out of 10