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Pinball Dreams Developer: Digital Illusions
Developer: Spidersoft
Publisher: 21st Century
grade

Reviewed: 1996 

- The pinball

The first really good pinball for the computer. When it came for the Amiga it brought a new way of playing and great graphics and music. This is the pc conversion of the pinball I'm reviewing, it doesn't match up exactly with the original I once played on the Amiga (the graphics is very different and better in the Amiga version). The tables and feeling isn't quite the same, but still it has that atmosphere and those neat tables!...


- The tables

- Ignition

Well, lots of free space, not an all to advanced theme but it is ok. You try to travel to the different planets in our solar system, ofcourse you need fuel and similar. The theme is very clear and therefore fun, on the other hand it gets rather repeatable and simple after a while , but I still found the table good. It is in all a ok table with a good but somehow it misses something.

- Steel Wheel

Travel around the US, decide the ticket prize, get extra wagons and start rolling. Western like table which is concentrated on the steam engines that back in the classic days rolled trough the wild west. The music is ok, nothing special, the table layout is very good. I liked this table, it has that thing that makes it worth playing for some time.

- Beat Box

A very nice table, good layout, neat music and a good theme. The table is build up around music, you try to reach top charts, sell good records and do different world tours. The table is fun and I liked it very much because of the different goals in it...

- Nightmare

Something in the theme resembles to Stones'n'Bones in PF, but that is just some things, the tables are different in theme and modes. You play and try to watch out for the midnight hour, collect bonuses and get different scary points. The table is good, can't say the pc version of the table is that great although it is playable and in no bigger way bad. Somehow the table feels unreal (the graphics isn't of the highest class) and empty but at the same time it feels right. In all a good table that you most likely will find enjoyable but maybe get tiered of.


- The feeling

The feeling is still of very good class, the pc conversion of the original Amiga version has lost lots of what the original had, but still it is Pinball Dreams (PD1). If you look at the PC version the feeling is good, it is simple but still good, you can play without any bigger problems and enjoy the play.

On the Amiga it was different, revolutionary ball movements together with good layout and music (the lovely .mod files) gave a atmosphere new to us all, in all the feeling you had then was the best ever. The feeling is just better on the Amiga version of PD1, it has better ball handling but it doesn't reach Fantasies at all.

If you compare Pinball Dreams feeling with some pinballs today you notice that the feeling and ballhandling has improved quite a bit, thanks to PD1. So in all the PC version (and probably the Amiga version too) of Dreams has no faults, but is still simpler than what you can get today...


- The whole

A pinball for all nostalgics, at least that's what I think. Get hold of it and see the pinball that started the big Pinball era... because this was the one that really did it. The pinball is good. It has the special grade too, the regular grade doesn't really mean anything in this case because the pinball is worth much more (thereby the special), since it is the original pinball simulator... the "original" (not first) one...


system requirements

Platform: PC
Operating Systems: Dos
386/20
530K free conventional memory
3MB free hard drive space
VGA 256-color graphics (SVGA recommended)
most major sound cards supported

Also available for: Amiga


Screenshots:
  • Ignition
  • Steel Wheel
  • Beat Box
  • Nightmare
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