Artists and 3D modelers achieved an impressive artwork with Silicon Graphics to faithfully represent the kind of view you would have when playing with a real pinball table. The Web, for example, features six views to play with and although each one places you in the same position in front of the table, they all offer a different angle. You can choose to see the whole pinball with the front panel but it will, of course, reduce the size of the table. I decided instead to play with the table's view for a better experience. As the table contains many elements such as ramps, lanes, bumpers, targets, lights and others, it was sometimes difficult to see where to shoot. If you own a 17" monitor or larger, you won't have any problem at all, but for the others I strongly recommend playing with the first three views available.
No matter which view you select, a small orange dot matrix window will be displayed on the top of the screen. Scores, bonuses, 3D animations and even small games will appear in this window bringing even more excitement. The games are very simple as they use left and right flippers to shoot at targets in a very arcade-like style.
The graphics of The Web as said above, were done with Silicon Graphics which easily explains their remarkable quality. Besides, with the possibility of playing with three resolutions that range from 640 by 480 to 1024 by 768 with 256 or 32 thousands colors, The Web is graphically the best pinball ever made! You will even see the reflection of the table on the ball when playing, and even if it is not essential for the game play, it admirably shows the importance of the realism in this game. The animations in the dot matrix display run smoothly and were created by Minds Eye, an Empire Interactive affiliate. These TV animation specialists used 3D Studio and SGI stations to render the animations, but although they look very good, do not pay too much attention to them if you don't want to lose your ball.
The Web also includes several game modes. If you shoot the centre sinkhole, for example, you will activate the missions in which you must shoot at specific targets in a limited time. There are also multi-ball modes up to six balls, combos when passing from ramps to lanes, for example, powers and many other hidden features you will discover.
The twenty soundtracks created by Bruce Foxton and Jake Burns (The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers) especially for The Web, is indeniably a tremendous bonus. You will also hear an interactive speech throughout the game announcing bonuses and game modes which were recorded by professional voice actors.
Pro Pinball: The Web is technically irreprochable with a perfect control of animations for both the ball and table's elements, but the presence of only one table might seriously disappoint potential gamers. Personally, I think it is one of the best 3D pinballs available.
486 DX-33 MHz or higher,
Min 4Mb memory,
MS-DOS 5.0 or later,
Hard drive required with 2Mb free,
Double speed CD-ROM drive or faster,
SVGA video graphic card with 1Mb minimum.
Creative Labs Sound Blaster, Pro, 16 and AWE32; Gravis UltraSound.
Technical Support: +44-(0)181-343-9143
BBS: +44-(0)181-343-7557
Empire Interactive,
13220 Wisteria Drive, Bay N-2,
Germantown, MD 20874.
Technical Support: 301-916-9303
In Europe:
In UK:
See developers.
In France:
Ubi Soft,
28, rue Armand Carrel,
93108 Montreuil sous Bois Cedex.
Technical Support: +33-1-485-70554
Fax Support: +33-1-485-76291
Web site: www.ubisoft.com
Overall: 89%
