1998 · Microsoft · Arcade · Pinball

Microsoft Pinball Arcade

Nintendo console exclusive

The programmers at Microsoft are porting a game from their operating system over to the Game Boy Color with MICROSOFT PINBALL ARCADE. This pinball game was great fun on the PC, and now it is in a form that can be taken anywhere. There are seven different tables that are actually representative of real boards made by pinball giant Gottlieb throughout the last century. Each board carries a different theme, whether it is space travel or a haunted house.

Released: 15 December 1998
Platforms: Game Boy Color Windows
Genres: Arcade Pinball
Developers: Microsoft
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: First person
Themes: Action
Country: United States
Age ratings: ESRB E

About

Microsoft Pinball Arcade is a pinball video game from Microsoft. It was released on December 15, 1998, for Microsoft Windows and in 2001 for the Game Boy Color. The game is a collection of seven real pinball tables licensed from Gottlieb. These include one from each decade: Baffle Ball (1931), Humpty Dumpty (1947), Knock Out (1950), Slick Chick (1963), Spirit of 76 (1975), Haunted House (1982), and Cue Ball Wizard (1992).

This game was designed for Windows 9x and Windows NT 4.0. The resolution of the PC version could be set up to 1024x768.

Keywords

retro
pinball
digital pinball
game collection

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Microsoft Pinball Arcade uses the game rules from the original tables. The game shows the layout of each table, with details of points available from each feature. The view of each table is fixed, with no scrolling; the scores are displayed in the corner of the screen in the style of the original games. The earlier five games do not have music on the original pinball machines, and have an appropriate type of music added.

Reception

GameSpot praised the game for its faithful reproduction of the sound effects, detailed high-quality graphics, and realistic ball physics. IGN enjoyed the graphics, but found much of the gameplay and sounds boring although did enjoy Haunted House. CGW noted that the game includes some entertaining tables, and some of "purely historical" value. Reviewing a beta version, GameRoom noted that "only a pinball machine can be a pinball machine", but were still impressed with the graphics and sound. Pinball Player said it was the best pinball-based game for the home computer.

Nintendo Power found the ball moved "curiously slow."