Previous Next

My favourite childhood memories from the days back in the late 1970s is when my Dad and I would go down to the local pool hall on weekends. He'd spend hours catching up with friends and playing a few rounds of cards while handing me a handful of coins to amuse myself on the three pinball machines situated towards the back corner of the hall. Despite playing each of the games endlessly, I would never tire of them, fascinated by the gaming experience and mechanics they offered.

As the pool halls faded away into obscurity during the 1980s, the only way to satisfy my pinball fetish was via my C64 but this ultimately proved unsatisfying as the games struggled to recreate the physics and visuals that are essential in replicating the authentic experience. I'd given up on the notion that pinball could be successfully done on a home computer, that is until I saw Pinball Dreams on my friends Amiga.

Pinball Dreams, released for the Amiga in 1992, set a new benchmark in digital pinball gaming with its smooth scrolling, high fidelity sound and crisp graphical display. Receiving numerous completed ports over the years, there were none for 8-bit computer systems, that is until now. BATMAN GROUP (BG GAMES) has changed they way we look at 8bit gaming with their fantastic port of Pinball Dreams, designed to run on an Amstrad CPC with at least 128K.

The Amstrad CPC version of Pinball Dreams contains all four tables found in the original Amiga version. The first table, 'Ignition', is themed around space exploration. The main objectives of this table is to light up all of the IGNITION letters by hitting the 3 red targets in the middle to obtain a letter. The table contains a saucer, couple of bumpers and slingshots but very little else, making it the easiest but least interesting table to play out of the four on offer.

'Steel Wheel' is the second table containing a theme around steam trains from the 'Old West' era and steps things up a bit with broader use of the colour palette and addition of features such as two large ramps, ball traps, rollovers and three bumpers. As a result, the pinball experience is far more entertaining.

The third table titled 'Beat Box', carrying a music industry theme, is the most feature rich of the four tables with its inclusion of large ramps, a second level, rollovers, ball traps, bumpers and plenty of targets. The main objective is to reach the number 1 spot in the USA or European music charts to collect a big points bonus.

The final table on offer is 'Nightmare', themed around a graveyard, ghosts and ghouls , contains a darker aesthetic. Containing the most number of pinball features, 'Nightmare' is the most challenging of the four tables with a very well designed table layout which is sure to test the most ardent pinball wizard. Controls are strictly a keyboard affair while Pinball Dreams also features multiplayer mode of up to 8 players and a high score table.

Overall production values with this port is high. The table visuals are spectacular making full use of the Amstrad's colour palette. Scrolling is quite smooth while retaining the realistic ball physics. While the Amstrad port is not as fast as the Amiga version, the game moves at a satisfying pace with barely a stutter to be seen.

If there is one thing that I do miss with the Amstrad port is the exclusion of the synthesized speech found in the original Amiga version. Not only does the speech add to the overall ambience but it was quite handy in letting you know what objective has been triggered, especially with the 'Beat Box' table, without having to try and catch the message displayed in the LED display.

Pinball Dreams for the Amstrad CPC is a great technical achievement while at the same time providing a wonderful quick pick up and play experience that never really feels tiresome at any stage. BG Games should be widely applauded with the passion that they have poured into their port of Pinball Dreams and I am sure that all 8-bit retro gaming enthusiasts will be greatly impressed with the overall package on offer.