Gaming History: The Simple Series

For today's Gaming History article I'll be taking a look at a series of games that for the most part I wish didn't exist. It's filled with badly programmed, poorly designed rubbish and makes up just over 5% of the Playstation 2's entire Japanese library with 165 releases for the console alone. In total there have been 401 Simple Series releases across 11 consoles, with Sony's original Playstation and PS2 receiving most of the titles.

You may well ask how a company can manage to release 401 terrible games and stay in business, after all many other companies have gone into liquidation after far less failures, but the secret is in the budget. D3 Publisher don't develop many of the games themselves, but instead pay tiny developers who have no prior experience or talent to create titles for them for next to nothing. Once these are complete, they're put on sale for the budget price of 2000 yen (for the PS2 series, anyway) and the costs are recouped even if only a small percentage of gamers purchase the titles.

(The Sniper 2 for PS2 - The first simple series game I played)

Not all of the Simple Series games released in Japan made it over to Europe, but thanks to Midas Interactive (who already had their own line of terrible games established in PAL regions) 83 PS2 simple series titles were published over here. Since playing The Sniper 2, my first encounter with the Simple Series as a while, I've made it a personal challenge to find a game that I truly enjoy from the series.

So far I've not had much success, despite many attempts to find something I'll enjoy. I've even got a stack of Simple Series games that I've not yet reviewed because I've got nothing better to review it seems. It's pretty easy to spot a simple series game out in the wild; games with a generic title, published by Midas Interactive, or worse 505 Gamestreet are very likely to be from the series. In fact, in Japan every game starts with "The" and has borders to identify it as a Simple Series game. This results in rather silly title translations such as "The Tennis", "The Shooting" and my favourite "The Swim Meet of Covered Woman".

(Party Girls for PS2 aka The Swim Meet of Covered Woman in Japan)

Part of the reason the games aren't enjoyable is that graphically they're very basic, and unappealing. Many of the games in the PS2 simple series look as if they belong on PS1, and even use assets from other games if they can. I understand that these games were developed on a tight budget and thus can't afford the high level of graphics that we've come to expect of our consoles in the modern age, but there's a general lack of effort in most, if not all titles I've played so far.

Another general criticism of Simple Series games is their depth; often the play modes offered are very similar to one another and included only to give the illusion of more content. Menus have very few options, and most of the games can be completed in a single sitting. I'd perhaps expect this of games on simpler systems, back in the NES and Master System days, but to hardly fill a single layer CD when the PS2 has all the space of a DVD available for games is disappointing.

(Deadly Strike for PS2 - One of the worst beat 'em ups ever)

Before playing the Simple Series, I was under the impression that there were some genres that it was almost impossible to make a bad game for; racing, beat 'em up and fighting games for example have many examples of mediocrity, but not too many outright bad games. Whether through a lack of effort or a lack of funds though, D3 Publisher seems to manage to ruin one aspect of the game or another. With racing games, the steering is always horribly difficult to work, with beat 'em ups, the AI has no clue what it's doing and with any other game there's always a key component that doesn't quite work.

With many Simple Series games to check out, it's possible that I'll find a gem at some point and perhaps look a little more favourably on the series as a whole, but it's important to keep in mind where D3 Publisher are now, having published most of the Simple Series between 1996 and 2009. The Simple Series itself has luckily ground to somewhat of a halt, The latest game was "Family Party: 30 Great Games" for the WiiU, which was a universally panned launch title, wasting no time in putting shovelware on the console.

(Earth Defence Force 2025 for PS3 - The most successful export of the simple series)

The most notable games to come out of the Simple Series are without a doubt those of the Earth Defence Force series. What began as a Simple Series game of slightly better quality than most is now a series with full price titles that are almost as buggy as simple series titles. Most of the games hold a rating of 69 or less on Metacritic, indicating a fairly poor level of quality despite not technically being a part of the Simple Series anymore.

Outside of Simple series games, D3 Publisher have been involved with many cartoon and movie tie in games, most notably Adventure Time: Explore the dungeon because I don't know! which wasn't particularly well received at all. As another full price game from D3 Publisher, this more than anything proves the point I'd like to make about the Simple Series and D3 as a whole. If none of their games were ever released, gaming would be none the worse for it. In fact, it might even be slightly better for it. Avoid D3 Publisher, Midas Interactive and 505 Gamestreet games if you can, and leave the painful task of playing them to me.

Game Review: Loco Roco

Game: Loco Roco
Console: Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Japan
Release Date: 5th September 2006

Re-inventing the platfoming genre is always a risky business; some games try and bend the formula too far and end up overcomplicating themselves while others don't change things enough, and are criticised for being clones of other games. Loco Roco lies in a sweet spot somewhere between the two, with simple controls and concepts meeting fairly challenging collecting (at least if you're going for 100%), and branching level paths.

