There are some genres I'm just too old to "get" when they translate to 1s and 0s - pinball is one of them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it can't be done well; I'm just saying that for me pinball will always be a time of feathered hair, hot pants, your beer on the machine precariously balanced as you slammed your hips to try and nudge the ball - and there was none of these bleepy bloopy sounds either. I was out of the pinball scene long before The Addams Family or Terminator 2 became hot commodities. (Ugh, I even know which ones were big in electronic pinball.) That being said, Dream Pinball 3D for the Wii is the best of the pinball simulations I've seen to date and it almost made me nostalgic.
*cues soundtrack from Tommy*
I'd like to tell you there's some whacky story that will take you through levels but well, this is pinball. Normally, you'd play until you lost your ball and then well, play some more. Wash, rinse, repeat...add quarter.
This is where the virtual version has its advantages. Reaching certain scores will release balls of different texture and weight: marble, wood, ivory and gold are added to the traditional steel. They not only roll differently - speed and weight are different - but they sound unique as well. It's a nice touch.
One of the joys (or sorrows if you have a limited income) of an arcade game - heck, the definition of arcade - is the requirement of starting over at the beginning each time so that you eventually memorize the playfield. Anyone who could play anything for hours on one quarter never bothered telling just how much money it took to get there. Hah!
Hooray for 6 playfields! Themed with graphics, music, sound effects and visuals I would have initially considered this to be the least "authentic" portion of the virtual pinball experience. The quality of the images not only conveys how chaotic a pinball playfield can become (especially with multiple balls, lights, bumpers, etc. in action) but it also includes annoying glare from the light overhanging the pool table over there. (I hated that pool table.) When the backboard lights up, it reflects on the playfield as it should.
Sound effects are authentic, right down to the same annoying roar for the T-Rex on the dinosaur level ... over and over again. I say this with the greatest admiration because it is a good thing. Or the zombie sounds on the zombie level ... or the horse whinny on the knight level...
Play is simple, straight-forward, and if I had my druthers best experienced on the Wii. The PC and DS are great but lack that well, movement thing that I so expect to go with Pinball.
You pull the ball back with the Wii-mote, release, and then manage the flippers with the B and Z buttons. You can nudge left, right, back and forward by moving the Wii-mote and nunchuck. Not so hot at nudging? (It's ok. It takes practice.) You can start out on easy mode for maximum tilt action.
If you do kick in all of those bleeps and bloops and lights and such there are 7 - yes, 7 - camera angles. As I am rather height challenged, the angle that allows me to see the top side of the playfield and the back bumpers was rather pleasant. I grew queasy when I had the camera on "follow the ball" mode. With 7 angles, there's bound to be one for everyone.
Dream Pinball 3D seems to have what it takes to be a good virtual pinball simulation. I've played a few in my time and not had enough words to put to paper about them, yet there are more than a few above. Assuming you're not an old curmudgeon like myself and don't have predisposed ideas of what pinball is supposed to be, *beats self with stick* you may just find some pinball action to satisfy...
"That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball..."
I'm a mother of two boys, ages 7 and 10 and live in the chaos that ensues. I've a permanent disability that keeps me homebound, so books, kids, games and books are my constant companions. Oh, and books, too. *grins*
My children both play games so I often play them first, getting to know exactly how something may effect my sensitive and easily stimulated older child vs. my stoic and imperturbable younger.
I like games for games; for the pure enjoyment of them and believe that no game is wholly bad, though some are real stinkers.
I also have the dexterity of a camel in mittens so find playing FPSs difficult (and I also don't like the gore) and RTSs at times can stump me. I just can't seem to move quickly enough to keep up with them. Some of my favorite games are arcade games and I'll spend 3-5 years on the same 5-6 levels because I just never get any better. But, I have fun.
