It's a shame the arcade industry is crumbling right before our eyes. Nuts to the newest racing and fighting games. The only real reason why I head out to those noisy halls is to get in a little pinball action. I always get excited whenever I see a new table hit the lineup -- but lately, it's been looking a little bleak along that wall. Sure, I have no problems popping a few quarters into the "older" machines, but I always have the craving to scurry that little silver ball around new surroundings.
If more companies would make video pinball games like Addiction Pinball, I'd have no problem staying home for my fix. The developers, Team 17, are obviously aspiring pinball engineers, because this is the closest anyone has ever come to recreating the physics, look, and feel of pinball action on the 2D monitor of the home gaming system.
Addiction Pinball features two tables, one of which is based entirely on Team 17's other famous title, Worms. The other revolves around a generic racing theme. Both tables have been intricately designed in the "new-school" style - gratuitous speech, ramps, multiball modes, dot-matrix displays and enough flashing lights to send a kid into an epileptic seizure. Ah, the wonders of pinball.
What's more, both tables have been rendered in four different perspectives, from a flat, top-down view-point (like the old Atari Video Pinball), to an unnatural, you-are-there camera placement flat against the glass. It's a bit excessive, but hey, if you want to play pinball with your nose pressed against the playfield, you're more than welcome. Even better, the resolution can be adjusted to take advantage of the video card's high-resolution, high-color imagery. The graphics are so realistic, you can even see the reflection of the playfield on the underside of the ball. Now that's attention to detail.
My only complaint is, yes, my short attention span. With only two tables, the techniques necessary for winning can be mastered quickly, and it's all just a matter of keeping the ball in play for as long as possible. I've put my hands together and started praying to the pinball gods that Team 17 is hard at work at a follow-up. They wouldn't deny a true pinball wizard, would they?
People who downloaded Addiction Pinball have also downloaded:
Pinball Illusions, Absolute Pinball, Pure Pinball, 3-D Ultra Pinball, 3D Ultra Pinball: Thrill Ride, 3D Ultra Pinball 3: The Lost Continent, Microsoft Pinball Arcade, Psycho Pinball
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