The main aim of the game is to roll the player's LocoRoco character to the end of each level, by tilting the world using the L+R shoulder buttons on the PSP. Along the way there are different types of fruit to collect (some increase the size of your character and others are simply for collecting), as well as parts for the customisable LocoRoco house feature. It's also possible to jump by pressing both shoulder buttons down at the same time and then releasing them.

One of the main features of the game is splitting your LocoRoco into its smaller component ones, to fit through tight spaces and get to places that are inaccessible to the larger character. The bigger a player's LocoRoco, the more smaller creatures it can split into up to a maximum of 20. At the end of each level, the screen shows how many fruits and other collectibles have been amassed.

There's a simple storyline which unfolds as the game continues, involving the 'Moja Troop' who feature in most, if not all levels and will attempt to decrease the size of the player's Locoroco by taking away from the total fruits collected. While fairly easy to avoid at first, their tricks get craftier throughout the game, making it more and more difficult to collect and keep all of the fruits.

Graphically the game is nicely stylised and features a good assortment of levels and characters to unlock. The simplistic and easy to understand designs mean that players of any age can grasp the goals of the game, and how to achieve them. In truth it's hard to fail most levels, but it's also very difficult to find all of the collectibles. The music of the game reminded me of We Love Katamari in many ways, in that it's different to a lot of videogame soundtracks, but still manages to be charming and give character to the game.

Overall LocoRoco is a good simple platformer that can also be a challenging collecting game if players so wish. There's plenty to find, and minigames to play in addition to the main mode. Since I wasn't attempting to collect everything, I found the game to be a little easy and perhaps a little short, but I know there's the potential for replaying and searching high and low for those last fruits.

Rating: 72/100
Grade: C

Collection Review: Midway Arcade Treasures 2 (Part 2)

Game: Midway Arcade Treasures 2
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 29th October 2004

Continuing with the second half of this collection (the first half can be found here), there are classics such as Primal Rage and Rampage World Tour to come, alongside some lesser known arcade games. The first 10 games on the collection were mixed, containing some absolute classics, such as Arch Rivals and Cyberball 2072, alongside less enjoyable games. Let's hope there's more enjoyment to come as we begin.

Game: Pit-Fighter
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1990

Pit Fighter is a fighting/beat 'em up crossover where players must jump, kick and punch their way to victory against opponents, to become the champion. Up to 3 players can fight simultaneously, and the number of enemies depends on how many players there are. The game used digitised images of actors, just like Mortal Kombat, but was released prior.

The version of this game on Midway Arcade Treasures runs significantly faster than the original arcade game, which can cause quite a problem in terms of players strategy and reaction times. Most of the time button mashing is the best policy to get through a fight, and even then players are likely to die 2-3 times per fight. There'd be a good progression of difficulty if it wasn't for the speed of the game, but on the whole it's pretty bland.

Graphically the game hasn't aged well, and only looks about as good as the original Mortal Kombat, if not a little worse. The game's soundtrack is fairly enjoyable and is reminiscent of Mega Drive titles of the time, but the sound effects and voices can easily grate on players.

Overall the speed of this conversion of Pit Fighter ruins a lot of its playability, since all strategy and technique is null and void however, there are signs that this wouldn't be the best of games even if that were fixed in its graphics, sound design and overall repetitive nature. While it may have seemed fresher at the time of its release there's tons of better games out there now.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Game: Primal Rage
Console: Arcade
Developer: Atari
Release Date: 1994

In the early 90s, a fighting game featuring dinosaurs and other primal creatures, battling it out to gain followers and rule the world sounded like a good idea, and so Primal Rage was born. The game plays much like a standard tournament fighter, allowing players to beat enemies one by one until all have been defeated. There's also special moves and combos much like Mortal Kombat, with blood, and other slightly more disgusting effects.

The controls allow for heavy and light punches and kicks as well as standard movement. The lighter attacks are hardly ever useful as they don't do as much damage as heavier attacks, and aren't that much easier to land. The game seems to play a little more smoothly and enjoyably than the Mega Drive version, which is understandable since it was in arcades.

Graphically the game looks pretty good, if a little low resolution in places; especially the motion captured followers of the beasts. The music is nothing special and doesn't particularly add to the experience in any way. The sound effects aren't bad although I doubt it'd be particularly hard to produce basic dinosaur sounds. The game's difficulty is a little strange; easily letting players win the first round of most battles but then turning the difficulty up on them.

Overall this is more fun than the Mega Drive version, but still full of the same control and AI flaws. The graphical improvement is noticeable but there's no other real reasons to seek out an arcade version of the game.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game: Rampage World Tour
Console: Arcade
Developer: Midway
Release Date: 1997

Rampage World Tour invites players to destroy towns and cities as an oversized animal, while eating food and humans found in buildings to regain health. The controls are simple and allow players to jump, punch and kick, though the kick is most effective. In each level, most of the buildings must be destroyed before progressing.

