PRO PINBALL CLASSICS - 4 COMPLETE GAMES Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought these four pinball games one by one back in the 1990s when they were first issued by Empire, the Mac versions before OS X. (Unfortunately the Mac versions are not supported in OS X.) They are the coolest pinball games ever created. The tables, the music, the ball action, the complexity of the rules. I bought Windows XP for the Bootcamp partition on my MacBook just so I can play these games. It was worth it.

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Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey Review

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(More customer reviews)Fantastic Journey lives up to the high standards of its predecessors (The Web, Timeshock! and Big Race USA). It's not quite as complex a layout as TS or BRU, which makes it a little more approachable for a novice -- there are still lots of shots to make and modes to begin, but the playfield doesn't feel as "crammed full" as many other pinball sims.
The music is great, the physics are as good as ever, the graphics are very sharp, and some new features (color dot matrix, morphing playfields, lots of awards and frenzies) make it an instant classic.
I still prefer Timeshock! in some ways, but if that's 5 stars, this is 4.95 stars. Any pinball fan will love them both.

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Empire Interactive presents the latest installment in its electrifying ball-flipping pinball series, Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey. Promising all the ramp-riding, table-tilting excitement of Pro Pinball: Big Race USA, Fantastic Journey sets its ball-thwacking action against the backdrop of a Jules Verne-style fantasy adventure. Fire your ball bearings to the center of the earth with Professor Steam, flip them 20,000 leagues under the sea, then launch them to the Mysterious Island to prevent the evil General Yugov from taking over the world. More than just an arcade game, Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey is an action-adventure with balls. Where Pro Pinball: Big Race USA was a case of Cannon Ball Run, Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey not only introduces Around the World in 80 Flips, but it improves on its predecessor in every department. The high-resolution table graphics are crisper, cleaner, and more detailed than ever before, featuring five miniadventures and an amazing array of steam-powered contraptions, including a drill, a boat, a submarine, and a balloon. Dolby Surround sound effects and music draw you quickly into the action, while players can choose one of three different viewing angles to come to grips with the table's unique jet bumpers, spinners, magnets, and bonuses. A full-color dot-matrix display dominates the PC version, while breathless multiball functionality can bring up to six balls into play simultaneously. Challenging your gaming skills to the limit, Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey complements its new good looks with the most accurate physics engine ever devised for a pinball game. As a result, the ball movement and flipper animation is now so smooth, detailed, and authentic, you'd swear you were watching the real thing. An Operator's Menu allows players full control of the way the game plays, including five difficulty settings, game stats, and the ability to alter the amount of balls used per game and the number of tilt warnings. Further options offer you the opportunity to adjust the slope of the machine, the flipper strength, and even the age of the table.

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Gamefest: Pinball Classics Review

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(More customer reviews)If you have a computer and you like pinball, this one is the quintessential no-brainer. This collection packages four of the best pinball sims ever produced and practically gives them away. And yes, these are sims, not just video games posing as such (read: any title by Sierra, such as Pinball Thrillride). My favorite being a toss-up between Big Race USA and Time shock (although they're all really good). Truly these are some of the best tables ever created for PC, right down to customizable features like table wear (play it like it was fresh off the assembly line or like it had been beaten-up by a 300-pound trucker for the last fifteen years), table view, and ball speed. The ball physics are incredibly realistic and smooth. Get in a hard shoot and occasionally you can even hear the ball leave the play-field and smack the glass. I would have gladly payed twenty bucks a piece for these great games (and a year or so back,would have had to), but thanks to this collection, it almost feels like stealing.I just can't say enough good things about this collection. Buy it and see for yourself. You won't regret it. Also recommended pin games: KISS pinball(even if you're not a huge fan [I'm not]),Sci-Fi Pinball(usually in bargin bins, about ten bucks),or Microsoft Pinball Arcade(if you're over twenty-five, you'll probably remember a few of these beautifully recreated machines from your childhood [Haunted House was the first machine to really addict me]).

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Pro-Pinball: Big Race USA Review

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(More customer reviews)I received this pinball game from my brother and sister in law (Hi Mark and Jackie) for Xmas 1999, after having a fantastic time with hours of fun on it's predecessor, Timeshock. Both are outstanding games! While most pinball games try to do too much (eg. multiple tables) poorly, this game tries to do one thing very well... on well oiled, awesomely realistic and utterly challenging game table that is fun, and full of new finds. A ten ball multiplay challenge, video game intergrated, and loads of lights and bumpers, combined with totally green-light graphics and sounds (so realistic, you can even hear the ball hit the glass if you smack it just right, like the real thing!), I give it 5 stars for playablility and fun factor. Full customizable play table, key controls (does not use a mouse or joystick, only keyboard). It and its predecessor equal, Timeshock, are the two best software games I have ever owned. Have a great 2000!

