Galactic Pinball:

In 2100 AD you have to protect the Milky Way Galaxy from alien invaders and other space threads, and what better way to do this than by playing Pinball! ... Right? ... Right!

Yes sure, each of the four tables has a story of their own and it makes for some very nice themes to base these awesome pinball tables on. Having played lots of Arcade pinball tables and other pinball videogames the VB incarnation comes as a real treat, with lush 3D movements the ball (ahum that be a puck) storms over, in front of and behind the playfield, it goes just about everywhere if you hit it right and that sure makes for a big challenge keeping it on the table.

The basic rules are that you get five pucks. Keep the puck in play with the flippers, and try to beat the high score. Which is great if you're playing on turn with others. If the fifth puck drops out of play, your game is over. And incase your puck gets stuck somewhere just shake the table with B, but not too much or you'll cause a TILT! Other controls are the back L & R buttons for left & right flipper movement and ofcourse A to launch a puck. In the bonus games you'll be using the left directional pad to steer and A to shoot.

Bonus Stages: One on each table, if you collect a certain number of star marks, you will advance to the Bonus Stage. You will be given the option to play the Bonus Stage or simply accept the bonus points. In the Bonus Stage, you need to strike the stars with the puck. Hit all twelve for a one million bonus! The group of stars will come through four times. When four groups of stars pass or you lose three pucks, whichever comes first, then it is back to the regular table for you. Getting extra puck bonuses will help you increase your chances of reaching these stages.

Tons of Bonus Games: One example would be that you have to destroy approaching comets at the Colony table, but by far my favorite is the hidden Bonus Game at the Cosmic table where you get to play as Samus in this Metroid mini-game. The S symbol from Super Metroid will appear in place of the bumpers, and the phrase "Let's Go, Samus!!" will be spoken. The ball will transform into the Samus' ship, with the goal of shooting metroids and other targets while the Super Metroid theme is played. Truly awesome! Really gives that Nintendo touch feel, yet at the same time you feel like you're in the Arcades.

Music in all the levels is very well done, it sounds dark, spacey and moody at the same time as you listen to the beats that mix the music together. A very cool effect from the intro to throughout the game quite a lot is that there's speech telling you where you are and what is about to happen, the phrase "Welcome to space world. Let's go!!" is sure to stick in your mind for a while. As for the other sound effects on the tables, as much as you can expect, the basic pinball sounds which suffice nicely.

In short: This game is Pinball heaven for those who like the genre, but even if you don't be sure to give this game a try. This is one of those must-have titles that have so much gameplay to offer, you keep coming back trying to better high scores, which is what it's all about, the addicting fun that's pinball.

My opinion: It was so weird and cool at the same time, seeing high scores of my friends that they made over four years ago still stored in the game! I keep trying to beat them at it, it stays so much fun when you eventually do.