Absolute Pinball is a standard arcade style pinball game that was built for the PC DOS format and was published by 21st Century Entertainment after development by Unique Development Studios (UDS). It features a two-dimensional view and supports six different resolutions, making it highly playable. It follows Pinball Illusions in the Pinball Fantasies series.
Absolute Pinball features four different challenging tables and a fast-paced action atmosphere. The tables are all colorful, engaging, and vastly different, adding to Absolute Pinball’s replayability factor. All of the tables offer five balls for the user to put into play, as opposed to the standard three, lengthening the game and adding handsomely to high scores. The game supports up to eight players in multiplayer formats. While the addition of a new programmer (previous titles in this series were developed by Digital Illusions) shows a drop off in graphic design, it is still realistic enough for most casual gamers. The music and sound effects are silly and cartoonish, and tend to become repetitive, especially if the user finds an affinity for one particular table. The menu features no sound, but the user is introduced to the game by a clown-like robot, following the theme of silliness that the music sets forth.
The four tables are as follows: Desert Run, Dream Factory, Aquatic Adventure, and Balls ‘n Bats. Desert Run is a racing themed game where the user tries to propel a car from Paris to Dakar. It features a miniature game within a game, which can be played at the bottom of the pinball table upon activating the bonus. Dream Factory is a Hollywood quest for an Oscar award. Organize the cast of a movie director’s next big hit, and make sure they attend all the high toned parties to give them maximum exposure, increase their popularity and hopefully win the award. The Aquatic Adventure begins with the phrase “Welcome to the Deep,” and sees the exploring the sea for old treasures, sunken ships and submarines, and sea creatures such as octopuses. The final table, Balls ‘n Bats, is a standard baseball theme, and all points are accumulated for completing various baseball feats.
All of the tables have added extras to intensify the excitement, such as multiple balls, magnets, and moveable ball launchers. There are graphics added to simulate glass ramps, ball reflections, and so forth. The play itself is rather slow, but it is not horrid and Absolute Pinball is still worth a download by any fan of the genre.
Written by:
~dorento1
