Pinball 95

For the great majority of us, Maxis represents the company that published Sim City, Sim Farm and the other popular products of the same kind. Based almost entirely on simulations in which you had to develop an entire city or manage the ecological resources of the rain forest, Maxis never released arcade, adventure or strategy games. This was true until recently when Maxis announced the availability of a new pinball game exclusively developed for the Windows 95 environment.

The new pinball, simply called "Pinball 95", is a three table game with multi-player and multi-ball support. It offers three resolution modes from 640 by 480 to 1024 by 768 and 800 by 600. The tables are displayed in 3D with a front view of the table that is about the same as the actual view you have when playing at the arcades. Like "Pro Pinball: The Web", there are no scrolling effects for the 3D view, but you can see the entire table during a match. The scores and other information regarding your match such as bonuses, jackpots or special targets are shown on the right side of the screen.

Each table has a dynamic soundtrack with sound effects and voices that greatly enhance the game. For instance, in the table called "Skulduggery" you will hear pirates, cannons, and parrots, while in the "Dragon's Keep" the sounds of the Middle-Ages will resound in your ears with dragons and knights.

The game allows you to customize keys for the controls, but strangely there are no possibilities to use the 'Shift' and 'Ctrl' keys for the left and right flippers. I can't barely imagine playing with keys like 'G' and 'H' for the flippers but it is possible with "Pinball 95"!

For realism, "Pinball 95" is not the best, but certainly not the last. The movements are smooth (as long as you choose the 23 Mb installation) and fast enough to keep you in the game. All tables features various elements (bumpers, targets, multiple lanes, ramps, lights, etc...) and you can even bump the table from three directions (left, right and up).

Conclusion:

If you are looking for a pleasant pinball game with several tables, cool sound effects and runs under Windows 95, look no further.

System Requirements:

486 DX2-66 MHz or higher,
Min 8Mb memory,
MS-DOS 5.0 or later,
Hard drive required with 3Mb free,
Double speed CD-ROM drive or faster,
SVGA video graphic card with 1Mb,
Microsoft mouse and 100% compatibles,

Windows 95 compatible sound cards supported.

Windows 95.

Developers

Cinematronics.

Publishers

In North America:

Maxis,
2 Theatre Square,
Orinda, CA 94563-3346

BBS Support: 510-254-3869

Web site: www.maxis.com

In Europe:

In UK:

Maxis UK Ltd.,
18-20 St.John Street,
London EC1M 4AY.

Technical Support: +44-(0)171-250-0215
Fax Support: +44-(0)-171-490-2177
BBS Support: Available soon

In Germany:

Bomico Entertainment Software,
Stichwort: Maxis,
Am Sudpark 12,
65 451 Kelsterbach.

Technical Support: +49-(0)6107-8081
BBS Support: +49-(0)6107-9302-22

Ratings:

Graphics:	85%
Sound:	86%
Music:	82%
Gameplay:	85%
Interest:	80%
Overall:	83%

Click here for screen shots.