Microsoft Pinball Arcade
Microsoft Pinball Arcade is a collection of seven licensed tables that represent the evolution of pinball in America. A state of the art physics model and realistic graphics make for the most authentic pinball simulation on the PC ever.
You'll flip more than seven classic pinball machines that look, sound, and play like the real thing. Go for the high score on one groundbreaking table from each decade--from the 1930s to the present. The widest variety of tables, realistic ball physics, and striking graphics all add up to wickedly fast action for current and prospective pinball wizards.
Microsoft Pinball Arcade Accessories
 Pinball 2 Reloaded (Jewel Case)
Pro-Pinball: The Ultimate Compilation
3D Ultra Pinball Thrillride
Dream Pinball 3D
Atari: The 80 Classic Games in One (Jewel Case)
3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrillride
3D Ultra Pinball Creep Night (Jewel Case)
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
Ultimate Pro Pinball 3-Pack
Ultimate Pinball Extreme (Jewel Case)
Microsoft Pinball Arcade Reviews
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. 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. Kudos to MS for coming up with this game.
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. Having lived through pinball games over the years, I was thrilled to have stumbled on this game. 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. Sadly, Microsoft seems to have stopped selling this game a few years back. 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.
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. Kudos on the execution Microsoft. 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. It proved to be too little too late because Bally and Williams continued to build machines that were arguably more fun. My only beef is that Microsoft chose to use only Gottlieb machines. When Columbia bought Gottlieb in the late 70s, their games finally began to refocus on the player instead of the vendor.
The physics are very close while the graphics and sound are spot-on (which is no small feat given the size of this ROM). However, Gottlieb machines migrated to a point beyond challenging in their table designs with very few exceptions. 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. Gottlieb tables have a place in pinball history but do not represent pinball at it's best. The early Gottlieb machines were top notch, Knock out and Slick Chick are included and rightfully so.
This pin ball game has wonderful graphics and sounds, but it is missing an important piece: FUN. If you are looking for an addicting game that will entertain you for hours, this is not the game for you. There is not much going on and not a lot to do.
The object to knockdown your opponent as many times as you can. The sound effects on this table are spot on, and is easily my favorite.From the 80's Haunted House. All these tables are rather challenging and can lead to rather short games. 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. 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. 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.
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. A trio of Thumper Bumpers in the center really can accelerate the ball. 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. 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. Thumper Bumpers, Rollovers, roll over buttons. It was also one of the first machines to use LED's for scoring. In reality, this table was extra wide sporting two pairs of flippers at the bottom. None of the Pro Pinball machines ever existed.
The sounds and action on each of the tables is shockingly realistic. The flippers have grown to be larger and more powerful. 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'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. 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. 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 tableFrom 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.
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. In many cases, I forget I'm not playing an actual machine.From the 30's, Baffle ball is actually a precursor to pinball. 8 Knockdown targets and multiple rollovers exist. 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.
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. 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. 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. I'd also like to see the same quality applied to some of the old games produced by Chicago Coin, Bally, and Williams. With the exception of Knock Out, the early designs are interesting from a historical perspective, but not that much fun to play repeatedly. A lot of the old pinball games are disappearing and it would be nice to see them preserved for posterity. I'd like to see a "Best of Gottlieb" CD with about fifty more games from the Golden Era of pinball.
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. 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. I began playing pinball back in the 1960s and always liked the Gottlieb machines the best. No detail has been overlooked. Incredible.Game play is smooth and realistic. The flippers even make that electric buzzing noise if you hold down the buttons.
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