Hyper 3-D Pinball

Hyper 3-D Pinball is a fun pinball game with 6 well-designed tables, each with its own theme. Marketed as Tilt! in Europe, the game features beautifully rendered graphics with ball-lock video animations and multiple views.

You play the game from the typical 2D top-down scrolling view, 3D scrolling view, or 3D non-scrolling full-screen view. Most of these modes also support multiple resolutions, giving you a much wider range of display options than other pinball games. Multiple views aside, how does the game play in Peoria? The result is mixed. The 2D view is almost unplayable due to slow scrolling rate and sluggish ball movement. The 3D modes more than make up for this, though - they are both smoothly animated, with plenty of detailed targets and crisp graphics. Don't expect accurate ball physics, though: the ball accelerates far too quickly, the ramp behaves oddly, and the flippers are not very responsive.

Although the 6 tables feature similar targets, they offer interesting mission-based challenges (i.e. combos to pull off in the right order). Some more words on the game's flawed physics engine from pinball fansite Tower of Pin: "While it was easily the graphically best-looking PCPin game at the time, the physics were horrible. Most of the problem involved ramps that practically vacuumed the ball up if you hit it anywhere near them and inlanes that majorly sped up the ball, making it hard to aim and killing the "feel" of real pinball for many. Still, not only did the game look good, but it had SIX fairly complex tables, complete with wizard modes."

So, if you like graphically excellent pinball games and are not concerned about realistic physics, you will probably like Tilt!. If you are a die-hard pinball fan, however, this underdog is simply not worth your time.

Review By HOTUD