Review: Monster Pinball HD
Score:
74%
Fresh from my pinball adventures in Dr Pickaxe, I headed into Monster Pinball HD on an adrenaline high. It's fair to say that I found tables aplenty, effects aplenty and always something interesting happening - yet somehow there wasn't the same sense of satisfying physicality in this alien-filled pinball extravaganza. Classifying this game as 'disappointing' would be doing it a disservice - Monster Pinball HD just didn't grab me as a great pinball title would have done.
I've mentioned before about my love for pinball, arguably one of the very first physics-based computer games. Done right, it can be very immersive (e.g. Dr Pickaxe) and evocative, perhaps Monster Pinball HD's strong suit. Themed around alien/mutant/monster invaders, here's the official blurb:
One of the most successful and loved pinball apps has not only had a massive upgrade with new graphics, goals, achievements and single table play modes...it's now on Windows! Simply the most action packed pinball game you have ever played! Six linked tables bring you into the mind boggling pinball world of Monster Pinball HD sending you into a spin at every flick of your paddles.
"Awesome" — it’s a word you hear a lot from fans of Monster Pinball. Monster Pinball HD offers stunning graphics, zany sound effects, automatic table switching, high scoring, fast action, and hours of fun that will keep you coming back for more.
As with Nokia's own Mile High Pinball, many years ago, one of the unique selling points here is that the tables are inter-connected. So shoot the ball (or let it fall) into one of the various gullies and hey presto, it falls into a different table, keeping the visuals, gameplay and goals as fresh as possible. There aren't as many tables as Mile High Pinball, but then there's far more attention to detail here and a lot more going on.
I do have a confession to make, though. Even on real pinball tables, my strategy would be, as often as not, to simply keep the ball in play and fired off up the table - as opposed to the 'better' strategy of analysing each table, working out what to hit in order to trigger the so and so, which then opens up the other goal thingamajig, and so on....
In the case of Monster Pinball, the rapid succession of totally different tables and the sheer number of things happening at the same time mean that the first strategy is probably best for most people - so you're dependent on realistic physics and a degree of (ahem) cheating here and there to succeed. You see, not only does Monster Pinball have impeccable (and super smooth) physics and graphics, it also responds to you 'tilting' your phone, as you would a real table, gently nudging the playing surface if the ball looks like heading down between the flippers. This is all done with the accelerometer and the table responds just as a real one would - right down to the 'TILT' error (and lock down) that occurs if you 'tilt' too violently.The sound effects are immersive too. There are sound toggles at the top of the screen, though the hardware volume controls on each phone are the main adjusters, as you'd expect.
Also selectable is a difficulty level, in terms of setting the physics speed 'Slow', 'Medium' or 'High'. These are analagous to the inclination of a real pinball table and refer to the angular amount of gravity that's resolved 'down' the table. 'Medium' is about perfect for most people, so best not to fiddle from this default. Most tables have more than the two standard flippers and control of all of these are via left and right screen taps, with multitouch allowing for simultaneous control, e.g. when juggling the ball between flippers.
It all works rather well, perhaps even faultlessly, but I'm going to stick with my less than stellar 74% score because, for all its linked tables and effects, I wanted more. Dr Pickaxe is a better example of a 2013 pinball implementation, with a first person, dynamic, physical feel - there's an innate realism thar draws you in. Whereas in Monster Pinball HD the flat, top-down, static (no-scrolling) approach is a constant reminder that you're playing a slightly fiddly game on a 4" screened glass smartphone. An amusement, to be sure, and a futuristic, well-designed amusement, but it's nowhere near as immersive as a virtual view from much lower down, as on other titles.
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at