For a game about massive destruction and oversized animals, Rampage World Tour is incredibly boring. Not only does it quickly turn into an exercise in simply pressing the circle button as many times as possible for each building, but each level is essentially the same thing, with more people attempting to shoot your mutant.

Graphically the game is in a cartoon style and performs quite well in terms of animation. The effects of destruction and explosion are nicely represented and add a little to the game's fun. The sound effects and music are played at quite a low level, and don't seem to add too much to the overall experience.

On the whole, Rampage World Tour is a repetitive and fairly uninspired game which shows promise in principle but doesn't ever really deliver on the arcade style destruction it would need to have to be a good game. Having played a subsequent iteration of the game on the Wii, I got the impression that Midway made the first Rampage game and then ran out of ideas.

Rating: 46/100
Grade: D

Game: Spy Hunter II
Console: Arcade
Developer: Bally Midway
Release Date: 1987

Driving games in 1987 were understandably basic, but that doesn't stop them from sometimes being enjoyable. What does stop them from being enjoyable is when they're incredibly hard to play. In Spy Hunter 2, you control a car which is hunting down spies on motorbikes, with its mounted guns. There are other weapon upgrades such as missiles and oil, but players are lucky if they even get the chance to use them. Enemies can come from behind or in front of you, but since the cars guns are front mounted, anything behind or to the sides has a free shot at you.

Managing to drive the car up a ramp and into the allied van will allow for an upgrade of weapon, but honestly I've only been able to use one of these once due to the fact that either the motorbikes or helicopters will explode the car and get me told off for crashing the car. Turns on the games consequently last around 1 minute each and consist of getting hit by unavoidable bullets and missiles.

Graphically the game is basic and it's sometimes hard to tell what direction your bullet will go in due to bends in the road. Things aren't too bad for 1987, and some funky music makes up for it a little but players are still left with an almost unplayable mess of a game.

Rating: 8/100
Grade: F

Game: Timber
Console: Arcade
Developer: Bally Midway
Release Date: 1984

Timber is a relatively simple arcade game where a Mario lookalike attempts to chop down an allotted amount of trees in a given time. The player controls the lumberjack's movement and can choose to swing the axe left or right. While chopping down the trees, bears will throw bees nests at the player which must be dodged, or hit with the axe. There are also birds which fly around later levels and get in the players way.

A bonus stage appears after every 2 successful rounds, challenging the player to maintain their balance on a log which is submerged in water. While the main game is easy, this minigame is pretty hard and is unpredictable. The difficulty increases with each level completed, up to a maximum of 19 trees needing to be chopped down, with a decreased time limit and tiny logs to balance on in the bonus stages.

Graphically the game doesn't seem to have a very well defined style, mixing cartoon parts with relatively badly defined objects and backgrounds. I think this can easily be forgiven as it was released in 1984, and the game plays fairly well. The music grates a little after a while, but it's not bad. Overall this is a fun little arcade game despite being a little too simple, and not having a whole lot of variety.

Rating: 13/100
Grade: F

Game: Total Carnage

Console: Arcade

Developer: Midway

Release Date: 1991

As the sequel to Super Smash TV, Total Carnage had a lot to live up to. While the gameplay remains much the same, the theme has been changed from a game show to a military style. Players attempt to avoid hordes of enemy soldiers and vehicles whilst collecting american flags, gems and disarming bombs. Weapon upgrades can be collected temporarily by walking over certain power ups. With flame throwers and rocket launchers on offer, it's just as destructive as the first game in the series. 

Both analog sticks are used to control the movement and shooting direction respectively, with some strategy required to avoid being hit by any of the opposing forces. The screen does tend to get very busy at times, much like in Smash TV, but this seems to have upped the difficulty somewhat. On the plus side, players get infinite continues, so that they can reach the end of the game, no matter how many dollars beating the game in an arcade would have cost. 

Bosses take an incredible amount of bullets to beat; far more than those from the first game. Graphically Total Carnage looks great, with well defined enemies, powerups and collectibles. The soundtrack is in a similar style to that of Smash TV although I didn't enjoy it quite as much. I'd recommend playing this with a friend, as the option is available and it takes some of the rather extreme difficulty away. 

Overall this is close to being as much fun as Super Smash TV for the Mega Drive, but lacks the wackyness due to the removal of the gameshow themeing, and the implementation of more conventional challenges in a few parts of the game. Total Carnage did receive a SNES port, but it seems like it'd only be a scaled down version of the arcade title. 

