Backstreet Billiards (Game)

Backstreet Billiards

GAME » on July 30, 1998

PlayStation (Platform)PlayStation Network (PS3) (Platform)PlayStation Network (PSP) (Platform)

Also known as Carom Shot 2, Backstreet Billiards is a billiards game for the PS1.

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Overview

Backstreet Billiards, known in Japan as Carom Shot 2, is a billiards game developed and published by Argent (Company) for the Sony PlayStation in Japan on July 30, 1998, with a North American release by ASCII Entertainment on November 30, 1998. It is a sequel to Carom Shot (Game), featuring a revamped story mode, user interface and new modes. It later received two trimmed-down revisions as part of Culture Publishers' (later D3 Publisher's) Simple (Franchise) series of budget games:

The former, Simple 1500 Series Vol. 10: The Billiard, was released by Culture Publishers on April 22, 1999 (with a re-release by D3 Publisher sometime after). It reduces the game to three Pocket Game modes (Nine Ball, Eight Ball, and Rotation) while removing 3D backgrounds.
The latter, Simple 1500 Series Vol. 50: The Billiard 2, was released by D3 Publisher on December 7, 2000, with a North American release by A1 Games (Company) on May 14, 2001 as Billiards. This version adds three additional Pocket Game modes (Basic, 14.1 Continuous, and Bowlliard), the Trick Shot mode, an updated soundtrack, revamped CPU opponents, and updated graphics (with the return of 3D environments). Contrary to popular belief, the North American release is based on The Billiard 2, rather than the original The Billiard (which is due to game's case showing the art and screenshots from, as well as references to, The Billiard.

The game later received a PSone Classics (Concept) digital release for PlayStation Network (Concept) in Japan on August 27, 2008 and in North America on November 25, 2009.

Game Modes

Pocket Game

These make use of a larger, pocketed billiards table and focus on pocketing multi-colored object balls into any of the six pockets with the white cue ball without foul. Players continue their turn as long as they pocket a ball with no fouls. All modes have alternate "difficulty settings" that determine their rules, including a simpler "Novice" setting (removing the no-cushion fouls and three-foul forfeits, among other things), a standard "Regulation" setting, and special house rules.

Nine Ball

2-4 players. 9 object balls. Players win the set by pocketing the 9-ball, and must hit the lowest-numbered ball on the table first on each shot.

Novice
Regulation
Texas - On a foul, the cue ball is played where it lies.

Eight Ball

2 players. 15 object balls. Each player is assigned either "solids" (balls 1-7) or "stripes" (balls 9-15) after one player pockets a ball from either group, and win the set by pocketing all other balls in their group and then pocketing the 8-ball in their chosen pocket. Players continue their turn as long as they pocket a ball in their group with no fouls, and lose the game if they pocket the 8-ball early, or pocket the 8-ball outside of their chosen pocket.

Novice - On a foul, the cue ball can be placed anywhere on the table. The 8-ball is no longer a called shot.
House - On a foul, the cue ball can be placed anywhere at the head of the table and object balls behind the head line can be hit directly.
Regulation
Call Shot - All shots after the break are called shots. The 8-ball is returned if it is pocketed on the break.

Rotation

2-4 players. 15 object balls. Players score points based on the number of the ball they pocket, and must hit the lowest-numbered ball on the table first on each shot.

Novice - On a foul, the cue ball can be placed anywhere on the table.
House - On a foul, the cue ball can be placed anywhere at the head of the table and object balls behind the head line can be hit directly.
Regulation
Call Shot - All shots after the break are called shots.

Basic

2-4 players. 15 object balls. Players win by pocketing eight balls. Cue ball is returned to its original spot on a foul.

Novice - On a foul, the cue ball is played where it lies.
Regulation
Call Shot - All shots after the break are called shots.

One Pocket

2 players. 15 object balls. Players score points by pocketing eight balls in their designated foot corner pocket. Fouling deducts a point, and balls are "spotted" back into the table.

