Review NaN of 4
, from Phoenix
Price Paid:
$30.00
from Toys R Us Summary:
I've been eyeing this title ever since it first came out. I love pinball, and I've had the Muppet pinball game for the GBA for a long while now. The truth is, I'll probably buy every pinball game that comes out for the GBA, since it is so perfectly suited for games built around the little metal ball.
Once I popped the cartridge into my GBA, however, I was a bit surprised to find out that Pinball of the Dead is not, in fact, a true pinball simulation. Instead, it is an action-puzzle game that uses pinball dynamics as the central part of gameplay.
For instance, it is a single-player-only game, with no facility for competitive play, except for the saved rankings. And, you have no control over the plunger, which is the device that shoots the ball. Plus, there are two difficulty levels, and difficulty levels do not exist on real pinball tables. And lastly, all games are three-ball games only, with no five-ball option.
None of these things, though, have any bearing on the fact that The Pinball of the Dead kicks major ass. It is one of the most addictive games I have ever played. It is hard as hell to put away, and even harder to keep it away for any length of time.
It amazes me how Sega keeps coming up with strange ways to work the "(fill in the blank) of the Dead" mythos into different kinds of games. For instance, I have the Dreamcast game 'The Typing of the Dead', which is a survival-horror based typing tutor that uses the Dreamcast keyboard. As bizarre as it sounds, it works wonderfully. And even though The Pinball of the Dead sounds bizarre, it works wonderfully, too.
Pinball of the Dead comes with three basic tables, and you can open up mini-tables during gameplay once you activate one or more of the many gimmicks present. All of these tables are based on the House of the Dead series of games, which mean you deal out death to Zombies. In this game, you do so by whacking them with pinballs. These little Zombies (and other monsters as well) walk all over the three tables by the dozens, with arms extended in front of them in true Zombie fashion. They squish with a very satisfying splat when hit with a pinball, leaving a sizeable glob of bloody zombie goo behind (temporarily), and they give forth a pitiful groan as they expire. Sega was quite thoughtful in this regard, as you can choose from one of four different colors for the blood.
In addition to killing Zombies, and more importantly in terms of increasing your score, there are many very cool gimmicks on the tables. For those of you not familiar with pinball parlance, gimmicks are the traps, rollovers, and other tasks you strive to complete to increase your bonus score. Many of these gimmicks open up boss mini-tables, where you have one pinball to play and try to kill a big Zombie. If you are successful, you score major bonus points. In addition, weird things like giant bloody heads and rotten body parts erupt from the table during gameplay. These are amazingly gory and gross and I had a bit of fun letting my wife be surprised by this when she played.
There are so many different gimmicks to complete, and so many associated surprises in store, that I cannot even begin to guess how long it would take to play this game out. That, combined with the rankings and the Challenge Mode, adds up to a ton of replay value. Challenge Mode, btw, is simply playing all three tables through back to back for the highest score.
A twisted and freaky sense of humor pervades this title. For instance, there are four different control schemes for operating the flippers and tilting the tables in the game options. I was blown away to see 'Type D', which is designed for one handed play (I am serious). I am a blood donor, and I've always wished I could take my GBA to the blood donor station, but you need to use one hand to squeeze-pump while the needle is in, which means gaming is out. Well, I tried the Type D control scheme, and it really works! So now, I have a cool GBA game I can play with just one hand!
You owe it to yourself to add this unique, bizarre, and incredibly addictive game to your GBA collection. Who knows what Sega will come up with next? The Racing of the Dead, or The Futuristic Military Simulation of the Dead, or...
Anyway, get this game. As soon as you can. It rocks. Report this review >>
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