Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection (PS3) Review
Posted by Armando Rodriguez on 10.28.2009
The greatest pinball video game ever made? Oh yeah! With 13 classic tables and amazing graphics, Pinball Hall of Fame is a must have for pinball fans.
Game: Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
Publisher: Crave Entertainment
Developer: Far Sight Studios
Genre: Pinball
Players: 1-4 (Offline, Taking Turns)
Rated E 10+
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is the latest port of a game that has already been released on the Playstation 2, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and Playstation Portable. The PS3 port (just like the Xbox 360 port) adds a few new tables and high-definition graphics, which in my opinion makes it the version to get.
Gameplay:
I relieve everyone has placed pinball at least once in their life. The basic mechanics are simple: Use two flippers to keep a ball in play, sending it into pins, bumpers and other objects, with the goal of attaining the highest score possible. Pinball Hall of Fame keeps this simple gameplay mechanic intact and brings us 13 famous tables to practice on.
Only 4 tables are unlocked for Free Play Mode when you first boot up the game. They are Pin Bot, Taxi, Gorgar and Medieval Madness. You start with 20 credits and need to spend one credit per game on the other tables. There are various ways to unlock the other tables for Free Play Mode. First of all, you can complete all five goals on a table. Once you do this, you are allowed to select another table to unlock for Free Play Mode. You earn 5 credits every time you complete a goal. Optionally, you can save 100 credits and spend them to “purchase” another table for Free Play Mode. Once you complete the initial set of goals on a table you unlock the Wizard’s Goals, five goals that are more difficult to complete and also earns you credits.
But why practice so much? Because you have to tackle The Williams Challenge. This mode requires you to beat a set score on every table, back to back. If you successfully complete this mode you unlock Jive Time, the oldest table in the game. You have three tries per table to beat the set score. I have yet to complete this mode, since it is quite hard and depends on luck.
The game also provides the option for offline tournaments, in which players take turns trying to set the highest score on any table. The only online feature is the ability to upload scores into a leaderboard, which is a shame. This game would have been a lot better if we could hold online tournaments.
The controls are easy to master, since you only use the triggers for flippers and the left stick for tilting the table. However, I noticed a glitch when you try to hold the flippers in an attempt to trap the ball. Sometimes I try to hold down the triggers to trap the ball, but the flippers start twitching oddly and sometimes this causes the ball to fall through. The glitch only happened with the SIXAXXIS controller; I never encountered it with the Dual Shock 3 (perhaps because the triggers are sturdier?) so I would recommend players to use the Dual Shock 3.
I have to take points off for the lack of a Platinum Trophy. This is a retail game priced at $40 and there is no excuse for the lack of a Platinum Trophy or for the poor quality of trophies overall. There are 13 bronze trophies, which require you to set a high score on every table to get them, one per table. There is a silver trophy earned for beating the Williams Challenge and unlocking Jive Time. Finally, there is one gold trophy for unlocking every table. Only 15 trophies in the entire game! They could have added a few more for meeting certain score thresholds, accomplishing a certain number of goals, etc. That would have added replay value and the possibility of a Platinum Trophy. As it is, the trophies just feel lazy.
Graphics:
One thing is for sure: The graphics are awesome. This is as good as a real life pinball table can look in video game form. I have a friend who owns the Playstation 2 version and the jump to PS3 is just spectacular. The high-definition graphics makes the tables look like the real thing. The physics engine is well done and the ball and assortment of bumpers and pins work wonderfully well. The only comparison on the PS3 is Zen Pinball, a Playstation Network game. Well, Zen Pinball is no match for Pinball Hall of Fame on the graphics department.
As far as the tables go, you will see nice progression. Older tables like Gorgar and Pin Bot are well detailed, but a bit sparse. As soon as you hit the video pinball era with tables like No Good Gofers and Medieval Madness, it really picks up. These are my favorite designs, but Taxi is incredible as well and Space Shuttle is not far behind.
Sound:
As you can expect, all the pinball-related sound effects are well replicated here. The different bells and whistles sound great and those tables that feature spoken language sound great. I don’t know how they did it, but the voices sound just like they would out of the tiny speaker on the pinball table. Play Funhouse (if you have played it in real life) and compare: the audio experience is 100% faithful to the source.
Lasting Appeal:
There are 13 tables to master and the Williams Challenge is difficult enough to keep you hooked for a while. After that the lasting appeal will depend on how much you like the game and the opportunity to beat your own scores. More trophies would have added significant replay value. Still, if you even remotely like pinball, this is going to be a godsend.
Fun Factor:
Pinball requires a lot of skill, practice and luck. The game is really fun and addictive, but it can also be frustrating if you are on a particularly nasty streak. However, there is no doubt this game is fun. You are going to find yourself saying “just one more game” and the next thing you know is 3am and you have work in the morning.
The 411:
If you have an interest in pinball, then this game is crack on a disc. 13 real life tables, all of them classics, faithfully recreated for you to enjoy in the comfort of your home. Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection is the best pinball game on the PS3 and perhaps the best pinball game of all time. Thumbs up!
Graphics
8.8
High-definition tables are jaw-dropping. There are so many lights going on that it feels like a carnival.
Gameplay
8.6
If you love pinball, this game is for you. The feeling of playing pinball is perfectly recreated thanks to a great physics engine.
Sound
8.5
If you have played any of these tables in real life, you will be amazed at how faithfully the sound has been recreated here.
Lasting Appeal
8.3
As long as you like beating your own high scores, this game will last you a long time. More trophies would have helped.
Fun Factor
8.5
There is no doubt that Pinball Hall of Fame is fun. However, just like real life pinball, you need a little luck and it might turn frustrating during a particularly bad streak.
Luck has very little to do with Pinball outside of games that give random awards. The bouncing of the ball is based on physics. You control very much where and how the ball will bounce. There's a reason that the same guys are always winning pinball tournaments, and it isn't that they're incredibly lucky.
Posted By: PDG (Guest) on October 28, 2009 at 12:17 PM
