I hate most computer games. All those jet-fighter, starship, and find-the-treasure maze games bore me silly. The few computer games I do play are good enhancements of real-world games such as cards, dice, and especially pinball. There are two excellent digital pinball games available, and they're different enough that you might consider getting both.
Eight Ball Deluxe is based on an award-winning pinball machine from Bally. Like the original, the computer game is no-frills, meat-and-potatoes pinball in which you match your pinball skills and reflexes against the computer. Its designers deliberately ignored many newer game features - the screaming noise, ramps, and gewgaws that make pinball look like a loud miniature golf course. The computer game elegantly simulates those old-time pinball machines still found in true cowboy and biker bars.
Crystal Caliburn is a different beast altogether. It packs so many features onto its playing surface it's like a micro-amusement park at your fingertips. The graphics are lower resolution than the visuals of Eight Ball Deluxe, but the game makes up for it with a startling array of sounds: everything from dragon growls to cheering crowds to clashing metal and a range of imaginative "magic" sounds. Crystal Caliburn also features some weird play modes such as multiplay in which you bat around three balls at once.
Both games also let you use your space bar as a "bump" button, enabling you to use real-world hip action to move the ball. And both games tilt if you get too carried away. One nice feature of digital pinball is that, unlike regular pinball, you can pause both of these games in mid-action - even with the ball in play - and play later with all the motion and sounds intact.
Eight Ball Deluxe for Macintosh and DOS: US$49.95. Amtex Corporation: (800) 810 7345, +1 (613) 967 7900. Crystal Caliburn for Macintosh and Windows: $59.95, $49.95. StarPlay Productions, Inc.: (800) 203 2503, +1 (303) 447 9562.
STREET CRED
Winchell: An Unlikely Liberator of the Information EraDigital Fanzine
The Cartoon History of the Universe
Digital Pinball
