Pro Pinball: The Web

Tillsammans med en spelupplösning på upp till 1024x768 pixlar, en palett på mer än 32 000 färger och 20 originallåtar med musiker från bland annat rockgruppen Stiff Little Fingers har man lyckats klämma in väldigt mycket spelkänsla. Pro Pinball - The Web är datorflipper när det är som absolut bäst.

Pro Pinball: The Web from Empire Interactive is one of the first 3D pinballs available for the PC platform. After years of hegemony from 2D classical pinball games, a new generation suddenly emerged with stunning 3D rendered graphics never seen before in these games.

Alt i alt mangler Pro Pinball: The Web en smule afgørende finish for at komme helt i top, men man kan ikke tage fra det, at det er klart foran 3D Ultra Pinball, og er man til flipper-maskiner, er der mange timers underholdning at hente.

Pinball games are never easy to review because they are, for all intents, the same. Pro Pinball is one of the better current offerings of the computer version of pinball and I think you'll enjoy it thoroughly. The game isn't very demanding (which is nice in itself) and is fun to play - to say nothing of it's ability to keep you challenged.

ProPinball is a high scoring game that should please pinball fans. It's good graphics and solid gameplay won't revolutionize computer pinball, but it does maintain the status quo.

In the final analysis, Pro Pinball is one of the most realistic pinball simulations in the computer gaming circuit. The graphics and ball movement are so stunningly accurate, you'll almost feel as if you're controlling a real table. To make the experience even more realistic, developers Empire Interactive have added a feature to their web page where players can enter their high-scores for all to view. The only real complaint here is that there's only one table to choose from, making overall replay value a little lower than some of the competition. While computer pinball will probably never be as fun as the real thing, folks who enjoy pinball games of any kind will probably be shooting toward this title like quicksilver.

In the final analysis, Pro Pinball is one of the most realistic pinball simulations in the computer gaming circuit. The graphics and ball movement are so stunningly accurate, you'll almost feel as if you're controlling a real table. To make the experience even more realistic, developers Empire Interactive have added a feature to their web page where players can enter their high-scores for all to view. The only real complaint here is that there's only one table to choose from, making overall replay value a little lower than some of the competition. While computer pinball will probably never be as fun as the real thing, folks who enjoy pinball games of any kind will probably be shooting toward this title like quicksilver.

Einschränkendes Manko: Vollen Spaß gibt's nur, wenn man die für seinen Rechner in puncto Auflösung, Grafikdetail und Blickwinkel gefunden hat. Zweites Manko: Es ist halt nur ein einzelner Tisch. Flipper-Puristen haben von dieser Simulation jedoch mehr als von einem Fantasy-Potpourri à la "Pinball World".

Some of the mini-games are actually played out on the dot-matrix video display at the end of the table, including a simple one that involves shooting asteroids. Adrenaline-pumping music adds to the frenzy, but the fuzzy voice samples are hard to discern. Maybe it's because I'm a pinball nut, but I really became immersed in this game. It's very challenging and has that "one more time" quality. You always want to beat your previous best score, but sadly, these are not saved to memory. Despite that blatant flaw, Pro Pinball is a quality title that will keep you riveted to the screen.

Ultimately, this is a very convincing simulation of pinball, but it falls short when compared to other video pinball games. A single table just doesn't provide enough extended replay value to put it ahead of Hyper 3-D Pinball and other Saturn pinball games. Even with its shortcomings, pinball fans should give Pro Pinball a try - if for no other reason than video pinball games are few and far between.

Ultimately, this is a convincing simulation of pinball, but it falls short when compared to other video pinball games. A single table just doesn't provide enough extended replay value to put it ahead of the pack. Even with its shortcomings, pinball fans should give Pro Pinball a try - if for no other reason than console pinball games are few and far between.

Yes, ProPinball looks nice from a graphical point of view, and that counts for a lot. But take the game out of the packaging, and you get a whole other perspective. I guess I'll go home and fire up the old Intellivision.