Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball

"They will probably never top this pinball game."

Among the sea of games at the local video game retail store stands one game. No one knows about it as it hides between the ultra-hype games with huge budgets and massive advertising. Still Flipnic, manages to put all those games to shame and shine brilliantly. Flipnic is a fantastic pinball game that really re-invents the whole pinball game genre. Capcom brought this game with very little advertising and in limited quantities so it's kind of rare. Still, Flipnic belongs in the library of every gamer.

GRAPHICS 10/10: Flipnic is a simple pinball game taken to the extreme. The pinball maps are multilevel, vertical, upside down, and with many other secret areas waiting to be discovered. These maps have beautiful graphics that make full use of the PS2's capacity. Every stage has a theme like Biology (think tropical rainforests and animals). There Metalology, which is a maze of interconnecting rails for your ball to travel down. The list goes on with many other impressive themes. This game's graphics could have been kept simple. Instead, Capcom chose to dazzle our eyes with morphing liquid metal load screens and Zero G physics that just give this game an almost euphoric feel. Vibrant colors, great level design, and endless creativity set Flipnic as one of the best games Capcom has produced. Everything is creative and easy on the eyes. Your eyes will be mesmorized by the artistic display this game provides.

SOUND/MUSIC 7/10: The songs in flipnic are pretty enjoyable but there is not much variety. The songs can be compared to puzzle game tunes like those heard in Marble Madness. They are catchy and soft. The music also has some jazz and a strange opening cookie. The voices are sort of New Age and pleasant. The soundeffects are pretty good, nothing spectacular. It's only a pinball game so I wasn't really expecting much anyways. Overall, the game's sound and music is very good and works well to provide the ambient for the graphics.

GAMEPLAY 9/10: It's a pinball game so you uses 4 buttons. Left flipper, right flipper, and some tilt buttons. The tilt buttons can help you tilt the whole map at an angle and aid your playing. The game offers plenty of paths for your ball to take. There are multiple areas and hidden paths once you meet certain conditions. For example, in the Tropical Rainforrest stage, you have to first freeze all the water in the stage to break the waterfall and proceed to the final area. There are other tasks like beating the UFO or defeating some kind of monster. There is a little slowdown when you use Multiball mode and hit them into a place where they will bounce around a lot, but it's still a small and rare flaw. The game plays very well and can be customized to provide the right difficulty for you. I suck at pinball so the easy mode is perfect. Other people who are pinball-challenged should not fear because the easy mode can be played by anyone. This whole game is designed very well and plays great.

FUNFATOR 9/10: This game is great to kill time, relax, parties, and just to show off some cool graphics. As far as pinball games go, this one is the best. It's rare to find a game that takes a simple concept like pinball and does so much with it. It's dazzling and fun. Pinball lovers should not miss this game.

OVERALL 10/10: This whole game is very well made and has creativity written all over it. This is the best pinball game I have ever played. Most Pinball games have simple maps and do a decent job. This game does a great job with a lot of variety and creativity. Even casual pinball players will enjoy this game. Flipnic belongs in every gamer's library. It is simply the king of all pinball games.

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