Epic Pinball

Now you can have all the bells and whistles of real pinball on your PC. Epic Pinball, by James Schmalz, features realistically fluid ball movement, a high-quality digital sound track and ultra smooth scrolling 256-color VGA graphics. It's all here: ramps, sink, holes, kickbacks, drop targets, multiple-ball, jackpots, skill shots, and scoring rules like real pinball. Epic Pinball has tables to suit a variety of pinball tastes. From 1950's style tables like Magic right up to the futuristic Enigma, in which targets and other suprises appear from an oozing plasma field. Epic Pinball Pack 1 Super Android, Excalibur, Pot of Gold, and Crash and Burn Epic Pinball Pack 2 Jungle Pinball, Deep Sea, Magic, and Engima Epic Pinball Pack 3 Pangaea, Toy Factory, Space Journey, and Cyborgirl Epic Pinball Pack CD All of the above twelve tables and a CD-exclusive table, African Safari System Requirements Epic Pinball requires: · A 386 or faster IBM-compatible computer · 640k of RAM · VGA display ...and also supports: · Sound Blaster, SB Pro, SB 16, Pro Audio Spectrum, Gravis Ultrasound, and compatible music cards. Ordering and Downloading Epic Pinball oad Links USA www.epicgames.com mirrors.aol.com UK and Europre

Tables: Android, Excalibur, Pot Of Gold, Crash And Burn Multi-table package with four different themes. Note that this package is the last one of the three that I picked up and this review is written after the two below. Pinball Pack 1 (and 2) is now shipped as an upgraded version (1995) and comes with Super Android instead of Android (improved sound, additional hole on left). All three packs in their 1995 version can now be installed into the same directory and integrate into one menu although the highscores from seperate installations can't be transferred. The manual also describes all tables from the three packs and features a brief history of pinball. Scrolling 2D full-screen planview. 3- and 5-ball play, upward nudge, fixed keys, records the top three scores. Options for fast/slow PC, table angle and sound volume. Plunger and nudge controlled with same key which could lead to 'accidents'. Super Android definitely stands out with its clear layout, crisp graphics and intelligent scoring system. Excalibur is an old-style mechanical machine. The other two are not bad but leave the impression of being fillers. The package continues in the Silverball tradition but improves on it. Yet it is definitely dated by now and the ball physics leave some things to be desired. The slingshots are just too powerful and especially in Excalibur often catapult the ball past the flipper in less than the wink of an eye. Generally, high acceleration is often too much too handle on a scrolling table (all three packs have a small table area compared to the large ball, too) and slow tables should not suddenly switch into overdrive anyway. The flippers do not allow for such refined manoeuvers as deflect passes or reverse pass flips. Most Pinball Pack tables let you try again if the ball drains without scoring points. This is flawed in Crash And Burn where the plunger often shoots the ball directly into the left outlane which scores 500'000, but also in other tables when the ball drains after hitting a measly 1000-point bumper or two without ever having been hit by a flipper. It is notable that the package was in large parts designed by one person, James Schmalz. The Epic Pinball Packs are still worth picking up if you want some casual pinball fun and have only a low-end PC (386/25MHz minimum). I ordered it for $29 from Epic and they sent me the other two packs in their latest versions for free.

Tables: Magic, Jungle Pinball, Deep Sea, Enigma Multi-table package with four different themes. Scrolling 2D full-screen planview. Dated by now but quite entertaining with fairly individual table designs and music complementing the themes. 3- and 5-ball play, upward nudge (same key as plunger), non-configurable keys, records the top three scores. Options for fast/slow PC, table angle and sound volume. Ball physics are rather unrealistic and common flipper techniques are not possible. Ball follows the same invisible paths upon hitting certain corners (e.g. down the drains, a left/right nudge would be effective here) and the bumpers seem a little too hard. Tables are short in relation to the large ball and the scrolling can drain balls that could be caught on a non-scrolling table. I like the bonus scheme which at end-of-ball individually rewards the frequency of hitting certain targets. Deep Sea is my favorite, well structured, quite smooth and consistent, best artwork. Enigma table tries at an arcade-type concept which is kind of fun but kind of frustrating too when it comes to deducting points and deadly ball traps. Magic is an old-style mechanical machine similar to Excalibur from Pack 1. Jungle Pinball is a tribute to the Epic jump-and-run game "Jill Of The Jungle". The package continues in the Pack 1 tradition and improves little on it. Like Pack 1 it has been upgraded to 16-bit sound in 1995, originally introduced with Pack 3. Still worth it for casual entertainment on low-end machines but not recommended for purists