3D Pinball: Space Cadet

"3D Pinball: Space Cadet is a fun and free way of passing the time when all else fails."

The Good: Free pinball; authentic sound; fun and flashy presentation; missions to be accomplished to keep things interesting.

The Bad: Not very long because it's pinball; you can get bored of it quickly.

Score:
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 7
Sound: 9
Value: 8
Tilt: 10

Overall: 9.2

When it comes to pinball, you really have to ask yourself one question. Do I like pinball? If yes, then you will most likely enjoy playing this free computer game. On the other hand, if you don't like pinball then you've probably ignored this game. The thing is, for fans of pinball, you normally can't just play pinball whenever you feel like it, unless you own a pinball machine. So the great thing about 3D Pinball: Space Cadet, is that you have a fun and interesting game of pinball right on your computer, for absolutely free.

The game plays like any game of pinball, you have a pinball game with two flippers on the left and right side. That is all you do in pinball. Simple? Yes. But it's incredibly fun. As far as controls go you can also tilt the machine to try and bounce the ball in different ways, but if you abuse this the pinball machine might lock up on you, forcing you to lose a ball. You start out every game with three balls, and your purpose is to pass all of the space cadet training missions by accomplishing certain goals. For starters, you actually have to initiate the missions by hitting certain triggers in the machine with the ball. Once you have initiated the mission you have to accept it by sending the ball into the launch ramp which is on the left side. Some of the missions include hitting a certain amount of bumpers which is "target training", or send the ball into the launch ramp several times in a row, which is called "re-entry training". Doing the missions themselves is pretty fun, and you are rewarded with a huge point bonus for completing them, which will make your total score skyrocket.

There are other things you can do beside doing the missions. You basically bat the ball around and watch it, and you can try to light up three aligned lights which are located in two separate locations to upgrade two different sets of bumpers. When you upgrade the bumpers you will get more points of hitting them, and they can be upgraded numerous times. There are also a bunch of crazy things like wormholes and black holes which send the ball all over the place going crazy, but you get a lot of points for achieving this.

3D Pinball: Space Cadet, is quite an old game now, so graphically it doesn't look that amazing, but for a pinball game it looks absolutely fine. There are a ton of flashing lights and neat little gizmos to see while playing the game, which does a great job of bringing the pinball experience to life. The only downside is that the game is relatively small (depending on your resolution) and in full screen mode it isn't super crystal clear.

There is one music track which can be turned on or off, which is basically a techno-electronica type song that can be fun to listen to while your playing if you like that type of stuff, or you can turn it off and listen to your own music on your computer, so having this option is pretty nice. The song doesn't loop very often either so it usually doesn't get that repetitive. The sound effects are really great too, and sound very authentic to a real pinball game which is really nice. The game is full of tons of different sounds for every little thing in the game, so it really brings the whole idea of playing pinball to life, trying to simulate a real pinball machine. You could say that it would be nice to have more music tracks, but in reality the one that is provided does its job well enough, and if you don't like it then you can listen to your own music, which may be even better. How many times have you wanted to listen to your own music while playing a game? Some people can't stand the idea, but I know there are a lot of people who do this all the time.

It's just great to have a fantastically simulated pinball game readily available on your computer because you can play it whenever you want for however you long you want, and it doesn't cost you a thing. Of course you might get bored of playing it after a while but the fact that you always have it and can play it whenever you get that pinball itch is a great thing. The only thing that can be said, is that it would have been nice to maybe have one or two different levels, but for what the game actually is, it's absolutely fantastic.

Overall 3D Pinball: Space Cadet, is a fantastic game to have on your computer, especially if you love pinball like myself. If you haven't checked it out yet its worth trying out just for the fun of it, and it's great to have a game like this just because of the fact that it's fun, free and a great way of passing the time when all else fails.

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