What our customer's say!"Arguably one of, if not the best arcade game out there for the PC", I first came aware of this game when in LA trying to find work in 2002 while living with friends and came across the game when I installed an old hard drive from an old PC into his new one and that's how I became aware of it and loved it.
I liked the older games such as slick chick, knockout was a very fun game and I will agree, although it's been a few years now since I've played the full game that Humpty Dumpty is kind of confusing and not as easy a game to play due to it's design.
What I do love and others have said as well is that this game is a realistic representation of these old pinball games, down to the reflections, action of the balls, flippers, bumpers etc - and not to mention the sound of said games too. Having lived through pinball games over the years, I was thrilled to have stumbled on this game. Sadly, Microsoft seems to have stopped selling this game a few years back.
I just this morning bought a used copy via Amazon for my own enjoyment and I will agree that it would be nice to have versions for Williams and Balley as well.
While the games represented here are not necesarily the best of the best they are quite fun to play and give a decent history/overview of how these games evolved over the years begining with Baffle Ball in 1931.
Sadly, the heyday of the pinball machine is over but thanks to games like that one can keep the memories at least alive in the virtual world, if not in the real world.
Kudos to MS for coming up with this game.
"Excellent execution - why only Gottlieb?", As a fan of pinball my hat is off to Microsoft for giving us such a quality pinball game that is based on tables that actually existed.
The physics are very close while the graphics and sound are spot-on (which is no small feat given the size of this ROM). Kudos on the execution Microsoft.
My only beef is that Microsoft chose to use only Gottlieb machines. Gottlieb tables have a place in pinball history but do not represent pinball at it's best. While there are only about 5 Gottlieb machines I would ever pay a quarter to play, there are at least 20 Williams or Bally machines apiece.
The early Gottlieb machines were top notch, Knock out and Slick Chick are included and rightfully so. However, Gottlieb machines migrated to a point beyond challenging in their table designs with very few exceptions. When Columbia bought Gottlieb in the late 70s, their games finally began to refocus on the player instead of the vendor. It proved to be too little too late because Bally and Williams continued to build machines that were arguably more fun.
Microsoft PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE see fit to continue this project and include some really great Bally and Williams machines from the 70s and 80s for us nostalgic folks!
"Great Graphics-- Not Much Fun", This pin ball game has wonderful graphics and sounds, but it is missing an important piece: FUN! There is not much going on and not a lot to do. If you are looking for an addicting game that will entertain you for hours, this is not the game for you!
"As Real as it gets.", Along with the Pro Pinball series, This may be the best pinball simulation available for the PC.
However, where the Pro Pinball series of games only contain one table, and are typically modeled after 90's era machines. None of the Pro Pinball machines ever existed.
Microsoft, however brings us 7 machines in Pinball Arcade that ACTUALLY existed.
Now for those young folks to whom "Video Modes", Ramps, and complex scoring schemes, are blase' you may find that this collection isn't for you.
However for those of us born in the 60's or earlier, or Electro-Magnetic Pinball junkies you won't find a more enjoyable collection.
The sounds and action on each of the tables is shockingly realistic. In many cases, I forget I'm not playing an actual machine.
From the 30's, Baffle ball is actually a precursor to pinball. Like the little pinball games of your childhood, the object is not to "keep" the ball in play, but by using proper force on the plunger and nudging, try to maximize your score for 10 balls.
From the 40's, Humpty Dumpty, looks more traditional, but the object still is not to keep the ball in play, but rather use the "flippers to direct the ball to higher scoring regions. This game has most of the recognizable features of pinball but again emphesis is on positioning the ball, not keeping it in play.
From the 50's Knockout is a cute machine with a neat boxing ring in the center. The object to knockdown your opponent as many times as you can. Here the flippers are in the traditional orientation, but there is a "bar" at the mammoth exit hole that gives you virtual invunerability for a time. Once a certain score is achieved for the ball, the bar drops, and your ability to keep the ball in play for an extended time is very limited.
From the 60's Pinball now has most of the components many of us recognize. Thumper Bumpers, Rollovers, roll over buttons. Slick Chick does not have any side exits, but makes up for that with a farily wide center hole, and an insidious "gobble hole" in the center of the playing field.
From the 70's, Spirit of 76 is the archtypical 70's era pinball machine. The flippers have grown to be larger and more powerful. A trio of Thumper Bumpers in the center really can accelerate the ball. 8 Knockdown targets and multiple rollovers exist. The sound effects on this table are spot on, and is easily my favorite.
