Advanced Pinball Simulator – C64

The Oliver Twins are without a doubt, in my mind, the most prolific and diverse game developers of the ‘retro’ era. Besides the wonderful Dizzy games, Ghostbusters II and the Seymour series, they also dabbled in the ‘simulator’ genre. One of the strangest concepts for one of these titles was the Pinball genre. However, it turns out with the recent releases of Pinball tables on the console market from Pinball FX3, the twins were ahead of the curve on this one.

C64 HD - Advanced Pinball Simulator - YouTube

Story

Surprisingly there is a narrative attached to this game, most pinball titles are content to just furnish you with a chance to beat the high score tables. Here the player is asked to defeat the evil wizard who is holding a nation captive with his dark, dastardly, deeds. This plot links to the player’s objectives on the table, including a castle and a volcano which is about to explode.

Gameplay

Story notwithstanding. All you need to know is that by hitting certain bumpers you can begin to destroy the castle brick by brick, or by collecting certain flashing letters a potion bottle will begin to fill. All of these elements are vital to thwart the evil wizard’s plan.  Each player has three balls to start with and like every pinball machine, one is lost if it drops to the bottom of the screen. If you lose all three, the game is over. You have four flippers – two right and two left. One key on the keyboard operates each pair of flippers. There’s only one table but this is quite sufficient, it’s challenging and visually attractive.

Graphics and Audio

The game begins with some booming trademark Oliver twins’ speech, this was created in an era that many gamers were astonished by any synthesized speech included in a title.  The sound effects in the game are sufficient and quite ‘pingy’ and ‘boingy’ which suit the feel of the title incredibly well. There’s a good title tune and occasionally some toe-tapping tunes burst through your speakers during gameplay. The background graphics are quite detailed and project a suitable fantasy mood, the palette is quite drab however and uninspiring.

Overall

A great, fun if shortlived Pinball game from the Oliver Twins’ that will give at least a few hours challenging gameplay. As with all these titles, this is a good party game to play with friends and family.

Review Score
  • 7/10
    Gameplay - 7/10
  • 5/10
    Graphics - 5/10
  • 6/10
    Sound - 6/10
6/10

Summary

A fun Pinball game from the superb Oliver Twins. Featuring a moody, fantasy-based table that features a suitable plot asking you to defeat an evil wizard.

DrChris

Chris McAuley is a Northern Irish born author, comic book and gaming columnist who has now branched out from talking about comics to helping create them. An acclaimed colourist for 2000 AD and Marvel he has worked on flagship titles such as Judge Dredd, Roy of the Rovers and Hulkverines. Chris also has a commitment to the Indie scene being an inker and colourist for 'The Lang Way Hame' a Scottish comic which is tipped for an award later this year. With close ties to heroes of the industry such as the 'Godfather of British comics' Pat Mills and Spawn creator Todd McFarlene,

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