Extreme Pinball (PSOne Review)

Back in the day before pixelated happiness or polygonal goodness graced video screens across the world, the king of the arcades was the pinball machine. However, what you might not know is that during the majority of the genre's lifespan, it was illegal in most cities to play or own a pinball machine. Considered a form of gambling, most major metropolitan areas here in America from the 1940s until the mid-1970s forbid their existence and actually held prohibition-styled raids on pinball parlors. 

The ban in New York City was finally overturned in 1976, only after the herculean effort of a 26-year-old magazine editor named Roger Sharpe. He was able to prove during a city council meeting that properly playing a pinball machine was more related to skill, rather than luck, by calling his shots on where he would make the ball would go. Nevertheless, there remain cities to this day that have forgotten pinball bans still on their books. 

But now, you don't have to worry about going out and exposing yourself to sticky flipper buttons, noisy arcades or fighting with ten-year-old kids for a place in line to enjoy some time with the magic silver ball. Thanks to EA, pinball fans now can fulfill their pinball cravings in the convenience of their own home, without having to fork out hundreds of dollars for a single machine. Keep your quarters in the piggy bank and let's take a look at Extreme Pinball.

For those of you looking for some pinball variety, this game features four unique tables all with very different themes. You can go the 80s heavy metal route with Rock Fantasy, battle a dragon in Medieval Knights, go bananas in Monkey Mayhem or stamp out crime on the Urban Chaos table. The amount of flippers ranges from either three or four total, varying in placement, size and strength for every table. There are also a multitude of various rail lanes on each table to keep the action always moving quickly. Furthermore, don't think that since you're playing a video version that you can't incorporate your own "special english" with the play. The table can be "bumped" left, right and up, just like in real life. However, there also is a tilt function that kills the gameplay for the current ball if you get over excited or too ambitious. Just like in the arcade, you have to learn how much you can get away with on the machines without crossing over that fine line so you can ride the tiger to its fullest extent.

Observant players will also notice that the ball itself will metamorphisize its appearance from a normal silver ball into gold rings or other apparent rolling items. Personally, I found this a distraction and usually ended up losing the ball because I was more interested in looking at the new ball rather than where it was going. Also, tables offer multi-ball bonus events where a literal hailstorm of balls will shower the table and then let the chaos begin. Furthermore, each machine has limited extra minigames that can be unlocked with exceptional play. Yes folks, there is plenty of action going on and it is very easy to get distracted by the glitz and glamor. 

Extreme Pinball also has variety in the setup of the game itself. Tables can have the number of balls available per game set at either three, five or seven. Moreover, every table can be played by up to four different players with the bonus of not needing to actually have four different controllers plugged in to accomplish it. Of course, there will be plenty of controller swapping since everything can be run on a single DualShock, but it's definitely a better option than having to dig out the multitap and make sure you have four working controllers squirreled away for those rare multiplayer opportunities. The only downside is that high scores cannot be saved, as there is no memory card function available.

Visually, Extreme Pinball gives the player a good view of the action. The tables are all blown up enough for you to actually see where the ball is going and the screen usually does a good job of keeping up with the ball's action. However like most screen-scrolling pinball games, there is the problem of the table view lagging behind the motion of the ball. Even though it seems like the view is lagging only by about a half of a second, it can make success in the game weighted more towards luck rather than skill. All of the targets and ball paths are clearly marked, but the action is so fast that without an intimate knowledge of the ins and outs of each table you can get easily get lost on what you need to do once a bonus opens up. While some may find this discouraging, pinball wizards will attest that this reflects the realism of playing in real life. Without using skill, or knowledge of your surroundings, simply bashing the ball back and forth will never get you into the high score environments. 

The audio aspects of Extreme Pinball are rather limited, but that is more a reflection of the times. Standard mono and stereo sound options apply, but there is nothing for those of us using high tech audio systems. Nevertheless, everything comes through clearly and all the beeps and boops you would to expect to hear when playing a table are all included. All four tables have unique background music and sound effects, both of which can be individually tuned in volume level for the gamer's preference.

Nevertheless, everything is not positive about this title. The load screen times are somewhat lengthy. In fact, there were many instances where I began to worry that the system had locked up because they took so long to finish. These lasted as long as a full minute at some times, and in this day and age of immediate gratification, that might seem like a lifetime to many. However once you get into actually playing the table, the action is seamless without any hesitation or delay when shifting between balls or players.

My biggest problem with evaluating this game is that it moves so damn fast. It is really difficult, for a duffer like me, to keep up with everything that is going on. Lights are flashing all over the place, the lower scoreboard has information running across it when something new is activated and the ball is simply flying around like a greased pig. This in no way a criticism of Extreme Pinball, rather a self-realization that I'm not a very good pinball player.  Nevertheless, I kept being drawn back to play a table "just one more time" over and over again and that in my book means this has some quality to offer.

Now this game is not going to be attractive to every person. You adrenaline junkies will find the gameplay slow and limited compared to those FPS or racing titles. However, this game is right up the alley of a more casual gamer. As far as pinball titles go, this one is by far my favorite (so far as of this writing). The four different tables give enough variation to hold the boredom away and each table has enough action on it to bring you back for more. If you are a pinball wizard, this one should offer enough to keep your attention, even with the limitations of being released back in 1996. When shopping at your local independent retro gaming store, if you see this game gathering dust on the shelves, be a trooper and give it a new home. You shouldn't be sorry.

Difficulty: 8

Control: 9

Audio: 6

Visuals: 7

Replayability: 8

Overall: 7.8