134 replies to this topic

[BydoEmpire]

I picked this up after some good word of mouth on the RGR forums, and it is awesome. Thought I'd spread the love here.

1) There are ten Williams tables: Gorgar (personal fave), Taxi, Funhouse, Sorcerer, Black Knight, Space Shuttle, Whirlwind... can't remember the rest off the top of my head, but there's a lot of good tables.
2) They're all rendered in exceptional detail - they even have the nice reflection of the glass. It looks really good and sharp.
3) You can turn on an arcade ambience track in the background while you play to make you feel like you're in an arcade. It's such a little thing, but it totally adds to the immersion. I love it
4) The wii controls are great - you use the C nunchuck button and B wiimote button for flippers - which makes it feel sort of like you're 'holding' a real machine. Tilting is done by shaking either controller, which feels natural and works well.
5) Each table has a voice-over tutorial, which shows you all the key scoring and shots. I like pinball, but I'm not a hardcore player, and figuring out how to actually play each table has been kind of a hurdle for me enjoying more complex pins. This is really, really helpful, because now I know what the heck I'm supposed to do. Fantastic feature. Playing this game will make me better at real pinball.
6) Each table has a series of objectives - score 300k points, make such-and-such a shot, light all the letters, etc. They're like little table-specific achievements. When you complete all five you can unlock 'free play' mode on another table, and it gives you five more. It gives you a nice little incentive to keep playing each table.
7) There are Williams Challenge and Tournament modes, which I haven't tried.
8) The ball physics seem pretty good. Like I said, I'm not a pin junkie, but it plays well and I haven't noticed anything cheap or cheesy.

If you like pinball, go pick this up. I hear there's a PS2 version as well, but I can't vouche for that. The Wii version is fantastic, very polished and a lot of fun. It definitely has the "one more game" appeal.

Edited by BydoEmpire, Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:24 PM.

[goodwill_gamer]

seems cool. got a feeling this one won't generate much interest. should be able to get it pretty cheap before too long. i'll wait.

BydoEmpire, on Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:23 PM, said:

I picked this up after some good word of mouth on the RGR forums, and it is awesome. Thought I'd spread the love here.

1) There are ten Williams tables: Gorgar (personal fave), Taxi, Funhouse, Sorcerer, Black Knight, Space Shuttle, Whirlwind... can't remember the rest off the top of my head, but there's a lot of good tables.
2) They're all rendered in exceptional detail - they even have the nice reflection of the glass. It looks really good and sharp.
3) You can turn on an arcade ambience track in the background while you play to make you feel like you're in an arcade. It's such a little thing, but it totally adds to the immersion. I love it
4) The wii controls are great - you use the C nunchuck button and B wiimote button for flippers - which makes it feel sort of like you're 'holding' a real machine. Tilting is done by shaking either controller, which feels natural and works well.
5) Each table has a voice-over tutorial, which shows you all the key scoring and shots. I like pinball, but I'm not a hardcore player, and figuring out how to actually play each table has been kind of a hurdle for me enjoying more complex pins. This is really, really helpful, because now I know what the heck I'm supposed to do. Fantastic feature. Playing this game will make me better at real pinball.
6) Each table has a series of objectives - score 300k points, make such-and-such a shot, light all the letters, etc. They're like little table-specific achievements. When you complete all five you can unlock 'free play' mode on another table, and it gives you five more. It gives you a nice little incentive to keep playing each table.
7) There are Williams Challenge and Tournament modes, which I haven't tried.
The ball physics seem pretty good. Like I said, I'm not a pin junkie, but it plays well and I haven't noticed anything cheap or cheesy.

If you like pinball, go pick this up. I hear there's a PS2 version as well, but I can't vouche for that. The Wii version is fantastic, very polished and a lot of fun. It definitely has the "one more game" appeal.

[EricDeLee]

Can't wait to get it for the PSP.
Heck... I may pick it up for the Wii as well

[moycon]

This sounds really awesome.
I'm going to take your word that it controls nice, I'm not too 100% keen on how you're describing it, but would certainly be willing to give it a try. The price is right too. $29.99 new.

Found this list on wiki:

Black Knight
Firepower
Funhouse
Gorgar
Pin*Bot
Space Shuttle
Taxi
Whirlwind
Jive Time
Sorcerer

Not all are ones I'm interested in,but I any collection that includes the Black Knight is ok in my book. Does it include the original games voice as well? I love the voice on Black Knight.
I also have played Fun House, Pin*Bot, Taxi and Whirl Wind in the past. Thanks for the heads-up BydoEmpire.

Edited by moycon, Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:08 AM.

[BydoEmpire]

moycon, on Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:07 AM, said:

Does it include the original games voice as well? I love the voice on Black Knight.

I can't really answer that - I'm not sure if they're sampled from the real machine or not. The tables sound good to me, but I haven't played any of these pins enough to really tell (not to mention the last time I played Gorgar and Black Knight it was really loud in the arcade, so I couldn't hear too clearly).

I was a bit skeptical about the control scheme - I would have expected to use the wiimote NES-style wiht the dpad & 2 button - but the stock control setup works really well. My only issue is that occasionally the palm of my hand hits the 1 or 2 button, which changes camera views. I got used to avoiding that pretty quick, though.

[Inky]

Id like to see a Data East and Stern pin compliation. Terminator 2 and Twilight Zone are my all tiem fav pins

[Gregory DG]

Me want Pin*Bot! I loved that game on the NES!

[jboypacman]

Another reason to find and buy a Wii.

[Ryanw]

I love Taxi! There used to be two Taxi machines in my area, one at a laundromat, which has since been removed, and another at an ice cream shop, but its pretty beat up. I'm not sure if I'll get this game since out of all of those Taxi is the only one I played out of those, but we'll see.

