Jungle Style Pinball

Any pinball game needs a few things: responsive controls, a complex table design, and solid physics. Jungle Style Pinball has all of that, plus incredible, fully 3D graphics. The table looks great and is tons of fun to play, which is no surprise; Gameprom is also the developer behind two other much-loved titles: Wild West Pinball and The Deep Pinball. Jungle Style Pinball continues the evolution of their games and does so with their signature polish and flair.

The first thing you'll notice upon booting up Jungle Style Pinball are the graphics. The table is filled with lush and vibrant objects, all of which are fully 3D. Tiki-style wooden bridges serve as "chutes" that crisscross the playing field; Big Kong crouches at the far end, and a shaman guards the giant maze. The 3D isn't just there to look pretty, either; it's actually an important aspect of the game. When you tilt your iPhone, the table tilts, too, and you can use this to give yourself a better view of the table. You can also use the tilt feature to save your ball, if you're skilled enough.

Controls are straight forward and fast. There are a total of four flippers on the table: two standard flippers at the bottom, and two separate flippers on either side of the table closer to the top. Tapping the left half of the screen triggers the left flippers; tapping on the right triggers the right flippers. Hold the screen to keep 'em up. It's simple, and the buttonless control scheme works wonderfully.

As for the actual gameplay, well, you'll need to play a few times before figuring out exactly what each hidden trigger controls. There's a guide available online from Gameprom, but it's not accessible from within the app. Once you get the hang of it, the game becomes much easier. "Keys" can be obtained, Big Kong can be awoken and defeated, and you can even make it onto the aircraft that hovers above the table. Multiball can also be unlocked, which just unleashes more havoc. Whether or not you'll prefer this dense table to other App Store offerings is a matter of personal preference, as always, but I found Jungle Style Pinball to be a blast. My only wish is for an in-app explanation of the missions; even with the online guide, it's not always clear how to trigger certain events.

At least Gameprom put a lot of effort into the small details. Pausing the game is as easy as tapping the top of the screen, and if you get interrupted by a push notification, the game resumes with nary a hitch. Even if you close the app, it'll recover your game. Though the game description trumpets that it was initially "designed to show you the possibilities of your iPhone 3GS," I'm running a second-generation iPod Touch and have yet to experience any lag. Both local and global high score boards are integrated, and you can even change the camera from "live" to "fixed" by pinching the screen.

All in all, Jungle Style Pinball is a great addition to the iPhone's library of pinball games. Again, personal tastes will determine if you prefer this table layout over others, but Gameprom's physics engine and 3D graphics are simply superb. If you're a pinball fan or just a gamer looking for a quick pick-up-and-play title, Jungle Style Pinball's low price makes it an easy buy.