Pure Pinball 2 REDUX

In all fairness, I'll start by saying I'm no huge pinball fan. Having said that, the game itself feels solid. The mechanics, graphics and physics seem just about right. The problem is that tables which are as cluttered as real pinball tables don't really work well on a computer screen. Still - is it worth six bucks? I don't regret buying it...

I'm giving this game a low review for only one reason, but it's core to the gameplay. The camera tracks with the ball rather than a static table view. Personally, this ruins the game for me. If this type of view doesn't bother you, or you prefer it, then consider this 4 stars. Also, the game will crash if you go beyond 1024 X 768 resolution, as people have noted in the forum.

Like I said in the title; I love pinball games, I played Epic Pinball, Adventure Pinball, Pinball Fantasies, Psycho Pinball and even Pinbo back in the day until my eyes hurt, so I always adored the computer takes on the genre. But this game is awful because that simple thing: the camera. It never gives you a proper general view. It is never useful. It is always doing some weird angles as if you were an ant playing. Who beta tested this?

Would be a great game for $1.49 when disounted, but there are 2 serious bugs that ruins the overall game experience: 1., Every mini video sequence loaded for the first time causes a significant lag. Maybe SSD will cure this, I'll check later. 2., Sometimes the ball stucks somewhere inside the machine, and game cannot be continued even after TILT. As far as I remember it occurs under multiball only. Last time ball 2 and 3 not released at all, and I got stuck after the original ball went out. +1: Setting music level below half causes music mute. OK, this may be taken as a feature because music is crappy by the way... :-) This is the first game I thought about refund.

Allright, the positives: 1. The tables are packed with features, ramps and scoring oppurtunities 2.The physics are very good 3. 5 balls a go means you can play for quite a while without game over. 4. Plenty of camera angles, including full view and scrolling. 5. High quality visuals Negatives: 1. Bumping the table does next to nothing. 2. The flippers are very weak. Do not expect to go up a ramp just because the ball is heading that way. 3. Many shots you have to make to complete objectives are hardly wider than the ball, making for some frustrating games. 4. Many people are having trouble upping the resolution. Also, no widescreen support. Overall, if you just wanna smack some pinballs around, go nuts over this one. I've blown a few hours on this and I expect you will too. But if you're looking for a pinball game filled with strategy and perfect for high scoring contests, better look elsewhere.