From the 80's Haunted House. In reality, this table was extra wide sporting two pairs of flippers at the bottom. The table was the first to incorporate a 3 level design with an "upstairs", Main Floor, and "Basement" beneath the main table seen through clear plexiglass on the main table. It was also one of the first machines to use LED's for scoring. This game is fun, but the need to have an unobstructed view of the "basement" makes the table feel bare, as all the scoring opportunities are on the perimeter of the table
From the 90's, Cue Ball Wizard is the typical chatterbox Pinball machine with ramps, elevated ball "tubes" and very complex scoring modes, designed to force the player to aim his shots. Unlike earlier tables, it's not just keeping the ball in play, but getting through all the modes that get's the Big Points.
As this game was developed in 1998, there should be no problem getting the game to run smothly on a current machine. All these tables are rather challenging and can lead to rather short games. It's a shame that you don't have configuration menu that allows you to set number of balls per game, and replay scores, as you would be able to do owning a REAL pinball machine. However, it seems here that Microsoft here is attempting to simulate how it is to play these machines in an Arcade, even down to the point of having you insert money into the machines to play.
Real Pinball machines can cost thousands of dollars, and especially older machines, often have worn out components that are hard to find or replace.
Microsoft Pinball gives you 7 accurate pinball machines in your PC, and you never have to worry about replacing a light bulb, or Flipper relay.
"Microsoft Gets One Right", I began playing pinball back in the 1960s and always liked the Gottlieb machines the best. Microsoft has done a fantastic job of simulating these games, right down to the glare off the glass and the sounds of the EM components coming to life. No detail has been overlooked. The flippers even make that electric buzzing noise if you hold down the buttons. Incredible!
Game play is smooth and realistic. There are a few quirks -- the ramp shot on Cue Ball Wizard is almost impossible with the left flipper and the machines tilt too easily, but these are minor complaints. If you don't have a lot of space, this game is a perfect way to have a bunch of pinball machines in your basement.
My only complaint is that the CD has such a limited number of games. With the exception of Knock Out, the early designs are interesting from a historical perspective, but not that much fun to play repeatedly. I'd like to see a "Best of Gottlieb" CD with about fifty more games from the Golden Era of pinball.
I'd also like to see the same quality applied to some of the old games produced by Chicago Coin, Bally, and Williams. A lot of the old pinball games are disappearing and it would be nice to see them preserved for posterity. New generations should get the chance to play games like El Dorado and 8-Ball Deluxe!
And why stop there?
I'd love to see Microsoft recreate some of the golden oldies with the same attention to detail. Games like Jet Rocket, S.A.M.I., Stunt Pilot, or Bally's old soccer game would be a blast.
But with that said, hats off to Microsoft for putting out a top notch CD.
More!
Read this reviews before You buy..."Boring", Boring! Not worth the price of the CD it is on. Only a nostalgic pin-ball junkie might appreciate this.
"Just as real but should be upgradable", Its great!!! I mean I was surprised of the detail and sound, you actually feel like it's the real one, but it should be upgradable, cause once you played it a few days you start to get bored of the models featured in this software.
"Very Disappointing", You would think being able to play on a 1931 pinball table would be pretty cool, wouldn't you? Well, in Microsoft's Pinball Arcade it proves to be pretty bad. None of the pinball tables are really that great. The 1931 pinball table, "Baffle Ball", is certainly baffleing to us, with no real guide as to how to play it, you only can guess on what to do, and the best way to go about scoreing points. Game critics tend to say that the best feature about Pinball Arcade is the sound, and I'll have to agree with them on that, but thats not saying much considering the ball physics of Pinball Arcade are frustrating and unrealistic, and the designs of the tables are unimaginative. All in all, the tables are either too easy, or because of the lack of realism, very difficult. It almost put me to sleep the first few times I played it. The ball drifting around the table makes me sleepy just thinking about it. Buy Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey, it's much much better.
Leader...
"Sweet", This game is great. Good graphics. Just like a real pinball machine. Fun to play. I enjoy playing this game. The handling is awsome. Cool tables to play on. I've heard people think this game is the best pinball game ever to be made. I hope that when you buy it you have just as much fun as I had.
"Microsoft Pinball Arcade", I received this software not too long ago, and I must say that from Microsoft's point of view, this is one of their shunned products. My love for pinball games had given me reason to take a look at Microsoft's Pinball Arcade, but it was for the wrong reason.
After getting the program on my computer, I eagerly tried it out with literal disappointment. Slow frame rates, less-than-expected visual graphics, and set schemes in the pinball really didn't appeal to me very much (although I must say the their haunted house did give me reason to like it).
Before getting this, give second thought to other pinball games before coming to this one, but if you enjoyed the 1950s version of "Knock Out," go right on ahead.