Rating: 80/100

Grade: B

Game: Wacko

Console: Arcade

Developer: Bally Midway

Release Date: 1983

The main character from 1982's Kozmik Krooz'r returns in Wacko, an arcade shooter where matching pairs of monsters is the aim. Players control a spaceship, which can shoot in four directions and are tasked with shooting monsters of the same type successively. In later levels of the game, shooting a non-matching pair will create a pair of mutants, which must either be reversed by shooting them once again, or matched by mutating their matching counterparts and then shooting both sets of mutants. 

Gameplay is generally fast and involves a lot of avoiding monsters that are already on screen. Even early on in the game there can be as many as 8 pairs of monsters on screen at once. Added to the fact that paired monsters shrink, but don't disappear in later levels, this makes for a lot of concentrating in order to stay alive. Players are given 3 chances to make contact with a monster before the game is over, which often results in short turns. 

The spaceship is controlled with either the d-pad or left analog stick, while the 4 directional shot is controlled via the face buttons or right analog stick. These controls work well and give players the opportunity to strategise their shots and movements. One major problem with the game is the size of the play area relative to the monsters, and the fact that they'll often go off one side of the screen and appear on the opposite side. This can make it hard to accurately shoot monsters, especially when they're changing direction constantly.

Graphically the game is bright and somewhat surreal with a variety of monsters and the alien player character onscreen. The audio is rather lacking, containing just arcade style "bleeps and bloops" rather than a soundtrack. Overall it's a far more promising game than Kozmik Krooz'r, but it remains basic in gameplay, look and sound. 

Rating: 40/100

Grade: E

Game: Wizard of Wor

Console: Arcade

Developer: Bally Midway

Release Date: 1981

Wizard of Wor is a maze shooter where 2 players, or the player and computer work co-operatively to defeat monsters and progress through the various dungeons the game has to offer. Players can control their movement with the analog stick or d-pad, and shoot with the X button in the direction that they are facing. As the levels progress there are more monsters, some of which are even invisible, that move faster and faster around the maze. 

The game is fairly difficult and the computer player isn't particularly skilled so I'd suggest enlisting the help of a friend. Gameplay isn't particularly interesting since it's confined to the maze itself and levels usually only last around 30 seconds each. There are a limited amount of "worriors" for each player, and when these are expended the game is over. 

Graphically the game makes a lot of use of red, blue and yellow as colours although they don't represent teams, meaning that it's possible to shoot your allies in error. The sprites used a fairly basic and there's not a whole lot of animation when they're moving, but this is to be expected for the time. Soundwise there's almost constant computerised voice clips, but it's impossible to decipher what they're saying. Overall Wizard of Wor fails to be an exciting game in the modern day, however fun it may have been in 1981. 

Rating: 14/100

Grade: F

Game: Xenphobe

Console: Arcade

Developer: Midway

Release Date: 1987

Xenophobe was a predominantly three player arcade game, which could be played with one or two players also. The screen is clearly divided into three portions and even in single player mode, players only get 1/3 of the screen to play on. The objective of the game is to rid various space vessels of "Xenos" or aliens, and prevent them from self destructing by collecting codes and keys to enter into their computer system. 

Players can move left or right through the rooms of the current vessel, and aliens will attack from all angles, even through the floors and ceilings. They can also latch onto players, draining health until the appropriate button to remove them is pressed. Weapon upgrades are available and can help players immensely. Although the general control scheme is good, most of the game is spent crouching as the smallest Xenos are at a low height. 

Graphically the game has a nice cartoon style, and moves very smoothly. It's a shame that so much of the screen is taken up by other players, especially when they're not even taking part in the current game. The menu music for the game is very good but gameplay is accompanied by silence, with only sound effects playing. 

Overall Xenophobe is another example of a game that would have been impressive and fresh for its time, but has lost a lot of its charm over time. While I can appreciate the sound and graphics still, the gameplay seems repetitive and poorly thought out. Perhaps it's far better with 3 players, but single player mode seems to drag on. 

Rating: 45/100

Grade: E

Game: Xybots

Console: Arcade

Developer: Atari

Release Date: 1987

While it certainly wasn't the earliest example of a 3D shooter, using 2D graphics and angle changes to give an impression of depth, Xybots is a great early example of the genre. Set inside of a maze, players must find their way to the exit point, avoiding or killing monsters on their way with either their gun or zapper (though the zapper takes away 10% health each time it's used). Player health drains slowly as levels continue, so speed is of the essence. 

The left analog stick is used to move around on screen, while L1 and R1 are used to shift the view 90 degrees left and right respectively. It takes a little getting used to, but the controls make sense once players have become accustomed to them. At the end of each level there's a shop which offers upgrades and special items, including 150% max health and slower health drain.  

Graphically the game seems rather basic from its screenshots, but the 3D effect really enhances play and wasn't a common feature of games at the time. The map at the top of the screen is helpful to players, although in later levels it zooms in to provide more challenge. Musically, the game features an enjoyable range of tracks behind gameplay, as well as some decent sound and vocal effects. 