[moycon]

BydoEmpire, on Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:22 PM, said:

I was a bit skeptical about the control scheme - I would have expected to use the wiimote NES-style wiht the dpad & 2 button - but the stock control setup works really well.

This is good to hear. I'm ordering as soon as I get done typing this. Thanks for the recommend!

Also HELLS YEAH to a collection that includes Twilight Zone Inky. I'd also LOVE to see a pinball collection with Doctor Who inlcuded. Two of the greatest pinballs EVER. You can bet if this game sold really well, we'd see other collections in the future. If you're the least bit interested in this game and more so interested in seeing more like it in the future....I'd buy it now.

[Atariboy]

Its worth noting that the PSP and PS2 versions don't have as many tables as the Wii version has, in case anyone orders one of those instead.

Edit - The IGN review of the PS2 version doesn't match what I've read, it says the content is identical. So what I said may be incorrect.

Edited by Atariboy, Fri Mar 14, 2008 10:16 PM.

[jboypacman]

Anyone a fan of Theater of Magic? i always like that pinball game and High Speed was a decent one to but i think Cyclone was a classic.

[moycon]

jboypacman, on Fri Mar 14, 2008 11:01 PM, said:

Anyone a fan of Theater of Magic? i always like that pinball game and High Speed was a decent one to but i think Cyclone was a classic.

I do remember Theater of Magic.
Seems to me your aim was to perform particular magic tricks. A very solid pinball game if there ever was one.
Another great...Creature From the Black Lagoon!!

Edited by moycon, Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:18 PM.

[Mendon]

IGN just reviewed the compilation and gave it an 8 out of 10.

IGN Review


Mendon

[-^Cro§Bow^-]

Where the hell do you guys find this game?! I've looked at Gamestop's online site, and actually drove to several other places like Best Buy, CircuitCity, Target, etc... NOTHING!

Gamestop doesn't even appear to have an entry for it on their site and only list Dream Pinball 3D coming soon. In fact, only Wal-Mart I've found has an entry for it, but they also list it as being ONLINE only? So once again, I ask...where in the hell did you guys find this game?

[moycon]

-^Cro§Bow^-, on Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:23 PM, said:

Where the hell do you guys find this game?! I've looked at Gamestop's online site, and actually drove to several other places like Best Buy, CircuitCity, Target, etc... NOTHING!

Gamestop doesn't even appear to have an entry for it on their site and only list Dream Pinball 3D coming soon. In fact, only Wal-Mart I've found has an entry for it, but they also list it as being ONLINE only? So once again, I ask...where in the hell did you guys find this game?

I bought it off Amazon for $29.99

Site says it was released Feb 26, 2008
That would suck if it was online only. Why would it be?

Edited by moycon, Sat Mar 15, 2008 8:35 PM.

[rockman_x_2002]

I checked everywhere yesterday for it. Gamestop never heard of it, Wal-Mart told me "online only", and BestBuy didn't have it on the shelves and I didn't bother to ask. So I just wound up ordering through Wal-Mart. Should be here sometime next week.

[BydoEmpire]

I got mine from Amazon for $29.99.

[Malc74]

I can't find it anywhere in Thunder Bay. I had it (and Nanostray 2) preordered from Amazon.ca, but they sent me an email effectively stating that they couldn't get hold of it and I could feel free to cancel my order at any time. Combined with them telling me N2 would take up to 6(!) weeks to arrive I went looking for both games yesterday.
I Picked up N2 easily, but PHoF was nowhere to be found. EBGames had it on their main release schedule as coming out on the 26th of Feb, but on the computer it had apparently been pushed to the 12th of March. Not that it matters because they still didn't have any copies in stock anyway.

I'm mildly annoyed, as I've been eagerly waiting for this game since they announced it a year ago.

[Crazy Climber]

I am sooooo buying this. Black Knight is one of my top tens favorites

[Crazy Climber]

OK
I did some hunting and did have quite a time finding one. Here is some info I was "told" by various employees but I have no idea how much of it is correct
Game Crazy does NOT carry it or have any plans to
Target does NOT carry it or have any plans to
Gamestop does NOT carry it NEW but has 3 used ones total in all of there US locations, all are way too far for me to go to. The Lady I spoke with on the phone said they have no plans of carrying it new and that it is most likely an exclusive only availible at a specific store chain.
WALMART HAS IT! You have to order it online though, that's the only way to get it (besides Ebay/Amazon). The total with tax and shipping was $34.06

Check out completed Ebay auctions, there is a few people fighting over this one...must be a good one, can't wait!!

[moycon]

Crazy Climber, on Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:41 PM, said:

Check out completed Ebay auctions, there is a few people fighting over this one...must be a good one, can't wait!!

Well I don't get this. So the game isn't hardly available to people? Is this going to be one of those games that 6 months from now will be going for $70-$80 on eBay because all available copies are sold out? Even more reason to try and get a copy now. I still don't understand though.

[-^Cro§Bow^-]

I went ahead and ordered a copy from Wal-Mart's website. Total with tax came to like 33.44 for me. I don't see how this can't be a future rarity for the Wii if it will basically be online only to get it. Couple that with the very decent reviews it has received especially the IGN one and this will come into demand.

[Malc74]

I reckon it's just that Crave has a crappy distributor or something. They've been harping on about this game since last year, and the prequel (PHoF: Gottleib) wasn't too hard to find. I'll keep checking places for the next couple of weeks or so, hopefully Crave's mule trains can mosey into town by then (and if not, then I'll start to panic!)

[-^Cro§Bow^-]

Just a heads up! I also found that you can order this game from Sears as well online!

here is a direct link to make it easier...

Sears: Pinball Hall of Fame for Wii