norkusa
12-02-2004, 12:39 PM
I just picked up Pinball Hall Of Fame for Xbox yesterday and I must say this is the best pinball game I've ever played for a home console. It seems like whenever one of these console pinball games come out, there is always something wrong with it (poor table design, physics, camera, etc.) but PHOF does everything perfectly.
The game features 7 classic Gottlieb tables: Ace High, Central Park, Big Shot, Genie, Black Hole, Victory, Tee'd Off and a few unlockable novelty games as well. I've had the chance to play some of these pins at the arcades in person and I can say the ones in here are represented flawlessly. The sound, physics, control...it's all in PHOF.
The tables I was looking forward to playing most were Tee'd Off and Victory, but I find myself playing the older ones like Ace High and Big Shot more. These older pins have a completely different feel and playing style than the newer ones and are all about skillfully "nudging" the table and racking up points and credits.
The game has allot of small features I really like, such as short history segment and detailed playing instructions for the table. The thing I like about the instructions is that it plays like an instructional video and shows you close-up's of the key targets you need to hit, so there is no guessing on what the table objectives are. They also took the time to record narration for this feature, which I thought was very nice.
The game is only $20, so you can't afford *not* to pick it up if you are a pinball fan. The only problem is finding a copy. I hear that the PS2 version is much easier to find than the Xbox, but it lacks Live Scoreboards, which give PHOF even more depth and playability. My only complaint is the lack of a custom soundtrack option but it's not a big deal since the sound effects of the virtual arcade you're in are great. When playing a pin, you can hear sounds from the other machines around you and even a change machine spitting out quarters in the background! I felt like I was in a real arcade while playing PHOF.
The game features 7 classic Gottlieb tables: Ace High, Central Park, Big Shot, Genie, Black Hole, Victory, Tee'd Off and a few unlockable novelty games as well. I've had the chance to play some of these pins at the arcades in person and I can say the ones in here are represented flawlessly. The sound, physics, control...it's all in PHOF.
The tables I was looking forward to playing most were Tee'd Off and Victory, but I find myself playing the older ones like Ace High and Big Shot more. These older pins have a completely different feel and playing style than the newer ones and are all about skillfully "nudging" the table and racking up points and credits.
The game has allot of small features I really like, such as short history segment and detailed playing instructions for the table. The thing I like about the instructions is that it plays like an instructional video and shows you close-up's of the key targets you need to hit, so there is no guessing on what the table objectives are. They also took the time to record narration for this feature, which I thought was very nice.
The game is only $20, so you can't afford *not* to pick it up if you are a pinball fan. The only problem is finding a copy. I hear that the PS2 version is much easier to find than the Xbox, but it lacks Live Scoreboards, which give PHOF even more depth and playability. My only complaint is the lack of a custom soundtrack option but it's not a big deal since the sound effects of the virtual arcade you're in are great. When playing a pin, you can hear sounds from the other machines around you and even a change machine spitting out quarters in the background! I felt like I was in a real arcade while playing PHOF.