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Big Race USA takes a real pinball table and adds an extra dimension with ten balls in play simultaneously and high-speed motion blur.

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Pro-Pinball: The Web Review

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(More customer reviews)The Web is probably my favorite of the ProPinball Series. The graphics and sound are ideal. I never get tired of this one.

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You are a cyberbiker in the near future. High above the Earth in her space station sits the evil ruler of The Web, the Dark Queen. You must battle through numerous missions and tasks to earn the chance to defeat her in the Ultimate Showdown.
On your way to the Showdown you will do battle in The Web itself (in a fast-paced 3-D video mode). You'll also have to find a way to destroy the space station in Space Station Frenzy (a three-ball mode) and master combo shots in Combo Mania (a special high-scoring round).
Only when you have completed five special tasks will the Ultimate Showdown (an incredible six-ball frenzy) be ready for you.... Will you be ready for it?

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Pro-Pinball: The Ultimate Compilation Review

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(More customer reviews)Accept no substitutes: Pro Pinball is the _only_ PC pinball simulation worth playing. And for an unprecedented low price, you get all three Pro Pinball titles: The Web, Timeshock!, and Big Race USA. Considering this: I bought Timeshock! and The Web together for $15 and Big Race USA by itself for $30 and am _still_ happy with the value I got. You can imagine, then, what kind of treasure you're getting with this package.
Unlike other PC simulations of that silver ball, Pro Pinball offers tables that are so complex and realistic in their design they can literally hold their own against (and oftentimes outperform) modern pinball tables you might see at your local arcade. Gameplay in all three tables is complex, yet engaging enough that you can have absolutely no idea what's going on yet have a blast nonetheless. Once you figure out the rules to the tables, though, the games really take off, and that's where the addiction comes in. And no silly things like balls that change shape, ridiculously large multi-tiered tables, or illogical loops -- every gadget, ramp, and gizmo in these tables are completely believable and have been implemented in real, physical tables in the past. The balls move smoothly and realistically with alarmingly accurate physics, and a truer representation of pinball cannot be found, anywhere.
The themes of the tables are also very well-designed and make you want to play "just one more game." The Web has a Blade Runner-esque theme and feels a bit derivative and dated, but it is also the oldest title. Timeshock! and Big Race USA are the real treasures of this package, and both complement each other very nicely, each giving you a very different pinball experience with Timeshock!'s serious, time travel story and Big Race USA's very light-hearted, humorous veneer.
If you've _ever_ liked pinball, YOU MUST GET THIS PACKAGE. Failure to do so is a severe disservice to yourself. Those $15 will easily outlast any other PC game you've got. I've played and permanently shelved countless more expensive PC games -- but I still play Pro Pinball. And those tables are just as fun now as they were when I first bought them.

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The three pinball tables included in this package are:
The Web: Features multiple viewing angles and graphic resolution running at 60 frames per second. There are several different missions: Space Station Frenzy, Bike Race Challenge, Fast Frenzy, and the Ultimate Showdown.
Timeshock: Features a total assault of the senses with a multilayered adventure in vision and sound through four different time zones. Has high graphic resolution in 16 million colors, with ingenious animated toys. Also features realistic ball motion and interaction with all objects and flippers.
Big Race USA: Prepare for the wildest pinball race to date, with a whirlwind frenzy of color, sound, and tons of action. Take a white-knuckle ride across the U.S. for a chance to compete in the Big Race.

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Ultimate Pro Pinball Review

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(More customer reviews)The Pro Pinball games are the best you can get without having a full-sized table in your game room (which we do).
I loved these games when they were first released, and played them on Win95 and 98, but when XP came along, they were toast.
I was very happy to see that they had been re-released for XP.
Strangely, the first two games work just fine, but the newest in the series will not work on my computer. It installs, graphics are fine, but all keyboard entries are erratic and slow (I'm talking 10-20 seconds for response times!). The fix posted in the readme files, and the updates, didn't fix the problem for me, but may fix it for others.
It's a bummer, because the third game is my favorite - however, I'll live with just the other two.
It's still worthy - but frustrating to pay for something and not be able to play part of it!

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