Pentium 90, 16 MB RAM, sound card, Windows 95/98, Windows NT (with Service Pack 3), DOS, CD-ROM drive, 40 MB hard drive space (150 MB for recommended install, 600 for full install), and 1 MB video card (VESA 2 compliant video card if running in DOS) I was particularly impressed by the detail when the knocker sounded after winning free credits. As you can imagine, it sounds much like a modern pinball machine and has plenty of detailed sound effects and pseudo '70s funk music to set the mood for the different events in the game. The sounds and music are handled really well and sound great. Hey, it’s presented in Dolby Surround Stereo, so it can’t be all that bad. There is no lack of attention to detail here. There are different settings for how this will display, but it is possible to see the actual table move in the direction it was jarred as well and any effect it would have on the ball itself. Another wonderful effect is nudging the table. If you look closely at the ball, you can actually see the effects of it rolling and spinning around the table. Aside from the table itself, they did a wonderful job on the ball, too. In fact, you can actually zoom in and look at any part of the table and see the meticulous details, right down to the paper game instructions you would normally find on a real table. The graphics are phenomenal, second only to looking at a real pinball machine itself. Holy Cow! If I didn’t know better, I’d say the developers simply took pictures of a real pinball machine and simply digitized it into the game. Unfortunately, technical support was unable to help me on this problem and said it worked fine on their systems. I was unable to get this feature to work in any scenario on three separate networks. Supposedly, you can get a simultaneous game going through a network connection. I have only one major gripe about this game and that is Empire Interactive touting simultaneous competition as one of the game’s big features. The menus and advanced options are all handled with the arrow keys. The only other control used during play is the Launch button. You also have controls for nudging the table left, right or up. You have two flipper buttons that control the four flippers on the table. If the conditions are right while on the road, you can enter the game’s video mode which allows you to use the flipper buttons to run cars off the road and, if you’re good enough, even obtain an extra ball.Ĭontrol in this game is about as basic and standard as it gets for pinball. On the road, the object is simply to get to the next city as quickly as possible. When you finish in the city, it’s time to hit the road, which is done with - you guessed it - an accurately placed skill shot. Some of these items are quite helpful, such as a trip planner that allows you to select your next destination, or my favorite, the air bag, which temporarily pops up a nice big bumper right between your flippers so you won’t lose your ball as easily. There is also Jay’s Secret Stash, which allows you to buy items to help you on your journey. When in the city, you can gain access to various challenges which then require you to make certain skill shots to beat the challenge. There are two general modes - In the City and On the Road. The game itself is based on a cross-country race that goes from New York to San Francisco, and not necessarily the same route each time. More importantly, these settings can drastically affect how you actually play the game. For instance, if you play with a steeper slope on a new or well-maintained table, the ball is going to move much faster and smoother than on a lesser slope or a neglected table. The slope and table maintenance settings will very much affect gameplay. While the tests themselves do not really affect the gameplay at all, it’s a nice feature that the true pinball enthusiast will appreciate. The operator menus are so true to life that you can even run the machine’s various diagnostics such as the solenoid, flipper and light tests just to name a few. These options include setting things like how used the machine is and how well it has been cared for, the general difficulty, and the table slope as well as allowing you access to the machine’s operator menus. This is reinforced by some very realistic options that you won’t find in other video pinball games. You simply cannot get any closer to the real thing without playing the real thing. If you’ve ever played a real pinball machine, you now know how this game plays.
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