Crue Ball

"No one has played this game?"

Crue Ball was designed by people who've actually designed coin-op pinball games. The design and artwork is by Mark Sprenger. The sound is by Brian Schmidt a name you'll find on the hottest pinball games in your bar & local arcade. On with the review....

"METAL MISSION"

Story - [9]
CB actually has a story to it (which is Un-Heard of for a Pinball game). Everytime you turn around Somebody's yellin' TURN THAT DOWN! Everywhere you hear Anti-Metal in your ears Fellow Rockers, don't despair, Don't touch that dial, don't cut your hair. Above the crowd you'll hear the cry "Metal Is Too Young To DIE!" From the depths of Rock n' Roll, From your Heavy Metal soul, Metal Power will erupt, Kick some @$$ and CRANK IT UP!
After turning on your Genesis your greeted with a familiar Motley Crue song "Dr Feelgood." After which is follow by an interesting intro. You must destroy Mr Gore (the Anti Metal).

GamePlay - [10]
CB is a perfect example of 'How to make a video Pinball game'. The play mechanics are your basic pinball, you shoot at certain targets trying to rack up as many points as you can while using the Tilt & Flipper's to keep the ball from going down the drain. CB has 9 levels or Volume Knobs you must Turn Up using the ball. CB has a bonus level which is unique, it's like a side scrolling (somewhat like PONG) in that you bounce/shoot the ball at the enemy targets as they're being released from the womb. CB has one really awesome and innovative feature to it: The Kick Start. The Kick Start is located by the flippers on the lower screen and are colored green (when activated). What the Kick Start does is keep the ball from going down the side drains. In the first level it's great because you don't have to worry about the ball going the side drains, but after you "CRANK IT UP" the first volume is where it changes. After the first round the Volume Knobs are guarded by a BOSS (I kid you not), which makes it a little more difficult when trying to C.I.U. and moving on to the next level. The priority of the Kick Starts change after the first round in that only one will be active, which one is active depends on the opposite flipper. So if the ball is going to go down the Left drain you press the Right flipper. Like Devil's Crush on the TG-16, CB is composed of three playing fields. The backgrounds change colors per round, with only the middle section changing all together making a new level with different objects to hit.

Control - [10]
The control is Flawless!. The ball physics move and bounce around FAST, smooth and accurately. You do it and it'll respond instantly.

Visuals - [10]
The in-game graphics are clean and detailed. The background/s are uniquely designed and go well with the story. The main background almost looks like a you're at a concert with the speakers and scaffolding or in a recording studio?. The enemies are espy in design and are smoothly animated. The bonus round has a H.R. Giger feel to it (great artist). Alister Fiend looks....Alister Fiend (sigh).

Music/Sound FX - [9]
The music is great and changes per round. The Motley Crue songs Dr. Feelgood, Live Wire and Home Sweet Home sound....decent at best. The sound FX's are well done and go with their chosen counterpart.

Overall - [10]
CB is an excellent and well designed Pinball game. It's every bit as good as Devil's Crush (which some consider the best), and in a way is a little better in that CB's stages change per round making it non-repetitive. I'm not bashing Devil's Crush (I love the game), i'm just saying CB has more depth to it by having different/changing levels. If you like video pinball games and want something a little different then give CB a try.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 10/04/04