3d Ultra Pinball

SURE PLAYS A MEAN PINBALL

A Review of 3D Ultra Pinball

by Trey Murff

The market is full of DOS and Windows based pinball games, so when it came

time to review 3D Pinball I was a bit apprehensive. However, my worries

were unfounded. 3D Pinball is a fresh bread in a bakery full of stale

crescent rolls.

Sierra developed 3D Pinball to take full advantage of Windows 95. All you

have to do is insert the CD in your CDROM Drive and everything else is

cruise controlled. Windows 95 recognizes that the CD has been inserted and

asks you if you want to install it. Once the installation is complete,

Windows 95 will recognize when you insert the 3D Pinball and ask you if

you want to play.

There are also instructions for installing with Windows 3.1. I have not

personally performed the installation, but a friend of mine has. He told

me that his installation went just as smoothly as mine, so don’t worry if

you have not upgraded to Windows 95.

Game play occurs on three different tables. When you first begin you have

the option of playing any one of the three or ALL of them. Yes, that’s

right, you can play on all of them. Not at the same time, mind you, but

all three are tied together so that at different points you can warp

between the different tables.

The view of the tables is approximately what it would be if you were

playing an actual pinball game. It’s not the standard overhead view

presented by most pinball games but instead is from a tilted perspective.

This is a welcome change of pace and sets 3D Pinball apart from its

competitors.

Speaking of the views, they all are simply beautiful. Each is fully

rendered and all playable at 640×480, 800×600, or 1024×768. From what I

can tell, there must be a separate set of graphics for each screen

resolution since the view fills the screen in all three.

Game play is both simple and ingenious. Each board has a set of bonuses

that are activated by performing a specific task. Complete all bonuses on

all boards and you will have the option to build the space port. Complete

the space port and launch your ship to join the rank of pinball wizards,

but be warned this is nearly an impossible task (I haven’t completed it

yet).

There is interactive help designed into the game too. When you begin each

board you are instructed on how to activate the bonuses. Then, when you

trigger a bonus, you are told what is needed to rack up the points.

You can also take the Grand Tour and learn about all the scoring options

without having to figure them out on the fly. Personally, I jumped right

in and played quite a few games before taking the Grand Tour.

There are also sub-boards accessed through certain bonuses. These are like

separate mini pinball tables where you have a specific task to complete in

a limited time. Complete the task and you are one step closer to launching

your space ship.

To wrap things up, you couldn’t want for a better pinball game. The only

criticisms I have heard are that the game is too easy and the physics is

not accurate. For pinball gods, this may be true, but it doesn’t affect

the enjoyment of 3D Pinball. Grab a copy of 3D Pinball and prepare for

hours of pinball action.

Gamer’s Zone Scorecard

www.sierra.com

Product:	3D Ultra Pinball
Company:	Sierra On-Line Direct Sales P.O. Box 3404 Salinas, CA 93912 (800) 757-7707

Cost:

$29

IBM Compatible 486 PC, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95,
8 Meg Ram, Windows compatible sound card