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1993-05-10
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Path: menudo.uh.edu!usenet
From: barrett@cs.umass.edu (Daniel Barrett)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews
Subject: REVIEW: Pinball Fantasies
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.games
Date: 27 Apr 1993 01:07:40 GMT
Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett
Lines: 281
Sender: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu (comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator)
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <1ri10s$b38@menudo.uh.edu>
Reply-To: barrett@cs.umass.edu (Daniel Barrett)
NNTP-Posting-Host: karazm.math.uh.edu
Keywords: game, arcade, pinball, simulation, commercial
[MODERATOR'S NOTE: This review was updated on May 10, 1993. - Dan]
PRODUCT NAME
Pinball Fantasies
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
This Amiga game is a pinball machine simulator. It is the sequel
to Pinball Dreams, which I have not played.
AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION
Name: Digital Illusions
Distributed by 21st Century Entertainment, Ltd.
US Address: 21st Century Entertainment, Inc.
PO Box 415
Webster, NY 14580
USA
UK Address: 21st Century Entertainment, Ltd.
568 Milton Pak
Abingdon
E-mail: andreas@gilbert.adsp.sub.org (Andreas Axelsson)
LIST PRICE
$49.95 (US). I paid $35.00 at a dealer, and I've seen it for as low
as $26.00 in mailorder ads. (My dealer let me try out the game on an A3000T
before buying it, so it was worth paying his higher price.)
A freely distributable demo version is available on ftp sites like
amiga.physik.unizh.ch and its mirrors (/pub/aminet/game/demo/pin_fan.lzh).
SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
HARDWARE
If you use the hard disk installable version (see COPY
PROTECTION, below), you need 4 MB of free hard disk space.
The documentation does not list any hardware requirements
nor compatibility information. However, it does NOT run
correctly on my friend's Amiga 4000. (Supposedly the
hard-disk-installable version runs correctly. See BUGS,
below.) I recommend that users with 68040's or A1200's try
out this game before buying it.
SOFTWARE
The documentation does not list any software requirements
nor compatibility information.
COPY PROTECTION
Disk-based copy protection, requiring you to boot on the master
disk. Scores are saved on the table disks. I hate copy protection, so
this is annoying.
A hard-drive-installable version is available from the company for
an additional $10.00 (US) and the return of all three Pinball Fantasies
disks. This version takes over the machine but returns you to AmigaDOS when
you're finished playing. It also has "look up the word in the manual" copy
protection.
MACHINE USED FOR TESTING
Amiga 3000T, 2 MB Chip RAM, 8 MB Fast RAM, Quantum 210MB hard drive.
Kickstart 2.04, Workbench 2.1.
REVIEW
About 12 years ago, when I was on vacation with my family, I
discovered a pinball video game in our hotel lobby. This monochrome game
used solid rectangles for bumpers and a tiny square (yes, a square) for the
ball. The ball moved at a constant speed, and the only sound it made was a
pathetic "bloop." It was closer to "Pong" than pinball, really, but much
less fun than Pong. My Dad and I played a few games and then decided that
computer pinball was a stupid idea. Only the real thing could be fun.
12 years later, Dad and I were proved wrong. VERY wrong.
Pinball Fantasies (PBF) is a pinball machine simulator. I had
serious doubts about this game, but then I made the "mistake" of trying it
out at my local Amiga dealer. I say "mistake" because now I am TOTALLY
addicted to the BEST arcade game I have played since Arkanoid!!
The game comes on three floppy disks: one master game disk, and two
"table" disks, each containing two different pinball machines. The four
available tables are Partyland (a circus theme), Speed Devils (racing cars
theme), Billion Dollar Gameshow (TV game show theme), and Stones 'n' Bones
(haunted house theme). Each has different graphics, music, sound effects,
and scoring. Rumor has it that new table discs will be released by the
company. As I played each table for the first time, I had the same
thought: "The previous table was more fun than this one." However, after a
few games on the new table, I changed my mind! All of the tables are fun in
different ways. At first, I was disappointed that the tables are not very
large, but I was too hasty -- there is plenty to do on each table.
(Including at least one secret entrance!)
To play the game, you must boot on the master disk. A short
introduction follows, which cannot be skipped. After about 1 minute (on my
68030), you are asked to insert a table disk. About 30 seconds later, you
may choose between the two tables on the disk by pressing F1 or F2. 30
seconds later, you are ready to play. Press F1 through F8 to start a game
with 1-8 players. Flippers are controlled by the left/right SHIFT, ALT, and
AMIGA keys which all function identically. Shooting the ball is done either
with the "down arrow" key or the mouse, and the table may be bumped by
pressing the space bar. (Yes, if you press the space bar too often, you
will "tilt" the machine and lose your current ball.)
The screen is split into two parts. At the top, there is a display
which shows your score and various messages. This display simulates a
2-dimensional grid of "lightbulbs" like the scoreboard at a baseball game,
and it is used very effectively both during gameplay and between games.
Below that, and taking up most of the screen, is the pinball machine itself.
The whole table cannot fit on the screen, so it scrolls vertically while you
play, always keeping the ball in view. The scrolling is VERY smooth and
fast.
Gameplay is dynamic and fun. Unlike that awful video game I played
12 years ago, PBF's ball moves naturally at different speeds depending on
what it hits. The flipper response is VERY realistic, and I have no trouble
at all using the flippers to delay and stop the ball. Also, the ball falls
down chutes and bounces off bumpers so naturally that it's easy to forget
you are playing a computer game.
I like the music and sound effects very much; in particular, the
music matches the "theme" of each table very effectively. For example, on
"Speed Devils", some of the "instruments" are automobile sounds (ignition,
motor, crashing) used musically. The sound effects and music change
appropriately and add to the excitement of the game. Some sounds are
realistic, like the the ball being queued up at the beginning, and others
are intentionally unrealistic. The music may be toggled on and off, but
sound effects stay on all the time. The only sound missing from the game is
the rolling of the ball. But this is understandable since the sound would
have to be "looped" (repeated) to be continuous and would probably sound
artificial.
In some ways, PBF is "larger than life," having features I have not
seen on real pinball machines, and this makes the play even more exciting.
First of all, the scoring is set higher than on the real pinball machines I
have used. There's something exhilarating about scoring 40 million
points!! Second, the "lightbulb" display reminds you of bonuses at
appropriate times. For example, if you hit a particular target 10 times,
you get an extra ball; so each time you hit it, PBF displays "4 MORE TIMES
FOR EXTRA BALL" or a similar message. Another example (in "Party Time") is
a target that must be hit after knocking down 3 ducks. If you hit the
target too early, the display flashes, "HIT SOME DUCKS FIRST." Cute and
useful. (Disclaimer: maybe nowadays, real pinball machines do this too.
I don't know. It's been a few years since I played pinball.)
In contrast, PBF is also slightly easier than real pinball in some
ways. First, it's easier to prevent the ball from slipping between your
flippers; there is usually some way to hit it. Second, there is a little
bit less randomness in the ball's path (but only a *little*). If you hit
the ball into a loop-the-loop, you know that it's not going to fall into the
gutter afterwards. However, this does NOT detract from the game at all, and
in fact I like the predictability sometimes.
DOCUMENTATION
The game comes with a small, 7-page m