Review NaN of 2
, from Phoenix
Price Paid:
$30.00
from Gamestop Summary:
There are now three GBA specific pinball games available, and each one has a specific area of focus. The first one available, Muppet Pinball, is a worthy effort that features the Muppets. Four tables, all Muppets. The second game, from Sega/THQ, is Pinball of the Dead, and has three main tables based on the House of the Dead franchise.
The newest, and to me, the most refreshingly realistic, is Hardcore Pinball, distributed by Telegames and developed by Paragon Five. The folks at Paragon Five set out to create, within the limitations of the GBA hardware, a realistic arcade pinball experience. I am happy to report that they have succeeded beautifully.
Hardcore Pinball is a single player game that features four distinct pinball tables, each with it's own play mechanics, it's own look and feel, and it's own sound and music. Each table is representative of a genre of arcade pinball tables, and every one of them would feel familiar to anyone who's spent a lot of time feeding tokens and coins to the demon silver ball in a bar or an arcade.
And this is what sets Hardcore Pinball apart from the other GBA pinball games. There are no play modes, no difficulty levels, and, with a very few exceptions, no video gimmicks. Paragon Five put all their effort into making these tables as realistic as possible, and it shows. They are like the real thing. No magic pop-ups to save your ball if you bonk, as in the Muppets game, no weird particles emanating from the ball, and no monsters walking around the table.
Just like in the arcades, sometimes you will sink all your balls with almost no score. And other times, you will find yourself in a wonderful groove where everything happens oh-so-right.
These tables are quite a bit more difficult to master than the other two GBA pinball simulations, and this fact may frustrate some casual gamers. But at least, with Hardcore Pinball, you don't have to sweat breaking the top glass because you slammed your beer glass down too hard.
The four tables are based upon the types of tables you'd come across in a pinball arcade of days gone by. The first is called Station, which is vaguely based on a fictional space station. The second is Robomech, also a science fiction-ish game, but based on robots. The third is Soccer, and is representative of the sports themed tables that were popular for so long. And the fourth is Retro, and has a 50s feel to it with bubble gum bumpers, Marilyn Monroe, and a hot rod car.
High scores are saved automatically. There is no learning curve. Insert the cart, turn on your GBA, and, to really appreciate this game, don your headphones, then select a table, and play.
If I could only have one GBA pinball game, this would be it. It's great! This is a pinball arcade on a tiny cart! The only bad thing I can say about Hardcore Pinball is that it is hard to find. I looked all over the place of more than a week before I scarfed it.
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