Overall Xybots is a fun maze style shooter, with plenty of challenge for one or two players, a good strategy/power up system and innovative gameplay. This game stands out above a lot of the other games on the collection, seeming almost like a prototype Doom or Wolfenstein title. The limitations of the 3D are the only things holding the game back from being truly amazing.

Rating: 77/100

Grade: B

With an average score of 42.75 across the entire collection, it may seem as if Midway Arcade Treasures 2 hosts an mediocre selection of arcade games, but the average score has been brought down by the likes of Kozmik Krooz'r, Hard Drivin', Wizard of Wor, Spy Hunter II and Timber. Without these games there'd have still been 15 on the collection to choose from, including truly enjoyable games such as Arch Rivals, Cyberball 2072, Total Carnage and Xybots.

Midway seem to have gone for quantity over quality with this selection, despite including some very good titles. Because of this, the entire collection comes across as hit and miss, rather than a true selection of forgotten gems. The information and promotional materials for each game included are nice touches, as is being able to redefine the controls for each game. On the whole this collection is worth checking out, despite there being games to avoid on it.

Rating: 62/100

Grade: C

Pinball Games Roundup

Recently I've noticed rather a lot of pinball games in my collection, so what better way to review them than with a cross-console comparison roundup? There's a good spread of eras, starting with the NES and if you're really into your pinball games, I've already covered Pokemon Pinball and Sonic Spinball in a review.

Game: Pinball
Console: Nintendo Entertainment System
Developer: Nintendo
Release Date: 18th October 1985

By no means the first pinball game (the Atari 2600, Intellivision and probably several other consoles had one), Pinball on the NES is the first to my knowledge that could be defined as genuinely enjoyable. While it's still pretty basic and visually unimpressive, the core gameplay and table features are in place to make an interesting pinball table. There's a choice of 2 game modes, A and B, the difference being that A has floatier and less challenging ball physics than B which seems to be for more experienced players.

Although there's only one table to play it, it's full of features including a slot machine style bonus display, a multiplier button, targets, cards to turn into a royal flush, and chicks which can be used to gain extra ball savers for the sides of the table. The control is decent in both modes, although I personally prefer Mode A as it usually leads to a longer game.

Graphically the game is very simple, but it's possible to see all that's happening and each feature of the table is clearly laid out. The music of the menu screen is pretty average, and the sound effects in-game are standard NES fare. Overall this is at the very least playable, and could possibly provide an hour or two of fun for players, though there's not a huge amount to do as there's only one table on which to play.

Rating: 34/100
Grade: E

Game: Psycho Pinball

Console: Sega Mega Drive

Developer: Codemasters

Release Date: 1994

Psycho Pinball ups the stakes for the 16 bit era by providing 4 different pinball tables, sub games, mini games and speed/difficulty options to suit every player. The table themes are wild west, underwater, halloween and amusement park. While the first three are played as single table games, the amusement park table can provides access to any of the other three through tents which transport the player's ball to its destination table. This can be a fun feature to chain together many turns, as long as the player has the skill to actually get to another table.

Controlling the main game is simple, as the left direction button and C are used for the left and right flippers respectively. When a sub game is initiated, it's usually controlled with the A, B and C buttons, and can range from a shell game, where players must guess what cup an object is under, to a game of skill where players must catch ghosts. The final type of control is used for the minigames which are much more elaborate than the subgames, and require regular platforming controls. All aspects of the game control fairly well and at no point does it feel unintuitive. 

Graphically the game is colourful and in somewhat of a cartoon style; the design gives a good overall atmosphere to the game and links each of its tables together well. The music of the game is very enjoyable and adds a lot of character; each table has its own theme which reflects its theme. My only complaint of this game would be that aside from the minigames, all players can try to do is get a high score; there's no bonus goals, objectives or unlocks to keep one's interest.

Overall this is an enjoyable, if slightly shallow pinball game, with a small but interesting range of tables and minigames. The amount of options offered is a nice bonus, with everything from Slow to Psycho speed. While there wasn't much like it around at the time of its release, I'm sure there are better pinball games to come in this review.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game: 3D Ultra Pinball 2: Creep Night
Console: PC
Developer: Sierra
Release Date: 23rd September 1996

Creep Night was the first Pinball game I played as a child, as a demo of the game had been included on some educational software I had. The game has a horror theme and features goblins, ghouls, skeletons and more over its three tables; Castle, Tower and Dungeon. All 3 play fairly similarly as the object of each is to complete 5 tasks, assigned to the player once the ball is accurately hit into a series of gates. While this may sound complex, it's not particularly hard to do.

One of the main draws of this game is the amount of extra bonuses and areas there are on each table; the castle alone features 3 sets of flippers as well as a singular one on the left hand side. There's also plenty of targets, doors and other things to hit, in addition to the 5 tasks required which range from protecting your ball from a wraith to squashing zombies, to chasing a goblins on an atv. The amount of imagination that seems to have gone into designing this is impressive.

