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This is the first of Sierra's pinball games, and as such it is quite good. The spaceport theme is well thought out, with futuristic hangers and buildings on a barren sandy planet somewhere. The plunger is some sort of launch platform, and the science-fiction theme is convincing. The table has various targets to aim for, including a glider and the main entrance to the spaceport. The ball moves fairly smoothly, if a tad slowly, and the flippers aren't the best at directing shots. The background animations are limited to a satellite dish and some flashing lights, enough to make the scene not seem static at least. Sounds and music are annoying: the music sounds like a poor clone of the Airwolf theme, and the constant "oh, oh" as the ball hits the bumpers is irritating. There are some novel ideas here however, I especially like the teleport - the ball disappears from one location only to materialise elsewhere; this is convincingly done and adds an element of suspense as to just where the ball will reappear. Equally, the calm cool female voice announcing shots is a nice touch. Ultimately however, the game has limited replay value � it's fun but lacks the immersive qualities of more recent games. It seems unfair to compare the game unfavourably to its descendents, but 3D Ultra Pinball, while pretty darn amazing for 1995 is more of a novelty now. Try the demo, see how Sierra started out with the series, and then enjoy the improvements made over the years with Creep Night and NASCAR.
Requirements : 486, 4Mb RAM, Win95 Download demo here (2.2Mb from Sierra) |
