Pinbot
Reviewed by Hokum
This game was given to my father as a gift from a friend who got it
at a garage sale and knew of my father's love for pinball. It was
previously a rental and not in the greatest condition, but it played
just fine. It also provided us with countless hours of enjoyment...
Graphics: 8.9 out of 10
Theres not much to say about the graphics - in NES days, it felt like
looking at a real pinball table. But now that video games have come
and gone that REALLY look exactly like pinball tables, it's a tad more
primitive looking. But Pinbot still looks great for an 8-bit system and
does the job well. The balls move around very quickly with no slowdown,
so in that regard the simulation is dead-on!
Music and Sound: 7.5 out of 10
The music is satisfactory. Never gets annoying, but it's not awe-inspiring
either. They could have spiced it up a little more, but it doesn't really
matter - keeps the pace of the action nicely enough, never gets on your
nerves. Some of the noises the 'machine' makes are typical of any real
pinball machine, and not all pleasant, so keep the volume at a reasonable
level. Oh, and Pinbot's voice samples are kind of hard to understand.
Game Challenge: 8 out of 10
This game is nice in that there's no selectable challenge level, but it
gets harder if your ready for it. Theres no specific point value that
takes you to the next difficulty level, it's actually a specific action
(going around the top chute while you have a second ball) - once you
know this, you can decide whether you want to go on or stay in the easy
first level and rack up points. The later levels feature monsters bent
on destroying your ball, which can be hard to avoid (after all, in pinball
the player only controls the ball's movement so much), and the side
escapes are less forgiving. But you don't have to advance to these levels.
Game Play-Fun: 9.0 out of 10
This is just a fun game. There are tons of little things to do in the
table to open up new entries, gain new balls, rack up tons of points - some
are puzzling and fun to attain, some are easy and you'll do them by default.
And of course, once you get bored in stage 1 (which takes quite a while),
you can experiment with new challenges in the later stages. The coolest
thing is the Pinbot himself, who is awakened by activating rows of
colorful targets and then shooting balls into him, only to get more.
It is especially fun if you have friends and family who get into it,
because competing for high scores is a blast. Unfortunately there's
no battery back-up, so you have to remember or write them down
after resets.
Frustration
It can be frustrating trying to beat a friend's high score...otherwise
the only things that frustrate are the enemies who gobble up or shoot
your balls in the more challenging stages.
Replayability: 9.5 out of 10
It takes a long time to tire of this game...and after a short, maybe
week or so break, it'll be another few months of action! It's just a
great game to pick up during boring spots between platform and
adventure games (oh, and real life...) as well. Nothing to tire of, it's
old-fashioned arcade fun that can be played for long or short
periods of time.
Game Value: 10 out of 10
You can get this thing on ebay now for about $10. It came out
during the end of the NES lifespan, just as Sega Genesis began
to dominate the market and SNES was almost out the door, which
would make it one of those rare pricey finds but since it featured
no popular Nintendo characters, it's so unknown you can probably
get it for a very cheap price at flea markets and video game outlets.
It's a great game you can acquire at a steal, so yes - definitely
worth the price.
Overall: 9.5 out of 10
I have played most other NES Pinball games, and this has to be the
most true-to-life Pinball game ever made for the console. The
motion is realistic, the graphics are top-notch, gameplay is varied.
It's actually based on a real machine, and only ADDS features - no
subtracting. It also doesn't shrink the view or the game area itself.
It merely splits the screen, which sounds awkward but works
incredibly well as you can always see your paddles and the ball, at
ALL times. So it may not be well known due to it's timing, but it is
the most true-to-life pinball game you can get on the system and
it's very fun. NES-owning pinball fans must have it!