Graphics are probably the game's weakest area overall as most textures and effects look fairly dated. It's still easy to see what needs to be hit, but an HD remake of the game wouldn't go amiss. The musical accompaniment to Creep Night is stellar and forms a lot of the game's uniqueness. The mischievous feel to the theme of the castle level hints at the coming chaos brought about by all manner of monsters and ghosts.

Overall Creep Night hasn't aged particularly well as a game; it's three tables seem pretty similar to each other and the graphics could easily be improved. At times the ball feels as if it magnetically gravitates towards certain items which may help or hinder the player. Despite this, the gameplay, music and design of the tables are still enjoyable and hold at least an hour or two of fun for players who are new to the game. If you're into 90s PC games, then this is definitely a game to check out, otherwise it's an interesting curiosity.

Rating: 64/100
Grade: C

Game: True Pinball
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Digital Illusions
Release Date: September 1996

True Pinball features 4 different tables which can be played in 3D or from a top down view, and feature police, baywatch, extreme sports and viking themes respectively. Each table is fairly small and most feature a lot of ramps and ball runs, with a few minigames here and there. Overall they're not as exciting as the tables of Creep Night or Psycho Pinball.

Controlwise, the game is a little strange; the right d-pad button is used to control the left flipper, and the square button is used for the right flipper. While this isn't too hard to get used to, it'd be nice if players could redefine the controls as desired. Each turn seems to be significantly shorter than most pinball games also, with some only lasting around 20 seconds, despite players best efforts to keep the pinball in play. When playing in top down mode, the ball seems to move far faster than it does in 3D mode which, when added to the scrolling effect makes gameplay even harder.

Graphically the game looks nice, especially for an original Playstation game. There are bright colours and nicely detailed graphics on each table. The music which accompanies gameplay is different for each theme and most, if not all music is enjoyable and fits well with its table. Besides getting a high score on each table, there's not a lot more to do in the game, nor anything to unlock which means there's not a great deal of replay value either.

Overall True Pinball may have featured impressive graphics and gameplay for its time on the original Playstation, but to me it feels devoid of many features and its tables feel far too restrictive for fun gameplay. Of course if you're into pinball games then it's worth a go, but if you're searching for the most fun pinball game out there, it's safe to give this a miss.

Rating: 54/100

Grade: D

Game: 3D Ultra Pinball 3: The Lost Continent
Console: PC
Developer: Sierra
Release Date: 1997

The sequel to Creep Night Pinball, The Lost Continent boasted 15 tables worth of pinball excitement as well as a fully fledged story adventure to accompany gameplay. In terms of control and play style, the game is similar to its predecessor and generally features target areas which the pinball needs to be hit into, and minigames which require the player to do a little more than in Creep Night, often using the same controls as the main pinball sections to navigate paths, shoot dinosaurs and more.

Unfortunately it's not all good news; there are three sections to the game and the first table of each section is a large and fairly difficult one. Assuming players are able to progress, the next four tables are far smaller and feature easier goals, acting more as mini-tables and objectives than a fully different table. The best way to experience the game (or so I found) was to play in Practice mode, and work through each table that way, otherwise it was too easy to run out of lives attempting to beat the first level.

Graphically the game is a little more impressive than Creep Night, but retains some of the 90s PC game feel in its visuals. The music isn't quite up to the standard of the catchy tunes of Creep Night either, but there's some solid tracks, and the voice acting that's included isn't terrible. Although it's not easy to play through the game as intended, even playing the levels in the correct order in practice mode allows the player to view how nicely the story ties everything together into more of a pinball/adventure game.

Overall the enjoyment of this game comes from both the pinball aspects and completing minigames which allow the player to progress. Although pinball purists (they must exist somewhere) won't be impressed by the smaller, shorter tables, I think that they add a far more exciting adventurous feel to the game than if it had just been 3 tables, as Creep Night was. If you're looking for something more than just a pinball game, this is recommended.

Rating: 70/100
Grade: C

Game: Pro Pinball: Timeshock
Console: PC
Developer: Empire Interactive
Release Date: 30th September 1997

Pro Pinball: Timeshock features one fast paced table with a time travel theme, in addition to several minigames and modes. The object of the game is to get the high score as usual, however exploring various continents, visiting different time periods and completing dot matrix minigames are also secondary aims which contribute towards getting the high score, and players completion of these is displayed after each ball is lost.

Table features include several ramps, a crystal in the centre, a multi-ball storage and distribution system on the left, and the dot matrix style screen which displays minigames. These range from controlling a minecart and collecting "awards" to climbing up Mount Rushmore; some games are controlled via the flipper keys and others progress according to the events happening on the pinball table itself.

