Pinball Hall of Fame - The Williams Collection

"We must look to the past to gain hope for the future."

Any gamer whose life spanned the 70's, 80's, and even 90's has likely, at one time or another visited an arcade. Who could forget the smell of sweaty palms, as defeat was but a mistimed jump away, the fierce competition between two equally skilled rivals, the cries of anguish as Donkey Kong finishes off Jumpman (Mario) with a trademark barrel, or the unmistakable sound of a pinball, ricocheting off flippers, bumpers, and giant clowns' heads? Sadly those days are but a memory, with today's consoles rendering them virtually obsolete. Enter the Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection. It's a reminder of days gone by, and of quarters so recklessly spent, in the hopes of finally nailing down that long coveted high score.

The game begins with you entering a virtual arcade, complete with retro style music. Scattered throughout are ten different pinball machines spanning three decades of hardcore pinballing. You begin with 10 credits (quarters). Four of the tables are already set to freeplay, while the other six will have cost one credit each to play. Each table has a set of goals or achievements that you must complete to earn additional credits. Earn 100 credits, and you can unlock a new table for freeplay. It's a nice incentive-based system that will keep you playing, but never seems too drawn out or frustrating. Most novice pinball players will find little trouble completing most of the basic challenges, while advanced players will quickly unlock the table wizard challenges, a far more difficult goal set that will keep even the hardiest of players busy for awhile.

The key to any successful video pinball game is flawlessly recreating the physics of the actual tables. I'm happy to report that each table plays to near perfection. Balls will rebound off of bumpers and other objects, just as you would expect them to. The flipper physics work wonderfully well too. Needless to say, veteran pinballers will be nailing hard to reach targets, and successfully switching the ball from one flipper to the other, just as it should be. My only gripe was that I found it occasionally possible to recover the ball when it passed directly below the flipper. It certainly works to the player's advantage, but diehard purists might find it a bit annoying. All in all, the physics were duplicated wonderfully. The developers have a passion for pinball, and it shows.

The control scheme is also well executed, in that it's both simple and highly intuitive. The analog stick is used to shoot the ball into play. How far you pull the stick down before thrusting it upwards will determine how hard you strike the ball. The C button on the nunchuk will operate the left flipper, while the Wii remote's B trigger will activate the right. Do you see the ball heading for disaster? Simply flick either the nunchuk or the remote to nudge the ball in the desired direction. It's really just a waggle function, but it's one that feels right in the context of the game, and you won't be doing it too much, or you guessed it, TILT!

The visuals in this game are a bit of a mixed bag. Walking through the virtual arcade, you will notice a handful of other arcade games (not playable) from yesteryear, as well as some other bright lights and even a few other gamers. It's somewhat basic and bland, but this is a budget title; the real meat of the game lies in the tables themselves. Each table has been faithfully recreated down to the minutest of details. Anyone who has played these tables before will smile as they see it sprawled before them in their living room. There are five different camera angles to choose from, and I would be hard-pressed to think that anyone would have trouble finding one that suits them. The difficulty level may cost you some balls, but the camera certainly won't.

Also, fully intact are the beeps, bumps, and other sounds specific to each table. I found myself bubbling with nostalgia as I played these near-perfect virtual replicas. Those eerie sounding pinball voices are just as disturbing as they ever were, taunting you with their impossible challenges, and beckoning you to return after the darkness of defeat has enveloped you. As you walk from table to table, you will find some generic, retro style arcade music playing in the background. It's nothing extraordinary, but it does well enough setting the mood, and thus enhancing the virtual arcade experience.

Other modes of play include challenge mode and tournament play. Challenge mode has you playing each table in succession, trying to complete all the challenges with just one quarter. You are granted three chances to successfully complete each table and advance to the next. Tournament mode allows an additional 1-3 players to join in the competition, and fight for pinball supremacy. Completing enough goals will unlock both an art gallery and an audio gallery. It's nothing amazing, but it provides an incentive to keep playing and hammering away at those challenges.

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is one of the best video pinball titles to date. It crams excellent ball physics, detailed tables, and excellent, immersive audio into a nice, neat, budget-priced package. For $30 ($20 at Target) you get 10 tables and a whole host of table-specific challenges that should keep hardcore pinballers coming back for months to come. For those who grew up with pinball, I wholeheartedly recommend this game for its realism and nostalgic goodness. Anyone else who has even a passing interest in the genre, or wants to see what all the fuss is about should give this a whirl. Pinball Hall of Fame just flat out doesn't disappoint!

Final Score: 8.5 (rounded to 9 for gamefaqs)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/03/08, Updated 04/04/08

Game Release: Pinball Hall of Fame - The Williams Collection (US, 02/26/08)