14.1 Continuous

2 players. 15 object balls. Players score points by pocketing balls, must designate a ball and where it will be pocketed prior to each shot, and must hit their designated ball first. Players lose points for committing a foul (two if its on the initial break), and receive a 15-point penalty on committing three consecutive fouls. When one object ball remains, the other balls are re-racked.

Novice
Call Shot - All shots after the break are called shots.

Bowlliards

1-4 players. 10 object balls. Similar to the sport of ten-pin bowling, players score points for pocketing balls on each of their turns (or "frames"). The table is re-racked at the beginning of each frame, and each of the two "rolls" continues as long as the player pockets an object ball with no fouls. Pocketing all object balls in the first "roll" counts as a "Strike", while pocketing the remaining object balls in the second "roll" counts as a "Spare", both of which ends the turn. Scoring is based on bowling, with strike/spare bonuses.

Novice - On a foul, the cue ball can be placed anywhere on the table. Shots are no longer called.
House - On a foul, the cue ball can be placed anywhere at the head of the table and object balls behind the head line can be hit directly. Shots are no longer called.
Slop - Shots are no longer called.
Regulation

Cut Throat

3-4 players. 15 object balls. Players are assigned a group of balls, and must be the last one with a ball in their group on the table to win. On a foul, the most recently pocketed table is returned.

Novice
House

5-9

3-4 players. 9 object balls. Players score points by pocketing the 5-ball (one point for the corner pocket, two points for the side pocket) or 9-ball (two points for the corner pocket, four points for the side pocket), and must hit the lowest-numbered ball on the table first on each shot. If either the 5-ball or 9-ball are sunk while there is a lower-numbered ball on the table, the ball is returned to the table. If the cue ball is not behind the head line after the 9-ball is pocketed, it is counted as a 2-point foul. If a player pockets all nine balls in one turn, their score is doubled.

Novice - No two-point foul.
House

Carom Game

These make use of a smaller, pocketless billiards table and focus on hitting (or "caroming") other balls (red object balls and the opposing cue ball) with their own cue ball (white or yellow, depending on player). Players continue their turn as long as they score points. After one player wins, the losing player must score a certain amount of points in one turn to tie the game. All of these modes are two-player matches, and players choose from the following for scoring:

Regulation - +1 for hitting any two other balls, +2 for hitting all three in Four Ball / Free modes.
Local - Four Ball / Free modes only. +2 points for hitting both the opposing cue ball and a red ball, +3 for hitting both red balls, and +5 for hitting all three.

The five modes include:

Four Ball - Along with each cue ball, the table has two red object balls. Players score points by hitting at least two other balls with their cue ball in a single shot.
Free - Similar to Four Ball, but there is a "restricted area" in each of the four corners of the table. Players cannot score in these areas twice in a row per turn, requiring them to knock either ball out of the area.
Three Ball - Similar to Four Ball, but with only one red object ball. Both other balls must be hit in order to score a point.
One Cushion - Similar to Three Ball, but players must hit the rails at least once with their cue ball before hitting the second ball.
Three Cushion - Similar to Three Ball, but players must hit the rails at least three times total with their cue ball before hitting the second ball.

Other Games

Practice - A free-form mode with any table and arrangement.
Trick Shot - With one of several configurations, pocket all the other balls on the table in one shot. Players can create their own puzzles and save them for others.
Speed - Race against the clock to clear all balls on the table in each of the five stages.
Technical - Pocket all the balls on the table without making any mistakes.

Story

A single-player story mode in which players take the role of the son of a legendary pool hustler, who is searching for his late father's prized pool cue. Players move between each unlocked location, talking with each denizen and challenging them to games of pool. As they win matches, they can upgrade each of their three stat attributes: "Power" (hit strength), "Technique" (spin), and "Mentality" (power gauge speed). They can also win new cues and items to further boost these attributes.

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