Graphically the game looks very sharp and crisp in its detail and seems to be well ahead of its time, compared to home consoles. There's a different musical theme for each time period as well as some bonus themes, all of which are fast paced and enjoyable. Although the overall difficulty may seem a little high at first, it's easy to build up a lot of bonus points and rewards from minigames and objectives.

Overall while Timeshock only features one table, compared to Creep Night's 3, or The Lost Continent's 15, the table featured is of high quality and was designed to excite players. This doesn't quite make up for the lack of variety once you're used to the table itself, but with great music and graphics, coupled with the fast paced action of the game, there's still a lot of enjoyment for those who enjoy pinball.

Rating: 66/100
Grade: C

Game: Pro Pinball: Big Race USA

Console: PC

Developer: Empire Interactive

Release Date: 31st December 1998

Big Race USA unsurprisingly plays very similarly to Timeshock, as they're both in the same series. The table has as many if not more features and the graphics has received quite an upgrade also. There are more settings including difficulty, table angle, flipper strength and appearance of wear and tear which are nice to see, even if games are usually played on the default settings.

Despite matching Timeshock for features, I found the action to be less interesting and mainly centred on one or two parts of the table. This table was also harder to pick up than some others, requiring a quick read of the rules before starting to gain an understanding of what could be done in its two modes; In The City, and On The Road. Despite the ability to move between cities whilst playing, after the first two or three it began to feel rather samey. 

Graphically the game is slightly better than Timeshock, which is impressive; the level of detail and reflections in the pinball itself give some extra polish to the visuals. Musically I found that the game struggled, playing tunes and voice clips twice as fast as they should have been, resulting in a strange low quality sound most of the time, though this could have just been my computer.

Overall Big Race USA isn't a bad pinball table/game, but it does suffer from monotony at times. The graphics are the biggest draw, though gameplay is also fun for a while. Of the four games included in the Valuesoft Pinball 4-pack (the 4 PC games in this review), I'd say that I enjoyed it the least.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

Game: Pinball Power
Console: Sony Playstation
Developer: Littlewing
Release Date: 1st September 2000

While the PC pinball games in this review seem to have had decently sized budgets, Pinball Power is the first budget game of the roundup. With just 2 tables, a Knights of the Round Table theme, and RPG elements it's an interesting idea that doesn't ever really take off. In each table there are objectives to complete, most of which are as simple as hitting a certain part of the table. Once an objective is complete, the table enters multi ball mode for a brief period, allowing players to score more points.

The controls for the game are pretty sound; the left button on the d-pad controls the left flipper, and the circle button controls the right flipper. The ball feels as if it moves too slowly to replicate proper physics, and there are often awkward pauses when the table holds onto the ball for longer than you'd expect. High scores are easy to achieve, and there's no real challenge to the game as a whole.

Graphically the game doesn't look too bad, but I'm not a huge fan of the decision to block half the screen with an information banner, as the play area is significantly smaller because of this. The music that accompanies gameplay is fairly generic and doesn't fit particularly well with the Camelot style that the game purports to have, though in truth neither does the first table.

Overall the game doesn't play particularly well or fast; the only real enjoyment comes from multiball mode. Everything else about it is decidedly average and to be expected of a budget game. There's very little to do on each table and it ends up being about as exciting as pinball on the NES, only with much better options available from the same time period.

Rating: 30/100
Grade: E

Game: Kiss Pinball

Console: Sony Playstation

Developer: Take 2 Interactive

Release Date: 25th April 2001

2 and a bit years after the release of Big Race USA came Kiss Pinball, a Playstation pinball game based on the band "Kiss". Featuring 2 tables and extremely fast paced gameplay, the game uses a top down 2D style rather than the 3D style of most modern pinball games. Especially considering the large time gap between this and the PC games/True Pinball, you'd have expected Take 2 (who were about to release GTA III in the same year). 

There are four game modes offered on each table; Novice, Regular, Arcade and Tournament and these change the number of balls players are allowed, how long the ball saver is on for, and random effects on the table. Unfortunately due to the speed of the game the only real useful mode is Novice, which allows the ball saver to be on for quite a long time, otherwise games last all of 2 minutes, with each pinball quickly heading out of play. This isn't just a skill issue either, the game is incredibly difficult to play at the speed given.

The two tables are fairly varied but don't feature nearly as much to do as the Timeshock or Big Race USA tables, leaving players to hit the same few targets over and over again. Graphically, the game isn't up to scratch, looking as if it could have easily been on the Super Nintendo. The music isn't bad, though it isn't licensed kiss tunes, but rather generic rock n roll. 

Overall Kiss Pinball is pretty poor; without the Kiss theme you'd be left with a tepid pinball game that's hard to control and doesn't even feature that much to do. Unless you're a mega Kiss fan, I can't see a reason to even play, let alone own this. There's far better pinball games out there, and I'd rather play anything else. 

