3D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night

"Not your average pinball game! This one's scary!"

Well, I'm not sure why you'd be reading this. The fact that there was one other review here before I decided to review this game implies to me that it isn't too popular. No matter, in the unlikely event that you're reading this review, if you happen to stumble upon this game in a store (it will most likely be used, since this game was released so far back, that Windows XP wasn't even available), you should buy it, without even considering things like: Will it be fun? or, Will I be unable to reach a million points.

The truth is, yeah, it is fun, and reaching a million points is very easy.

I remember the first time I played this game. Although I was confused that to operate the flippers, you had to use shift and ctrl, I quickly got used to the new control scheme and later, I discovered how to switch the control scheme into something that felt more natural to me (after playing the windows pinball game that now comes with your computer, Space Cadets, I think it is called, I used 'Z' and '/'). I liked how simply I could change the buttons to my own comfort. Basically, the controls are only the simple pinball-esque actions such as the flippers and the shooter, and it works fine. Everything responds immediately, and I had no trouble.

If perhaps you're wondering if you can get good scores in this game, the answer, quite simply, is yes. Upon my first time playing this game, (while using unfamiliar controls, and seeing unfamiliar targets on my screen) my score was about 23,000,000. All the simple targets and buttons on the pinball table reward you with up to a million points each. in this game, you won't have to sit for hours, and end up with only 500,000, a completely unsatisfying score. If you are good at pinball, it is almost guaranteed that in this game, you'll be able to reach almost a billion points. For some, this won't matter, because this game is still fun, even if it wasn't so rewarding for doing something simple like hitting a switch or rolling into a tank of water.

Yes, this is quite a fun game. About seven years ago, when my mom first came home with this game, I found myself sitting at the computer for hours on end, unable to resist the temptations to beat my high score of 723,000,000, and then 857,000,000 and then 950,000,000. The three tables that the game provides for you is plenty, because you'll be discovering scores of little secret games, (which reward you with millions) or finding ways to access other parts of the tables over and over again, and it never bores you. I was hooked. And this week, after discovering this game in a pile of old CD-ROMs from back when I didn't have the Internet, I am hooked again on this game.

And after finding a new love for video game music, I can say that the melodies all fit perfectly the theme that this game has. The scary dungeons and castles are fantastically represented in the musical scores in this game, and the sound effects sound nice too. When I was playing this game, it was a miracle to hear the sounds of skulls crushing as I browsed the menus, and the very flipper-esque flipper sounds when I activated the flippers (repetition was intentional)

The graphics in this game are very crisp, and well done for a game that was released in 1996. I can make out perfectly all the targets, and all the little things you need to notice to play this game, and it's decorated nicely with things that you don't usually see in a pinball game.

Some little rants I have apply to most pinball games. Sometimes, when the little metal ball gets enough momentum, it will just bounce around out of reach of your flippers, and then all of a sudden get thrust into the depths of the bottom of the table in the small space in between two raised flippers which is just large enough to let the ball pass through. This is just pinball luck though, if you wanted a pinball game, you are probably expecting this to happen sometime.

Overall, in the event that you are reading this review (that is unlikely), I suggest this game to you. Although it'd be difficult to find, it's definitely worth it if you DO manage to stumble upon it somewhere.

Graphics: 8
Music: 10
Story: It's a pinball game, for god's sake, what kind of story do you want?
Gameplay: 10
Fun: 9 (it frustrates me to be unable to reach the ball)

Buy? Of course.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/05/07