I finally took measures to break out of the rut of bad games that I was in for the last month and a half or more. Today I have what I thought was a strange title to put on mobiles but turned out to work extremely well and play well to boot.

I grew up in a pub. Well not literally but my father owned one for 26 years and so I know my way around them and the games that show up there. So it should not be surprising that I was skeptical when I first saw this title. However Vivendi Mobile Games scored a bull on my board when I got into Pub Darts 180.

There are multiple modes of play including pub tour, single game, survival or multiplayer and that variety really helps the game score a double when combined with the interface. Let's take a look at each of the modes quickly.

Pub Tour - Challenge computer players to a series of 501 or Clock at a variety of pubs with decidedly British names like the Rose & Crown. Win each series to progress on to more skilled challengers and different pubs.

 Single Game - Choose 501 or clock, the number of legs (or games) and the difficulty level and off you go.

Survival - Hit the highlighted area every round. You get five chances to miss but can get an 'extra dart' every ten rounds if you score a bull on the bonus. Play until you run out of darts.

Multiplayer - Two players, one mobile, all the games. Pass the phone back and forth instead of the oche (that's the line you have to stand behind in darts).

The gameplay interface in Pub Darts 180 is great. Choose the part of the dartboard to zoom in on depending on what you want to throw at. Follow the moving 'crosshair' and throw when it hits the area you want. It's more challenging than it sounds, though I did find shooting double bull hat tricks to be overly easy. Much easier in fact than attempting to score the maximum 180 (that's a triple 20 hat trick).

The graphics are good. The dartboard is accurately rendered. A real cork dartboard not one of those fake plastic electronic ones that have become extremely popular in places where people don't like to count down from 701. Yes I know, it's just like using an automatic scorer in bowling, but the board itself is just a bit crap really. No one could manage to use a cork dartboard and some electronic scorer? I mean Vivendi Mobile did...

The soundtrack to the game isn't mp3 but really the soundtrack to any game of darts depends on the venue as does the quality of said soundtrack. The game does have some sound effects in it as well which are nice but plain. Really it's just a 'thud' of a dart hitting a board, it's not even a sampled sound of it but an electronic rendering which isn't completely accurate even. Who cares, if I'm in public the sound is off anyway. The game also has vibration capabilities for a more tactile experience but it didn't really do anything for me.

 Overall Pub Darts 180 is on the mark. So much so, in fact, I've been playing hours and hours of it progressing through the difficulty levels to the point where I am now only winning 60-75% of the matches. That might be the only serious flaw in the game, it's too easy. As I mentioned I can consistently score a double bull hat trick which I almost never do in reality. But aside from the game being far to easy it's a great game and will keep you coming back for more. Ultimately you might even prefer playing this to using those plastic electronic versions at the pub.

Get this game if you're a fan of pub darts in general. Don't get it if you're a professional player because you probably won't like it. Do get this game if you're looking for a quick, fun game to pass some time while sitting in the pub waiting for that blind date to show up or anywhere else I suppose.

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