Headache City. (Adventure Pinball - Forgotten Island (PS))

Member Name: andycharger

Product:	Adventure Pinball - Forgotten Island (PS)
Date:	29/12/03 (55 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A pinball game for the Playstation

Disadvantages: Poor instructions, Dated Graphics, Inconsistent gameplay

Adventure Pinball, I thought, was the answer to my Playstation dreams. For years there has been some good Pinball sims for the PC but never a good one on the PLaystation. How wrong can you be.

It is very exciting when you read the box. The thought of A massive pinball table with lots of hidden extras and "missions" to complete to open up "locked" tables all sounded ace. However.....

Stick in the CD and off you go.
Straight into a dodgy introduction sequence that looks vaguely familiar....
Graphics are not stunning but dont expect them to be. The reason???
Well, they have not built a brand new graphics and game play engine for this game. Instead they have borrowed the "Unreal" gaming engine. This means that you will soon be quite at home with the scenery if you have spent the last couple of years running around the Unreal games with loaded weapon in hand!

So lets excuse its graphics as it is using 3 year old technology there.

Onto the Sound. Lots of loud bangs and crashes. Effects are quite good in the audio department apart from the Annoying man that says "OH NO" everythime your ball disappears down the exit!!! Give it a couple of games and the playstation will be flying out of the window. At least there is the option to turn the sound off!

Right, down to the gameplay. Up to 4 players can play this game. However, its only one person on screen at any one time so be prepared to sit around. You can also only play the tables that are unlocked even in multiplayer mode. You have 2 to start with and you need to unlock them if you want to play the other 6.

Ok, so how do you unlock them? Well each table is different. You need to unlock the next table from the one preceeding it in the sequence. Confused? You will be! To unlock it, you need to complete certain elements in the game such as setting a score of 65 Million, setting people free, entering secret chambers. All
of these are not explained at all and it is quite possible to NEVER unlock a single table. I only found out how to do it by surfing the web!

So its instructions and explanations score zero points with me.

the Story?
Set around some dodgy Caveman style islands, you have to guide the character, Ooga, through the islands which are all represented by a different pinball table. Very basic, very simple, very boring.

Enjoyment?
Well, yes, if you want to play the 2 tables over and over and over, its fantastic. But they soon become boring and I imagine that once you finsh unlocking tables, you would put it to bed and never get it out again. its more frustration that anything. At least with REAL pinball there was an element of skill. I say this because I can score relatively high scores on some games one absolutely zilch in others. Very inconsistent and I blame the game not my skills!

Price?
Well, picking it up in the sales, you can probably get this for under £20 now. I know it is available on the PC too for around £30. Personally, I would hire it from the video shop, get it out of your system and then take it back. The longevity might just last you until you return it.

Summary: