The Collection Chamber: STAR TREK: PINBALL

TWO OLD ENEMIES. ONE NEW BATTLEGROUND.

Welcome aboard the only pinball sim to travel at warp speed. The Star Trek universe comes alive across three unique tables with original series Star Trek graphics, voices and sound effects. Realistic, addictive pinball action includes multiple ball play, ramps, bumpers, tilting and interactive display. Star Trek Pinball takes you to the final frontier in pinball gameplay with head-to-head confrontation. Challenge opponents side-by-side or over a LAN. Repel the Klingon incursion or bring the Federation to its knees -- it's your choice.

TO BOLDLY GO - Step into Captain Kirk's shoes in this action-packed table featuring an assortment of recognizable characters from the original series, including many of those female creatures whose hearts Kirk always seemed to win.
QAPLA' - Klingon for "success", the Qapla' table includes many of the voices and sound effects featured in the original series for the Federation's most dreaded enemy.
NEMESIS - Nemesis is the ultimate battle between the federation and the Klingon Empire.

Visually stunning, high-resolution graphics

Original series art, voices and sound effects

Realistic gameplay with accurate feel and response

Multiple ball play, bumpers, target & skill shot ramps, tilting & interactive display

~ from the back of the box

If there was any successful franchise of the last century, chances are there was a pinball machine made out of it. Naturally, Star Trek got more than their fair share flooding the arcades. Instead of recreating the tried and true games from Bally or Data East, Interplay chose to go down the original route. And so, in 1998, DOS gamers got the imaginatively titled Star Trek: Pinball.

At the time Interplay were going through financial troubles, so the final result is a bit of a mixed bag, despite developers SCi's good intentions. The SVGA Hi-Res visuals are great, doing their best to portray a realistic pinball experience, although the two-player only third table does stretch the limits of what actually existed.

There are three tables; To Boldly Go, Qapla' and Nemesis. The first two are what you'd expect for a pinball table, but Qapla' has better features, making use of 'zero gravity' (or magnets had it been a real machine). Nemesis has two interlocking tables side by side for two players, each affecting the other if you're skilled/lucky enough.

The physics do feel a little off. The metal balls do have a tangible weight to them, but the move a tad too fast on the playfield. Couple this with flippers that are a tad too slow to react, taking multiple frames of animation to go full tilt, and you get a frustrating experience.

So, Star Trek: Pinball is nowhere near the best digital pinball package out there, but at least it's not the worst. While you may have bemoaned the quality had you paid full price for it, as a free download, I guess it's worth the 10 minutes of distraction it'll give you.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses DOSBox to bring the game to modern systems. Manual included. Tested on and Windows 10.

File Size: 50.8 Mb. Install Size: 71.2 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download