Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey Review

Average Reviews:

(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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Pro-Pinball: The Ultimate Compilation Review

Average Reviews:

(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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