Pinball Madness 4

Computer games really keep coming & going time & time again. That also goes with the classic case of Pinball. There just isn't anything classic other than that classic feeling of bumper-driving action. Nevertheless, computer companies really haven't made any decent pinball video games recently. Still, that really hasn't change much for die hard fanatics. Arguably, many people don't really play those kinds of games as much as the kinds of dimensional action and violent video games come & go. Still, Pinball does always have a way of coming & going. and Encore Software really has done it well.

Pinball Madness 4 is a collection and a variety of over 30 different kinds of pinball tables on 5 CD-ROM discs. All in all, the software ranges from Williams Pinball Classics, Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey, Adventure Pinball: Forgotten Island, Platinum Pinball, and 3D Pinball Express. All in all, each game does arrange itself differently. The Platinum Pinball is really the standout in this collection. This one offers over 20 different tables to play with including The Tomb, Jackpot, with a casino like atmosphere, and games with true dimensional appeal. Especially The Avengers, which actually shows clips of the classic TV series from the 60's & 70's. That one really was the surprise grabber. The pinball action is just amazing and with full detail. The only dissapointment is the Williams Pinball Classics, which actually doesn't seem to be featured with nothing but computer errors. Largely, because everytime it is loaded up, it just says DOH 1024x786x8 Failure. Unfortunately, that remains the dissapointment. Pro Pinball: Fantastic Journey, is a great game with all the fatures of Pinball, with a classic Time Machine setting. It really is very exciting and worth the graphics. Nevertheless, just because one breaks down, the others don't fail. All in all, a lot of great games and tables can be found here, especially for the die hard bumper fanatic.

I truly suggest you go get this pinball masterpiece collection. It is just great, but you do get pretty bored on the same table after awhile. Pinball Madness 4 is a great collection. I really suggest you add this multiplex of balls and multiball locks as a part of your collection. Overall, I would've given this game a higher ranking, if the Williams Pinball Classics worked from the beginning, instead of just saying that error message.

Gets boring very quickly. Out of the 5 disc set, only 3 installed properly and work. Installation was hard. The pin "ball" does not move as it should. Sometimes the sound pops and crackles. Out of 30 pinball tables, only 3 are fair. I was very disapointed. My advice... Buy the Microsoft Pinball Arcade.

But, unfortunately, 95% of the games in Pinball Madness 4 will not work properly on most XP Pentium computers. The balls in these games only move in a very jerky fashion (and the ball physics is already quite bad as it is in these old, low-end pinball titles). Almost all of the games in Pinball Madness 4 are completely unplayable due to this problem, except for "Fantastic Journey" (the only premium title in this entire CD compilation). If you want the ultimate pinball game, then try and find "ProPinball: Timeshock!" -- but avoid "Pinball Madness 4".

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 4 reviews  2.2 out of 5 stars