They can also purchase Ultimate Pro Pinball, though whether they should is another question entirely. Whilst the name speaks for itself, it's amongst 82 other pinball titles released for previous consoles and handhelds; whilst pinball games may seem like niche offerings, they're surprisingly popular, but first impressions are definitely not right with this game.
First though, a history lesson: ten years ago, Empire Interactive developed a PC title called Pro Pinball: The Web and changed pinball titles for the better. Previous efforts to bring pinball to consoles had failed, and Empire's title was rightly hailed for it's incredible ball physics. For the next three years after that, Empire Interactive developed three successive sequels to The Web, titled Timeshock!, Big Race USA and Fantastic Journey. Sega Saturn and PlayStation One versions were also released thereafter. Each of the Pro Pinball titles only featured one table, and that was where the main criticism lay.
Things changed at the end of 1998 when Balls of Steel was released. It contained five tables, and quickly became the king of pinball titles, rather than respond with a sequel, Empire Interactive went into hiding, that is until now, where eight years later they have released Ultimate Pro Pinball.
Big Race USA!
Ultimate Pro Pinball is a compilation of the last three Pro Pinball titles released, Timeshock, Big Race USA & Fantastic Journey. The tables have been ported exactly how they were in the PC versions. The first table in the game is Big Race USA. The storyline of this table is fairly simple. The player is in a taxi cab, racing from New York to San Francisco and back again. Whilst this is the main objective of the machine, along the way you can pick up passengers and deliver them to destinations, speed away from the cops, knock cars off the road and avoid speed bumps. The table is a unique one, and whilst most people won't make it to the end of the Big Race, it has more than enough to keep you occupied everytime you play the table. The table is also the best in the compilation.
The second table is Pro Pinball: Timeshock. In Timeshock, the player is taken back to the dawn of time. Everything has been destroyed, and it's up to the player to gather pieces of the time crystal to save the world - through a pinball machine. By completing each task in the field, players will be taken through four different areas that are distinctly different to each other.
Whilst the two other tables are of a high calibre, the Fantastic Journey table falls a little short. This was the last table in the Pro Pinball series, and it seems like the developers slacked off a little in the creation of the last table. Fantastic Journey is a futuristic table, with a large selection of gadgets, but not much of a story. In this table the aim is to collect four crystals to stop General Yagov from taking over the world. The story definitely takes a backseat in this machine.
A highly realistic image..
Unfortunately, the three tables are all that feature in the game. We'd have appreciated more tables, or an exclusively designed new table for the console versions, but disappointingly there's none to be found.
The gameplay itself is very true to a pinball table. The physics are absolutely incredible, and truly capture the movement and motion of a pinball. They've not been modified since 1999, but even back then they were perfect. If you want to play a pinball game that actually feels like a pinball machine, then you're spot on with this title.
It would be fair to assume that a port of a ten-year old title would be technically sound on today's hardware, but unfortunately there's flaws here. For a start, the five second loading screen at the beginning of every table is a little insulting. We're just left to ponder exactly what the game is loading - one image? It also doesn't help that the game saves after every game is completed, so rather than being an intuitive, quickfire experience, it takes much longer than it should to get into a game.
Where's the ball?
The visuals are hard to comment on. Technically they are brilliant and photo-realistic, and the table is on one screen, eliminating potential multi-screen/camera issues. The table looks extremely authentic, but aside from three or four photorealistic tables, there isn't much else to the game. There have been no visual enhancements made to the title since its original release, which ironically only required a 4X CD-ROM and 4MB VRAM to play.
Empire has included support for up to four players, and adding a player is as simple as pressing the 'Y' button on the Xbox controller. There is no removal of player option though, so if you accidentally add a player then you have to deal with another player's ball coming out at you after your turn. There is no Xbox Live support, which is a disappointment. We would have appreciated the ability to send our scores over the internet (much like in the older version). Depending on how into your pinball you are, the game could last a little while, especially in multiplayer, but the options are sparse, and there's literally nothing to choose from except these three tables.
The sound is very similar to that of a normal pinball machine. There's a bit of background music that is catchy enough and doesn't become irritating, although it is slightly repetitive.
Ultimate Pro Pinball isn't the best pinball game out, and even at a budget price it still isn't necessarily recommendable. It seems as though Empire has just compiled three previously-seen pinball tables and then re-released the title. Pinball: Hall of Fame was released last month and contained unlockable tables, modes and more than just a sparse menu which felt uninspiring. Fans of series from the last century may find novelty in replaying these tables, but with a simulation that's so real, wouldn't you just be better off going to an arcade and playing pinball yourself?
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