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 Pinball
Hall of Fame: Williams Collection (Playstation 3)
You might have a strong sense of
déjà vu looking at this, since this is the third edition of this game
we've reviewed. This time, the classic pin collection comes to the PS3
with HD graphics, several new tables and not much else. The visual
upgrades are good, and make this game the best looking yet. Several
additional titles have been added from previous versions, making a total
of 13 available tables in all. Aside from this, it's almost identical to
earlier editions, with a similar interface, token system and tournaments.
So while its good for what it offers, those who played previous versions
will probably want to wait until this Williams Collection gets a little
cheaper. |
With 13 classic pinball titles including
such legendary tables as Space Shuttle, Pinbot, Fun House, Firepower, and
Black Knight, Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection offers a solid
compilation of challenging machines. This time around, the PS3 edition
includes three machines not found in earlier compilations: Medieval
Madness, Tales of the Arabian Knights and No Good Gophers. You start by
exploring a virtual arcade and select which machine you want to play. Some
machines are initially unlocked for free play, though you can earn more by
winning credits and unlocking their free-play mode. After this, you can
choose from several options including number of players, balls and overall
difficulty. As you gain high scores and win tournaments, other options,
such as reverse fields are unlocked as well. Other options include
enabling the glass reflections and selecting the background arcade music
levles. Each of the pinball tables in this collection offers a bevy of
different strategies and layouts with different targets and objectives for
each. Before you begin playing, you can view a quick tutorial which shows
you the key locations of big points targets and explains how to unlock
secrets such as multi-ball modes for each table. When the player has
completed this introductory sequence, it's time to go play and use their
accumulated credits to begin.
While previous versions of the game
offered excellent virtual versions of these pins, the new HD visuals are
really impressive and allow you to see even the smallest details of each
machine's layout. The games seem to pop off the screen and the multiple
camera angles are generally effective in giving you a decent view on the
action. The sounds have also been authentically recreated as well, with
all the buzzing and bleeping of the original tables faithfully recreated.
You can especially appreciate the level of detail in the imaginative
designs of machines like Dark Knight and Medievel Madness, with their
elaborate multi-tiered boards and challenging target layouts making them
fun yet addictive to play. Atmospheric sound effects and arcade ambience
enhance the mood which makes you feel like you are playing an actual
pinball machine on a long-ago Saturday night, which is really cool. Hall
of Fame's excellent ball physics and responsiveness allows players to use
classic techniques such as use of body-english and flipper maneuvering and
ball trapping which gives you added control. However, don't use these too
much or you might tilt the machine. Using the PS3 dual shock allows for an
effective force feedback system that lets you feel the balls as they hit
various objects. Players can choose to use either the upper or lower shift
keys as flippers, which makes for an intuitive and easy to learn game.
 The
game's immediate appeal is also due in large part to its well-known
tables, some of which like Black Knight are probably firmly imprinted on
players' memories, along with the legendary PinBot, which was immortalized
in a memorable NES release many years ago. The lesser known tables also
provide plenty of play action, with the simple play of early titles like
Firepower and Sorceror contrasting with the more complicated, mutli-tiered
tables such as Fun House and or Space Shuttle. Playing the simpler games
like Gorgar is good practice for the more complicated ones. Most of these
should be familiar to those who played earlier Williams comps, but the new
tables are loads of fun, with Medievel Madness making a good kind of
follow-up to Black Knight, with more elaborate layout and digitized voices
adding to the fun. Some tables require more concentration and skill, while
others are simpler and more accessible. Regardless of their difficulty,
each of the included table play just as brilliantly as you remember and
there plenty of challenges, such as points earned or specific targets to
hit to keep you playing. While the basic gameplay is fun, there are added
goals for each table, such as hitting a specific score or knocking down
targets, that give you bonus tokens. You can use the tokens to play other
tables that require them, or save them up until you have enough to unlock
free play mode where you don't have. There's also a tournament mode that
you can play through, where you go through a series of tables and have to
meet a specific points total for each. Winning these tournaments unlocks
additional special features, such as extra tables and free play modes.
If all of this sounds familiar, then
you've probably played some of the previous Williams comps and while the
HD upgrades and additional tables are nice additions, the basic gameplay,
interface and challenge remains very much the same as previous games. The
tables definitely look sharper, but not by enough of a margin to really
substantially change the gameplay. It's HUD looks like the previous games,
too and this doesn't appear to offer much of an upgrade. While this is an
entertaining title, it really doesn't offer much that the previous titles
have given players, making it kind of a redundant purchase if you've
already played it on PS2 or Wii. It's a nice upgrade to have, but Pinball
Hall of Fame: Williams Collection isn't going to be a must-own title
unless you don't have the previous editions. Otherwise, we'd advise most
players to wait until it gets a bit cheaper down the road.
- Michael Palisano
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