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Hustle Kings is the newest and first-ever billiards simulator for the PlayStation 3. Set in contemporary and stylish pool bars, Hustle Kings allows players of every skill level to immerse themselves in one of the most realistic billiards experiences ever realized.

Name: Hustle Kings

Billiards games are not something you see very often these days; it's a popular enough sport previously championed on home computers and consoles by Archer Mclean, but not a game often seen as worthwhile by many software developers. As Mr. Mclean has been somewhat absent on this of late, newcomer developers VooFoo Studios have taken it upon themselves to develop Hustle Kings for the PlayStation 3 and release it as a downloadable game on the PlayStation Network.

On the off chance that you don't know about the game then it's a relatively simple concept, you take a rectangular table which normally has 6 holes, one on each of the corners and then a further two located in the middle of the longest edge; you use a wooden stick, known as a cue, to strike a white ball into a set of other balls, these other balls vary in colour and design based upon the version of the game being played. The games official name is Pocket Billiards but is most commonly known as Pool due to the association of the game to pool rooms where gamblers would often meet to bet on horse races and pool their money together. As these kinds of places would often have a Pocket Billiards table then the name pool became one with the game and over the years it has become associated with it.

The game is set in stylish pool bars rather than a gambling den or a local tavern and the idea is to hustle your way to the top of the leaderboards by playing the game for money with CPU controlled competitors; Hustle Kings features several versions of pool from US 8-Ball, 9-Ball and the Black Ball game commonly played in the UK today and various other versions, each of the competitors you'll meet in the game have a different style that they play, you'll no doubt come across them all along the way as you hustle your way to the top. Don't worry if you don't know how to play a particular version, the game can be paused at any time and the rules checked, just so you know what you're doing.

There are several ways to play the game, you've got the option of embarking on a career which is the games main way of playing the game, earning money and unlocking various bits and pieces such as different trick shots to learn, different avatars for your character, fancier cues and ball sets. It's the career mode you use to advance through the rankings of the leaderboard. You start off with no money and must enter competitions to get some money in your pot, you can then use this money to hustle other players by placing bets on the outcome of the game or you can use it to enter bigger and better competitions with higher prize money, entry is restricted to the higher stake games until you can afford your entrance fee, should you win the match you'll get a wad of money for your efforts, fail the match and you'll be back playing in the lower ranks until you can afford the entrance fee once again. To become the Hustle King you must work your way up from the bottom of the pile by playing through the ranks of Rookie, Amateur, Semi-Pro and Professional and beat all of the competitors by betting increasing amounts on your games or by collecting the prize money on offer. Not only do you have to be able to play the game but you must prove your skill in several different events by pulling off trick shots, potting all the balls in one break, or by facing a series of elimination rounds. If you don't fancy the career route and instead just want a quick game then you can plump for the quick game options, there are Exhibitions which are just quick one on one modes, or should you fancy a longer game then you can enter a Tournament and select up to 16 players to play against in order to win in a series of play offs. Most of the game modes outside of the career will allow you to win extra cash which you can add to your total so all of it is worthwhile one way or another. For the amateurs there is also a full training mode which will introduce the mechanics of the game to you from the basics of pool to the fancier stuff like how to jump your ball and swerve it to avoid any balls you might not want to hit, extra bonus cash can also be made for these fancier shots in the game itself so you'll need to practice these skill shots not only to beat the game but to win the money to compete as well.