Let’s be perfectly honest; snooker simulations appeal to fans of the sport and no-one else. World Snooker Championship 2005 is aimed at this small niche market and little more. It continues the series of all-conquering games from Blade, but if snooker isn’t really you’re thing, then read no further.

When you start up WSC, you’re prompted to create your own character to take through the career mode, complete with physical appearance and abilities. Strangely, you can set all of your skills to maximum and the game lets you get away with it. Of course, you could score your player fairly, but why would you? There’s nothing to stop you from starting off with a huge advantage over your opposition without any experience of the game at all.

Down on the tables though, things aren’t quite as easy as you’d expect. Each shot must be carefully lined up and calculated, because if you miss the A.I. will often do its best to punish you. There are quite a number of different controls to manipulate spin, angle and the like, but to be honest you only need the default shot to carry things off. That said, the ability to fine tune shots is very useful, while the camera always gives you a clear viewpoint. The physics are also accurate and your opponents play intelligently, but where the game stalls is in its pacing.

Now I wouldn’t consider myself particularly impatient, but I found WSC tediously slow. You can chose to skip the A.I. character’s shots, which is a godsend, but even with this everything takes just as long as a real snooker match. Imagine a football game where you had to play the full 90 minutes; you wouldn’t last the first half, would you? Every single action seems to be drawn out and sluggish, like a leisurely stroll down a exponentially long path. Consequently, when you miss it’s extremely frustrating because of the time you’ve invested in your turn. With the A.I. shot skip on, 15 minutes of your work can be swiftly destroyed in a matter of seconds. Mortifying is a severe understatement.

Although its speed may be akin to a limbless tortoise in a coma, you’ve got to credit WSC’s sheer coverage of the sport it represents. Every tournament, location and player from this year’s tour is present, thanks to an exclusive license from snooker’s governing body. As before, online play features and is sure to provide a more enjoyable and unpredictable experience than any A.I. opponent can. There’s also a plethora of unlockables and extra modes, from pool and billiards to trick shots and ’snooker plus’. Every corner has been covered to give WSC a huge replay value and make it undeniably the most comprehensive game of the sport available.

When it comes to presentation, WSC isn’t so hot though. Ironically, slowdown appears when there are several balls bouncing around, while the visuals aren’t exactly up to the standards that you’d expect. Textures are bland, the menus aren’t as clear as they should be and the lighting is a little lackluster. On the audio side, the commentators include John Virgo and John Parrott, but the dialogue is often dry and repetitive. As for music, the score suits the game well, but in some matches it’s lacking completely, with just the occasional coughing or applause from the crowd.

Ultimately, World Snooker Championship 2005 aims to cater for fans of the sport and does so well. It may not be the fastest or most attractive game around, but in terms of accuracy and coverage of snooker, you won’t find better. If you’re looking for an accurate simulation of the game, look no further, but otherwise, your time will be better spent elsewhere.