Though this game has been out in the UK for two and a half years, it's finally almost ready for a North American release. Gottlieb has been working very closely with Nintendo for this upcoming version, and I've been told that they won't even let Nintendo demo a pinball table until they are completely satisfied that its look, sound, and functionality are identical to the original. Now that's dedication!
For those who don't know, Gottlieb was an American corporation that produced arcade games – most notably for this article, pinball machines or tables. Several of their tables have become classics and are rightfully considered to be gorgeous works of art. Gottlieb created new tables from 1931 until 1996, when the production facility was finally shut down.
As for the video game, FarSight and Crave have really gone to great pains to recreate the most popular tables. There will supposedly be 12 tables in the North America version, one more than the UK, though I wasn't able to find out the name of the addition.
The available demo had only four tables to sample because Gottlieb still wasn't satisfied with the authenticity of the other eight. I played for awhile on Genie, a classic table from 1979. Not only was it beautiful with crystal-clear graphics, but, thanks to the hand-held Wii controls, I felt like I was really playing on a table. The sounds were recordings from the actual Genie table and added another layer of realism to the experience.
One really cool aspect of this game is that it really wants to be a history lesson for you. You can take a photographic tour of the old factory from its first years to just before it closed. There are even pictures of people working on individual machine boards. I couldn't see a date on the one I viewed, but the clothing style on the workers would probably place it in the early 1940's! Also, each table has its own history page with information on production, distribution, and how it came to be so popular.
If you're a fan of pinball or just a fan of game history, you should definitely check out this game. There's no specific release date as of yet (which was all the fault of Gottlieb and seriously vexing, according to my guide), but I'd estimate its arrival by Holiday 2009 or early 2010.
Gwoman is a young, L.A.-based gamer who's addicted to RPGs, hack-n-slash and all things Final Fantasy. Because so many of her friends also are gamers, she is reasonably well-informed about other genres. When she plays a game, she plays ALL of it; finding and besting every sidequest, hidden character, boss fight, secret pathway and ultimate weapon is the only way for her. This, along with baking goodies, running an etymology Web site and the occasional bout of clubbing, is how Gwoman spends most of her time outside of work.
