14 replies to this topic

[TMAN34]

anyone know what's up with this game?

I was reviewed in nintendo power but gamestop
has taken it off their preorder list.

i can't find it anywhere........

[Austin]

Either it was cancelled, or GameStop doesn't plan on carrying it.

Taken from Amazon:


"Price: $29.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
Pre-order Price Guarantee. Learn more.

This item will be released on December 31, 2011.
Pre-order now!
See details. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available. "

http://www.amazon.co...ASIN=B004Q4PE3O

[Rex Dart]

I wouldn't bother with it anyways; from the trailer that was released, it doesn't have Arabian Nights or Medieval Madness... only the same tables as the PSP release.

Maybe wait until it's $15, if it ever does come out.

Edited by Rex Dart, Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:19 PM.

[Atariboy]

it's due in September the last I heard. I don't believe that December date is correct.

And it only has 7 tables. The PS2 version had 8, the PSP & Wii version had 10, and the 360/PS3 version had 13.

Edited by Atariboy, Thu Jun 23, 2011 6:39 PM.

[chris_lynx1989]

There is a Review of this in the new Nintendo Power,they gave it a "7".

They praised it for the nice realism and the 3D effects it has! Also,they gave Farsight Studios and Crave Entertainment a slight scolding for it only having 7 tables and being lesser than their other PHOF:TWC releases.

Still looks and sounds nice though!I may get a copy here.I still LOVE and play my PSP version. :wub:

[Austin]

7, that's it? That is kind of disappointing...

[Rex Dart]

Austin, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:24 PM, said:

7, that's it? That is kind of disappointing...

That's the 3DS' middle name! Triply Disappointing System.

[Taskmaster99]

No Medevil Madness.......no buy!!!!!

[rockman_x_2002]

Well, I managed to hunt down a copy today. I've played it and here's my review.

First of all, only seven tables. No more, no less. It's basically the Wii version all over again.

The nice part is the 3D works quite well and looks convincing. Turning the system upside-down and having the playfield in 3D on bottom and the backglass on the touchscreen on top, mimicking an actual pinball machine, works quite well with some camera angels, and looks stupid with others. But it at least plays nicely this way, and was much better than I expected that feature to turn out.

Now for the drawbacks, and there are plenty: The lighting effects seen in the Wii version (how the lights shine off the playfield, etc.) do not show in this version. Also gone are the other fancy effects that you saw in the Wii version, and most expecially the 360 and PS3 versions (like an actual glass surface over top the playfield). Bumping the table can be done with the thumbstick or by moving the console itself. Unfortunately, using the motion control to nudge the table isn't nearly as fun as it was with the Wii version, and tends not to work quite as well either. I turned that feature off.

Now for the most disappointing part: FRAMERATE. This game on every other console, including the PSP and PS2, have featured a 60fps framerate, consistently. On the 3DS, it drops off much more than that, to almost 30fps. Now this wouldn't be all that bad, except that it seems like it actually slows the game down a bit as well. This causes the physics to respond wonky, and it feels like you're playing with much less of an incline on the table. Also, whenever you hit features on the tables (all of them) that play some special sound (Gorgar's "YOU... GOT... ME..." or most everything in Funhouse), it takes a good bit longer for those effects to complete so the gameplay restarts, as opposed to restarting almost immediately like the actual tables do, and certainly the other versions of this game.

Edit: I should also note that thus far, I have found NO way to erase saved data, so if that sort of thing is important to you when it comes to, say, starting over fresh or maybe reselling your games? You might want to take a look at it. That's a bit disappointing as well.

So overall I will say that even though the 3D effects are nice, and they sure are pretty to look at, this is by far the worst version of the game you can get. That doesn't mean it's bad (it's not. Pinball on portables has always been hard to do, and this one ranks as one of the best portable versions of pinball you can get). But I know with the power of the 3DS it could have been done so much better, and with all the tables included, and it wasn't. I see a missed opportunity here to release something truly superior. So instead of a gold-level game, I can say this one is more of a silver-level game. Although it's a solid silver and a decent effort.

But here's hoping Zen Pinball may turn out better. I'll be keeping my eye on that one as well. I keep hearing good things.

Edited by rockman_x_2002, Fri Sep 23, 2011 9:32 PM.

[atarian63]

Rex Dart, on Fri Jun 24, 2011 12:22 PM, said:

Austin, on Thu Jun 23, 2011 9:24 PM, said:

7, that's it? That is kind of disappointing...

That's the 3DS' middle name! Triply Disappointing System.

not disappointed at all! I like it.

[Austin]

Wow. ****. And to think I considered buying a 3DS just for this game... No point now, apparently. That's a drag...

Edited by Austin, Sat Sep 24, 2011 1:17 AM.

[Animan]

Well, for those dying for a different pinball game for the 3DS, there's this one coming soon to the eShop:

[Atariboy]

Austin, on Sat Sep 24, 2011 1:16 AM, said:

Wow. ****. And to think I considered buying a 3DS just for this game... No point now, apparently. That's a drag...

If you own a PSP, might as well get it for that. It's cheaper, better done, has every table this release has, and has 3 additional tables on top of those 7.

[Austin]

Atariboy, on Sat Sep 24, 2011 11:39 AM, said:

Austin, on Sat Sep 24, 2011 1:16 AM, said:

Wow. ****. And to think I considered buying a 3DS just for this game... No point now, apparently. That's a drag...

If you own a PSP, might as well get it for that. It's cheaper, better done, has every table this release has, and has 3 additional tables on top of those 7.

I already have that one, I was just hoping perhaps they may have new tables in the 3DS version. But, of course we all know better than to hope for in this day and age, ha..

[Austin]

All right, so I finally bit the bullet and picked this up (It's $20 now, at least at GameStop). Instead of summing up my thoughts in one lengthy paragraph, I will list postive and negative bullet points instead:

First, the negatives:

- There are only seven tables. They are all good tables (Funhouse, Taxi, Gorgar, Pin*Bot, Black Knight, Space Shuttle, Whirlwind), but only seven?
- Framerate is lower than other versions. Probably about 30fps as far as I can tell.
- Ball movement is sluggish. I don't believe this is due to the framerate--there is constant slowdown that seems to be happening that's not in the other versions of the game.
- There is a severe lag happening (probably due to the slowdown issue above), and it causes some serious sound syncronization problems. When you start a mode on say, Funhouse, the music is delayed by several seconds. Nothing is synced up properly. It's absolutely awful.
- The issues above all combine to make accurately shooting more difficult than in the other versions.

Next, the positive traits:

+ Graphics are solid. Not as good overall as the PSP version (a shame, really), but they still get the job done.
+ The 3D effect actually works quite well. And thanks to the more "zoomed in" playfield, it's much easier to see what's going on than in the Zen Pinball 3DS game.
+ Here's a funny thing: The slower ball movement actually makes the older tables play truer to their original incarnations. I personally feel the ball movement is inaccurate on the older tables and is way too fast on the console (and PSP) collections. The quick ball movement is great for the mid-'80s games and up, but games like Black Knight have really slow ball movement on the real thing in comparison. The slowdown actually makes these feel more like the real deal.

My overall thoughts?

The collection isn't really worth it. Not at the current price anyway ($20). The 3D effect is nice, but the framerate, slowdown and sound synchronization problems make it feel rushed. Maybe check it out when it's $10, because despite those issues, it is nice playing Black Knight and Gorgar with the slower physics. It would be nice if they modified the console versions to have these older SS games play slower like they do in real life.