7/15/2005
Pick Up A Fun Pinball Game
BY HAROLD GOLDBERG
FOR THE OLYMPIAN
Even if you don't care that much for pinball, you'll probably like "Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball," an exciting, inventive game that takes pinball to levels never before played in a pinball arcade or on the PlayStation 2, for that matter. And if you love pinball, "FlipNic" will become one of your favorite games within 10 minutes of gameplay.
Flipnic has many of the elements of traditional pinball, such as flippers and bumpers. There are no plungers to start the ball in motion, however. It simply appears on the playfield. A touch of controller buttons moves the flippers, which starts the ball moving.
But once the ball gets moving, you'll be transported into a pinball world you've never seen before. The lanes aren't simply there to return the ball to you. They're so long and circuitous, they're like roller coaster rides, taking you to more imaginative areas of the pinball table. And when the ball flows along the lanes, you can make it jump to pick up coins (which can give you an extra ball). The multiball function isn't three or even five balls. There must be up to 12 balls on the table at once.
You might think the five different tables, each with its own theme, aren't enough for a video game. But there are more than 70 playable areas on these tables with more than 100 missions to accomplish on your path to pinball glory. The Biology area, for instance, has bright blue jungle butterflies, chomping alligators and rushing waterfalls for the ball to deal with. Add to that a slot machine mode that takes you to various minigames and you'll see the depth of this game seems endless. There's one vertical pinball table carved into a mountainside. It took me the better part of an hour to get the ball to the top of it.
There's even an anti-gravity playfield that makes you feel as though you're playing pinball in space against bumpers that swarm like bees.
The flaws are minor, but they do subtract from the game's generally awesome nature. The subdued voices meant to cheer you on are more suited to a rainy day at National Public Radio, and the cut scenes seem like something made for the first Pentium chip, not the PlayStation 2's Emotion Engine.
But it's the gaming that's important, and that's what shines. For a mere $19.99, "Flipnic" is a steal. It's not only addicting, it has taken a tired video game genre and injected it with life, artfulness and the purest of fun. Now when your ready to by a real life pinball machine call The Game Gallery 1.800.966.9873 - Fun for the whole family..New Nascar Pinball Now available $4495.
FOR THE OLYMPIAN
Even if you don't care that much for pinball, you'll probably like "Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball," an exciting, inventive game that takes pinball to levels never before played in a pinball arcade or on the PlayStation 2, for that matter. And if you love pinball, "FlipNic" will become one of your favorite games within 10 minutes of gameplay.
Flipnic has many of the elements of traditional pinball, such as flippers and bumpers. There are no plungers to start the ball in motion, however. It simply appears on the playfield. A touch of controller buttons moves the flippers, which starts the ball moving.
But once the ball gets moving, you'll be transported into a pinball world you've never seen before. The lanes aren't simply there to return the ball to you. They're so long and circuitous, they're like roller coaster rides, taking you to more imaginative areas of the pinball table. And when the ball flows along the lanes, you can make it jump to pick up coins (which can give you an extra ball). The multiball function isn't three or even five balls. There must be up to 12 balls on the table at once.
You might think the five different tables, each with its own theme, aren't enough for a video game. But there are more than 70 playable areas on these tables with more than 100 missions to accomplish on your path to pinball glory. The Biology area, for instance, has bright blue jungle butterflies, chomping alligators and rushing waterfalls for the ball to deal with. Add to that a slot machine mode that takes you to various minigames and you'll see the depth of this game seems endless. There's one vertical pinball table carved into a mountainside. It took me the better part of an hour to get the ball to the top of it.
There's even an anti-gravity playfield that makes you feel as though you're playing pinball in space against bumpers that swarm like bees.
The flaws are minor, but they do subtract from the game's generally awesome nature. The subdued voices meant to cheer you on are more suited to a rainy day at National Public Radio, and the cut scenes seem like something made for the first Pentium chip, not the PlayStation 2's Emotion Engine.
But it's the gaming that's important, and that's what shines. For a mere $19.99, "Flipnic" is a steal. It's not only addicting, it has taken a tired video game genre and injected it with life, artfulness and the purest of fun. Now when your ready to by a real life pinball machine call The Game Gallery 1.800.966.9873 - Fun for the whole family..New Nascar Pinball Now available $4495.
