Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams

Gary Lucero — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 16:28:12 +0000

Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams

By Gary Lucero on February 7th, 2009
Our Rating: :: RECOMMENDED
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams is a remake of a classic Amiga game from the early 1990s. Updated graphics add to the sound effects, music, and game play, and all combine to make this not only a great recreation of the original but also a fun diversion.

Developer: Cowboy Rodeo Oy
Price: $5.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
iPhone Integration Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams is a remake of the classic pinball game that released on the Commodore Amiga in 1992. Although the graphics have been enhanced for this remake, the sound effects, music, and game play are a spot on recreation of the original’s.

Four themed tables are available:

Ignition – rockets and outer space.
Steel Wheel – trains and the Old West.
Beat Box – music.
Nightmare – graveyards and evil.

Once you’ve chosen a table you can shoot the ball by tapping the plunger. To work the flippers, tap the bottom left and right portion of the screen with your thumbs. You can shake the iPhone to do the same to the table, and when you rotate it to landscape mode the game rotates as well. Actual game play is rather smooth, and it is fun to play.

While the user interface is fairly intuitive, it does have a few problems. To quit or even pause the game, you have to tap a very narrow strip at the top of the screen, which can be quite a challenge. Setting your initials for the high score table takes a series of strokes and taps and can be frustrating.

Another issue is since you don’t have the tactile feedback of physical controls, it’s not uncommon to position your finger in the wrong spot and find out you’re no longer controlling the flippers. The sound effects and music are quite good but are a bit distorted, which probably means they could have used an update. None of these are deal killers, and Pinball Dreams is still a good game.

If you love pinball you will find a lot to like about Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams. Even if you aren’t nostalgic for this Amiga classic, you’ll still likely enjoy the game. It has four good tables and controls solidly, and even its few interface problems shouldn’t distract you from considering it. Even if you only dabble in pinball games, you might want to think about giving this one a spin.