![]() When you take your skills online, things change. It seemed like a fluke until the same issue happened on two additional occasions. During one three-player match of Cutthroat, I scratched on the break – classy, I know – and then each AI player decided to re-rack and subsequently scratch both their attempts at breaking too. That isn't to say the AI won't pull off some odd moves themselves. With aim assist turned down, nailing the perfect shot feels insurmountable, but Hustle Kings forces the player to improve rather than coming down to their level. Once you steamroll through the first few matches and up the difficulty, Hustle Kings stops holding your hand. Additionally, the devoid-of-life settings kill any sense of immersion, as the floating stick is the only moving element (outside of the balls). ![]() While rotating the stick around the cue ball, the cue dips through other balls, slides against (and through) the cushions in odd ways, and generally doesn't fit into the environment. The floating cue, hovering over every shot, marks inconsistent spatial awareness. ![]() While you earn in-game currency (HKC) through wins and sinking balls, the Hustle Kings store's purchasable items differ from the PSN store, meaning you can't earn gameplay bonuses through skill alone, just cash. ![]() This micro-transaction model is common in mobile games, but executed poorly here. In fact, it only serves as a reminder that there's a real-money shop to buy special chalks to aid in accuracy and power. But there's really no bonus here, as the reminder is constant, not leaving omission to chance. There's an odd chalk mechanic at play in Hustle Kings, in which every few shots Hustle Kings reminds you that you need to chalk your cue, or you might lose accuracy. The non-modifiable ball-cam does a great job of using the Vita's accelerometer to move the camera around to check out your surroundings, but a terrible job finessing any given trick shot. So to get the perfect jump shot, you must perform a juggling act of switching cameras, making slight adjustments, changing cameras again, and checking the trajectory. Thus, to see how high the cue ball is going to jump, you have to switch to the ball-cam - but you can't adjust your shot from this perspective. While the variety and difficulty of trick shots make for tough options, the process of lining up jump shots and curves becomes an absolute chore, because both the normal camera and the top-down camera don't reflect the angle of attack. Three different camera modes provide the best angle to pick shots, but the ball-cam actually hinders precision. But for a right-handed player, holding down circle while adjusting the cue with a left finger is awkward, and that makes the joystick option the more appealing control scheme. Swiping a finger side to side allows you to change the angle of the shot (replaceable with the left stick), and holding down circle lets you fine tune any shot. While Hustle Kings ignores the back touchpad, every shot requires front touch controls to either keep your cue steady or simply pull back on the strength of the shot. Hustle Kings originally came to PSN in early 2010, but Vita gets some updated controls that generally work well. ![]() Though the range of billiards available, from straight 8-Ball to jumping trick shots, adds a ton of challenge and variety to the standard pool experience. That's going to sway your interest in Hustle Kings from the start. ![]()
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