Pinball Dreams

The Good
The PC version of this game is one of the most horrible conversions I have ever seen. But lets discuss the good things: Incredible music, such as is rarely heard in a computer game, and fits the game like a glove (but then it's copied from the Amiga classic). The graphics are great, detailed and lush in colour - but the aspect ratio is slightly incorrect (again, an exact replica of the Amiga version).

The Amiga version of this game is a pioneer, the first pinball simulator for the Amiga and definitely the best (until the amazing Pinball Fantasies was released), with an incredible physics model, excellent graphics, amazing music, great table design and amazingly fast engine. The PC version fails to capture the Amiga classic's splendour, and here's why:

The Bad
The physics model is not true to the original. The ball is completely jumpy and behaves erratically, sometimes flying off in the wrong angle. The graphics don't look nearly as good as they did on the Amiga because, even though they're essentially the same, the aspect ratio is wrong: the Amiga version runs in 320x256 (PAL) whereas the PC version runs in 320x240 and screws the monitor up. The colours look more dull, for some reason (possibly a bad attempt to convert the palette) and the game is a LOT slower (didn't run very well on my 386 back in '93). The graphics are erratic and tend to flicker a lot. The music, though directly copied from the Amiga, still doesn't sound nearly as good, owing to a horrible module player, nothing like the sheer screaming quality of Pinball Fantasies.

And with Epic Pinball and Pinball Fantasies around, why in the name of God would anyone play this thing?

The Bottom Line
A horrendously imperfect conversion of one of the few true pioneering games in the history of computing.