DOS

Pinball Illusions

Pinball illusions belongs to the now nearly extinct pinball genre. Despite its precursor games (Pinball fantasies, Pinball dreams) were just your average pinball games, PI sets a new quality to the series. To put it bluntly, in my eyes Pinball Illusions is the best pinball game in the world. Probably the best game of its genre, with gameplay, music and graphics still awesome despite its age. Definitely recommended both for die-hard pinball players and those who only play them every once in a while.

When Pinball Fantaisies hit the market in 1993 for the PC, I thought that it would take some time before another game reached such a level of perfection. For me, 21st Century Entertainment had established themselves as the best developer of the genre. Today, other companies are developing pinball games to compete with 21st Century on its own terrain. However, most of them decided to design 3D pinballs in an attempt to bring something different to the players, something that could make the difference. I can not say whether I prefer the 3D pinballs or not, because I have only played with playable demos for a short amount of time. But what I can say is that it didn't feel the same with these new 3D pinballs than with the pinball tables from 21st Century and their latest pinball, Pinball Illusions is simply the best pinball game I ever played!

New display options, great pinball action and controls; authentic sights and sounds. Can't change display options during gameplay; four tables may not be enough for some. If pinball is your thing, you can't go wrong with Pinball Illusions.

Keine Frage, Pinball Illusions ist nahezu perfekt. Die phantastischen Soundtracks und der tolle SVGA-Modus machen das Spiel zu einem echten Dauerbrenner. Jetzt fehlen nur noch kleine LED-Spielchen, wie sie Psycho Pinball zu bieten hat, und 21st Century kann sich die Führungsposition in diesem Genre zurückerobern.

Immerhin ist die physikalische Umsetzung der Flipper zufriedenstellend. Die Soundeffekte gehen in Ordnung, was für die nervige Spiel-Musik leider nicht gilt, obwohl sie mit den Modi wechselt. An die Spritzigkeit von "Psycho Pinball" kommt "Pinball Illusions" nicht heran, ein solides Flipperspiel ist es aber allemal.

Pinball Illusions är 21st Centurys tredje spel i deras Pinball-serie, och det är utan tvekan det bästa av de tre spelen. Det dåliga med spelet är att bollen ibland rullar iväg åt helt oväntade håll när man slår till den.