14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
Pinball Arcade by Microsoft and Gottlieb
Date of Review: Oct 5, 2003
The Bottom Line: If you enjoy playing pinball, you can save a lot of quarters by investing $10.00 for this disk.
A few weeks ago I downloaded the free trial version of Microsoft s Pinball Arcade. You can too, by visiting:
www.microsoft.com/games/pinball/downloads.htm
If you purchase the full product, you get seven different pinball games. The trial version limits you to one game, Haunted House , which I believe is the best of the seven. The trial version also limits your score to 200,000 points, which can be achieved on the first ball after a little practice.
Considering the limitations of the trial version, I decided to buy the real thing. I looked it up on the Internet, and the best price I could find was $9.95 plus freight. I purchased Microsoft s Pinball Arcade at WalMart for $9.92.
Each of the seven games shows the history of pinball between 1931 and 1992. The original games were created by the manufacturer Gottlieb, and were actual pinball machines. Although I owned a pinball emporium for a few years, and have played a lot of pinball, I was not familiar with any of the seven games.
The 1931 game, Baffle Ball , reminds me of an old mechanical pinball game I used to play in my Uncle s basement. Both of these pinball machines used actual pins to deflect the ball. Some of the more sophisticated machines had the capability of allowing the owner to change the location of the pins, changing the way the game would be played. The Baffle Ball game, like all of the others in this set, are very realistic.
For instance, body English , is an integral part of playing pinball. This involves shaking, hitting, pushing and pulling on the machine. These games allow these types of moves, although the result is achieved by hitting a key on the keyboard as opposed to shaking your computer! Some of the games assign different keys for different sets of flippers. The plunger that sends a ball into the game is controlled by the player, just like on a real pinball machine. Also, some of the more modern games allow for multiple players (up to four.)
As game programs go, these provide good clean fun that is non-violent in nature. The are well produced, and the sounds and graphics truly simulate a real pinball machine.
