Your average run-of-the-mill pinball game, but in space.
This game was a prototype for the actual game, Galactic Pinball, so I may end up being a bit lax on the review due to this. So, moving right along.
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Graphics: 6/10 - The graphics and animations are actually pretty good, every stages board is different in some way, and it keeps things from getting stale to quickly. Of course the "ball" could have used the same treatment, it doesn't roll or anything, giving it more of the appearance of a puck than ball.
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Sound: 6/10 - Not much different from your average bleeps and bloops of older games with the occasional firing or alarm sound bits. The best clip would probably be the announcers voice for the title screen, it's loud and clear, probably on level with computers at the time.
Their are 5 music tracks for this game. The first being the title screen, which is well fitting even for as short as it is.
The second song comes from the selection screen, which is alright, but nothing really special and might get on your nerves over long periods. Considering you'll also be hearing it a lot more than you'd hope, they could have picked something better.
The third track playing for boards 1 and 4, the 'Whimsical' tune as I call it, begins with a starry sound, then extends to a feeling of fun and amusement. It's pretty good.
The fourth track which plays for boards 2 and 5, personally titled the 'Adventure' tune, offers a feel of mystery, exploration, and discovery, giving you a real feel for adventure. Shame it ended up in a pinball game.
And the fifth track that plays on the 3rd board, which could also be called 'The March', starts off with (obviously) a march, which then slowly builds up to classic arcade-like tune before reverting to the monotonous march.
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Depth: 3/10 - This game offers 5 boards in total, each with a unique goal and mechanic.
Stage 1 which is the bubble board, and offers 2 different mini games, the first involves little bumpers which are controlled the same as the flippers, and the second one which offers no real involvement, just wait for the ball to come out on its own. The advancement goal here is to ascend the ramp which leads to the 2nd stage.
Stage 2's gimmick is the slot turbines, giving you different rewards depending on the result. No clear advancement goal for this level.
Stage 3 is quite simple with few to no tricks, clear all the stars to proceed to stage 4.
Stage 4 is all about hoops, hit the center rings, and aim the ball into the ring tubes for points. If you manage to aim the ball into the bottom left area 4 times to finish and launch the space shuttle, you can proceed to stage 5.
Finally, Stage 5 is the UFO board, complete with giant saucer and mini UFOs, it's also probably the easiest stage to complete. You have two options, points or next stage, for points you must launch the ball into a spiral motion around the giant ship, causing it to fly up and reveal the bumpers, you're also given a nifty timer to see how long you've kept the saucer up for. To proceed to the next/1st Stage, simply hit a few of the mini-saucers while the mother ship is stationary and the hatch door will open up, fling the ball into the large ship for area completion.
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Difficulty: 3/10 - At first, the game appears unforgiving, what with unavoidable deaths, somewhat unpredictability of the ball, and the fact that you're only given one life regardless of winning any extras. Annoying? Yes, but not difficult once you realize that upon re-entering any level, your score remains intact. There's actually no game over, are you kidding me? There's no risk, so the score doesn't feel as rewarding. The stage resets, but you lose nothing but your patience from the cheap deaths.
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Addictiveness: 5/10 - After discovering that there's no real risk, you could quickly end up losing any motivation to continue playing. If you actually enjoy playing the stages, then this could give you about an hour of play for some mindless fun, but if you enjoy a little competition and fair score keeping, I'd recommend the UFO stage to see how long you can keep the saucer up.
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Overall: 4.7/10 - I was kind of soft on this considering it was a prototype, especially for the flop of a system the Virtual Boy was. It's okay for some occasional mindless fun, but I'd probably recommend the official title, Galactic Pinball, over this one.
- Zelfore, signing off! Your average run-of-the-mill pinball game, but in space.
This game was a prototype for the actual game, Galactic Pinball, so I may end up being a bit lax on the review due to this. So, moving right along.
- -
Graphics: 6/10 - The graphics and animations are actually pretty good, every stages board is different in some way, and it keeps things from getting stale to quickly. Of course the "ball" could have used the same treatment, it doesn't roll or anything, giving it more of the appearance of a puck than ball.
- -
Sound: 6/10 - Not much different from your average bleeps and bloops of older games with the occasional firing or alarm sound bits. The best clip would probably be the announcers voice for the title screen, it's loud and clear, probably on level with computers at the time.
Their are 5 music tracks for this game. The first being the title screen, which is well fitting even for as short as it is.
The second song comes from the selection screen, which is alright, but nothing really special and might get on your nerves over long periods. Considering you'll also be hearing it a lot more than you'd hope, they could have picked something better.
The third track playing for boards 1 and 4, the 'Whimsical' tune as I call it, begins with a starry sound, then extends to a feeling of fun and amusement. It's pretty good.
The fourth track which plays for boards 2 and 5, personally titled the 'Adventure' tune, offers a feel of mystery, exploration, and discovery, giving you a real feel for adventure. Shame it ended up in a pinball game.
And the fifth track that plays on the 3rd board, which could also be called 'The March', starts off with (obviously) a march, which then slowly builds up to classic arcade-like tune before reverting to the monotonous march.
- -
Depth: 3/10 - This game offers 5 boards in total, each with a unique goal and mechanic.
Stage 1 which is the bubble board, and offers 2 different mini games, the first involves little bumpers which are controlled the same as the flippers, and the second one which offers no real involvement, just wait for the ball to come out on its own. The advancement goal here is to ascend the ramp which leads to the 2nd stage.
Stage 2's gimmick is the slot turbines, giving you different rewards depending on the result. No clear advancement goal for this level.
Stage 3 is quite simple with few to no tricks, clear all the stars to proceed to stage 4.
Stage 4 is all about hoops, hit the center rings, and aim the ball into the ring tubes for points. If you manage to aim the ball into the bottom left area 4 times to finish and launch the space shuttle, you can proceed to stage 5.
Finally, Stage 5 is the UFO board, complete with giant saucer and mini UFOs, it's also probably the easiest stage to complete. You have two options, points or next stage, for points you must launch the ball into a spiral motion around the giant ship, causing it to fly up and reveal the bumpers, you're also given a nifty timer to see how long you've kept the saucer up for. To proceed to the next/1st Stage, simply hit a few of the mini-saucers while the mother ship is stationary and the hatch door will open up, fling the ball into the large ship for area completion.
- -
Difficulty: 3/10 - At first, the game appears unforgiving, what with unavoidable deaths, somewhat unpredictability of the ball, and the fact that you're only given one life regardless of winning any extras. Annoying? Yes, but not difficult once you realize that upon re-entering any level, your score remains intact. There's actually no game over, are you kidding me? There's no risk, so the score doesn't feel as rewarding. The stage resets, but you lose nothing but your patience from the cheap deaths.
- -
Addictiveness: 5/10 - After discovering that there's no real risk, you could quickly end up losing any motivation to continue playing. If you actually enjoy playing the stages, then this could give you about an hour of play for some mindless fun, but if you enjoy a little competition and fair score keeping, I'd recommend the UFO stage to see how long you can keep the saucer up.
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Overall: 4.7/10 - I was kind of soft on this considering it was a prototype, especially for the flop of a system the Virtual Boy was. It's okay for some occasional mindless fun, but I'd probably recommend the official title, Galactic Pinball, over this one.
- Zelfore, signing off! |
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