Rating: 31/100

Grade: E

Game: Play it! Pinball

Console: Sony Playstation 2

Developer: Play it

Release Date: 10th November 2003

Featuring 11 unlockable tables, challenge and freeplay modes, and an american theme, Pinball by Play It seems to offer a little more than your average budget game. Table themes vary from Baseball to Cowboys to Space Exploration, all with a nice amount of features and unique twists, though remaining fairly straightforward in comparison to Creep Night and Timeshock. The gameplay is solid although the ball can seem to travel slowly a lot of the time. 

Challenge mode sets players a target on a set table, which when surpassed will unlock another table and target in its place. The first 8 tables or so are fairly easy and hold a decent level of challenge on the whole, but after this things get rather difficult due to new features which make scoring harder. In all the time I've owned this game, I don't think I've managed to get past a certain point because of this.

Graphically the game is bright and cartoonish, but lacking detail in places. It's never too difficult to see where the ball is on the table, but some targets and features can be hard to spot. The music chosen to go behind the game seems to have been inspired by the american theme, with 50s and 60s style swing and blues music accompanying the action. This helps the game achieve a retro feel and portray the age of pinball popularity a little better.

Overall while it still feels a little budget in places, Play It Pinball provides a good level of challenge, progression and variety to pinball gaming. The controls and tables are good, though the ball speed and graphics could be improved a little. If you're looking for a cheap, varied game then this is probably your best bet. 

Rating: 74/100

Grade: B

Game: Pinball Fun
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: HuneX
Release Date: 25th June 2004

With some of the frankly mediocre titles already featured in this roundup, you may wonder what sort of things a Simple Series game could do to be even worse. For those that don't know, the Simple Series is a set of around 150 Playstation games which were developed on the cheap and released by D3 Publisher in Japan. Some of these were then localised and brought to Europe by Midas Interactive or barely localised and brought to Europe by 505 Gamestreet. This game falls into the latter category.

There are 3 pinball tables to choose from; Attack the Dragon (an RPG theme), Love Songs/Idols (a dating sim theme), and Operation Thunder Storm (a generic action theme). Each of these tables is as desolate as the next, featuring at most 8 things to hit, and no real direction as to what players should be doing. Taking the Dragon Attack table as an example, players must hit a target 6 or more times to bring out a dragon which must then be hit a few times, in multiball mode. Once this has happened, it disappears and the process begins again.

Graphically the game is incredibly poor and could probably have been handled easily by the original Playstation. Textures are low resolution and detail, and there's very little in the way of effects. The music featured is a very short loop for each table, and really isn't anything special. The control isn't that bad, but as there's nothing much to aim at, it may as well not be.

Overall this is the least complete pinball game I've played, despite featuring 3 tables. Pinball for the NES at least had interesting features and things to do; there's a complete lack of that in this game. I've come to expect the worst of the worst from 505 Gamestreet published Simple Series games, but this really is a poorly translated, horribly designed, badly programmed piece of trash.

Rating: 5/100
Grade: F

Game: Gottlieb Pinball Classics
Console: Sony Playstation 2/Sony Playstation Portable
Developer: Farsight Studios
Release Date: 26th July 2006

Owning a game on two platforms is often interesting as there are differences between the two versions that can make them better or worse than their counterparts. In the case of Gottlieb Pinball classics however, there's very little difference between the two versions, so for the majority of this review, I'll be talking about the PS2 and PSP versions as the same thing. Both games give players a choice of 10 tables, based on real tables manufactured between 1932 and 1993.

Because the tables are based on real world models, gameplay on most, if not all of them are enjoyable due to the different features and themes on display. The game uses the shoulder buttons to control the flippers, with the analog sticks being used to control the plunger and tilt functions. The pinball feels slightly too light at times, which is disappointing from a game calling itself "The Most Accurate Simulation of all Time" on the cover.

Graphically the game is impressive both on the PS2 and PSP, although the home console version has the upper hand when comparing them directly. All of the tables are bright and interesting and feature good themeing and variety. Musically the game is bearable, save for the pseudo "Pinball Wizard" theme on the menu, which made me wish they'd just licensed the song if they had wanted it so badly, instead of teasing at the chords of it.

Overall Gottlieb Pinball classics acts as a museum for classic pinball tables, which can be played in a selection of different modes. While I feel that this sort of pinball suits handheld games consoles better than home consoles, the slight improvement in graphics and frame rate on the PS2 version mean that both are fairly matched.

Rating: 71/100
Grade: C

In conclusion there's a wide range of pinball games on offer, across a large range of consoles. The best games seem to have a variety of feature packed tables, or at least consistently good themeing, and great gameplay. Surprisingly a budget title came out on top, as Play It! Pinball received the highest score, but it was able to set itself apart from other budget pinball titles in this roundup by offering the best gameplay.