This game embodies everything about both genres it contains, the pinball genre and the collecting genre. Clearly it follows the collecting genre Pokemon has become famous for, as there is a huge myriad of Pokemon available for capture. Pokemon prides itself on the "just-one-more" philosophy: just one more Pokemon, just one more gym. The pinball genre also draws on the "one more game" idea, mostly because pinball machines were made to make money by enticing the player with just one more game, just one more round, and thus more quarters for the machine. The two genres, pinball and Pokemon, combine brilliantly in this one game to make for a super addicting, oh so glad I don't pay quarters for every game experience.
Graphics: 9
The graphics maintain the Pokemon feel very well, with each sprite lively, colorful, and delightful to see. The pokeball moves fluidly around the table, not slowing down the framerate even when the pinball action reaches critical mass. I've seen lesser pinball games' framerates absolutely chug to a halt during frenetic gameplay, and I was pleased that this one did not.
Sound: 8
The sound once again immediately calls to mind Pokemon. The cries of the Pokemon are exactly like the other Pokemon games, and the pinball effects are timed perfectly, without delay between sight and sound.
Addictiveness: 10
This is where this game really shines. Everything about this game made me want to play another. One more Pokemon to catch, maybe I can beat my high score this time, one more one more one more. Not to mention the fact that the game has a Pokedex for you to fill out. So many wasted nights. But no regrets.
Story: 8
Standard Pokemon fare here. Gotta catch em all in pinball pokeballs. No great shakes, but hey, it's worked for every single Pokemon game so far, right?
Depth: 8
There is a massive amount of stuff to do in this game. Pokemon to catch, locations to travel to, legendary Pokemon to battle. Even though there are only two tables, you may travel to a couple different locations on each table, with new Pokemon to catch at each location. Also, I think I mentioned this before: Pokedex.
Difficulty: 4
I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. The game is very easy, allowing me to rack up ridiculously huge scores on my first couple of playthroughs. We're talking billions of points. Billions. But that made me think to myself, that wasn't so hard, I could probably beat that score if I got a bit better at the game, played it a bit more. And here I am, many hours later... so the ease of the game made me play it more? I don't know, maybe. Regardless, it's not hard to get astronomical scores.
Overall: 9.5
This game is full of win and awesome. And Pokemon. If you play it, you can too! |