Pokemon Pinball: Big bonus points

Well, it’s been a couple of years since Pokemon was first introduced to America and it seems as if the craze hasn’t shown any signs of subsiding. We have seen a hundred different ways to spend our money on Pokemon ranging from card games to lunch boxes and school supplies. And now, a new Pokemon game for the gameboy is released and the endless cycle begins again.

Well, that was how I was beginning to fell when I heard that there was yet another Pokemon game I was going to have to spend my money on. Yet after purchasing this game I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining it is. I didn’t think it was possible to take your favorite action cartoon and slap it on a pinball machine but once again Nintendo shows they’re genius and does it again.

Pokemon pinball is little different from most pinball games in the some of the more basic features: left and right flippers, bonus multipliers lying about everywhere, a couple of hazards, and of course your normal ration of three pin balls. But that is right about where the similarities stop and the differences begin. The main objective of the game is once again to collect all the Pokemon, and this time it is no stroll in the park. For starters, you are allowed not one, but two different boards to play, red and blue, and each board has different levels, and each level contains different Pokemon. So if you want to “Catch them all” you are going to have to master both boards. Throw in the fact there are some 20 levels and you’ll find yourself playing for quite a long time. The bonus and multipliers are skillfully made using Pokemon characters or things. For instance, the bonus multiplier changes you pinball (which is conveniently enough a Pokeball) different colors depending on how high the bonus was.

Game-play: We all love pinball machines in the arcade. Well this isn’t much different. The game-play was interesting enough though it did at times get a little slow when trying to pull off this perfect shot. It does get a little annoying though after a while when you keep on loosing time after time after time.

Control: There are two ways to look at this. 1) For a pinball game, you got a fair amount of control in determining what level you want to play, down to the flippers and tilting the board. 2) When compared to anything that isn’t a pinball game, game-play is lacking and can quickly get monotonous.

Challenge: The challenge level is actually quite difficult unless you’re a pin ball guru. Considering that on most tries you get one or two Pokemon per game, and that you seem to catch the same Pokemon all the time, and you got a very challenging game that you will be playing for quite a while.

Graphics: The graphics aren’t bad at all for a gameboy game and enough to keep you entertained but won’t distract you. A nice balance of show and mildness.

Sound: Well, not much to speak of really, all the appropriate sound effects, but nothing new here, it’s pretty much the sounds you would expect out of a pinball machine (minus the cursing in the background when someone lost a game)

Replay value: This game will keep you coming back for quite a while. Even if you do manage to collect all the Pokemon, getting a high score is terrible hard and you do want your name on that list, right?

Over all: This is a well thought out game made for anyone ranging from Pokemon maniacs to people who want to relive they’re pinball days. At the very least it will appease all the Pokemon maniacs out there until we get silver and gold.