Released last week on the PSN, Inferno Pool gives you a chance to get away from the lackluster summer titles to play a nice game of pool. But can water, balls, and fire truly mix?

I was admittedly skeptical when I first saw this game. However, after spending some time with it, I found Inferno Pool to actually be quite enjoyable. The game has plenty of modes to keep you occupied, including single player, online multiplayer, and even local multiplayer (both multiplayer modes support up to 4 people). It was nice to see split-screen support in this game considering how rare it's becoming, so kudos to Dark Energy Digital for that.

Each mode has three game types for you to choose from: Inferno Pool, 9 Ball, and 8 Ball. While 8 Ball is your standard game of pool, each of the other two adds its own unique twist to the rules. 9 Ball requires you to pot the balls in numeral order, and Inferno Pool is quite simply the craziest game of Pool you’ll ever play.

But before we get into that, there are more options to choose from. Single player lets you face up to 3 bots, though you can play alone if you want. Both 8 Ball and 9 Ball allow you to just play a quick game for practice, but Inferno Pool only lets you play in endurance mode (you must pot a ball within a set time limit—as the ball count gets lower, so does the timer’s length). Along with the bots, there are a few other options including what color you want the table to be, what level you want to play at, and how difficult you want the AI to be. Playing on novice lets you see the ball’s trail, telling you which direction it’ll go, but the harder difficulties remove this assist.

So now you get the general idea of the game, right? Wrong.

Sure, the 8 and 9 ball play like your ordinary pool, but Inferno Pool… think of it as the Twisted Metal of the Pool world. Every ball you pot rockets its way onto your opponent's table, and vice versa. The object of the game is to have fewer balls on your table than your opponent before time runs out, all while building up a combo and your Inferno meter. In addition, you get a launcher on the side of your screen, which after potting a few balls lets you fling them onto your opponent's table, destroying whatever lead he may have had. The Mortal Kombat like announcer will make sure you know what's going on, yelling things like "Inferno!," "Combo," and "Bank Shot" amongst others. Honestly, the voice sounds exactly like the MK guy—a few times I was expecting to hear him yell “FINISH HIM!"

6.3 Graphics Although rather basic they get their job done and have you in the mood for a little game of Pool. 8.0 Sound Although the soundtrack is rather forgetable the novelty factor of the Announcer is enough to keep you entertained. 7.7 Gameplay Playing solo or with friends it is quite fun and very addicting, you'll not want to stop playing. 5.0 Replay Value It doesn't have much replay value but it easily be the first choice to break out amongst friends, which is probably the only reason to come back to it. 8.0 Overall Overall, Inferno Pool isn’t the best game available on the PSN, especially with the likes of Siren, Warhawk, and Ratchet & Clank. However, for a casual game, you could certainly do a lot worse.