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Tilt! - The finest Pinball Simulation ever!
Six original tables, each stunningly rendered using Silicon Graphics TM technology, mathematically correct ball physics, special bonus side games and animated lock sequences.
- The first pinball game to offer a true player's eye 3D perspective.
- Superb sampled sound effects and atmospheric sound tracks.
- There has never been a game like this before. Try it - it's mind blowing!
~ from the back of the UK box
"In effect pinball is like life, because in the outside world events don't unfurl in a preordained manner - in the real world random things happen in a random order. Deal with it." Who knew such nuggets of wisdom could exist in a pinball game? This particular gem caps off a unusually introspective introduction in the manual for Tilt! (known as Hyper 3-D Pinball in the US), but how does this Virgin Interactive published pinball game compare to the glut of others that came out alongside it in 1995?
Other than that opening vagary, the game itself says little about life (unless you come to the crushing conclusion of constant failure as shiny balls consistently drop down the drain - but we're trying to keep things light here...). The tables each carry a theme you've seen countless times before; the circus-themed Funfair, the sci-fi styled Star Quest 2049, the spooky Monster Table - it won't get high marks for originality. Each one, however, is pre-rendered and stunningly realised. Depending on the resolution you choose, there are three angles from which to view the table; 3D Scrolling, 2D Plainview and 3D Full Screen. 3D Scrolling is perhaps how the developers wanted you to play. The camera pans up and down with the ball in a realistic 3D perspective and is able to keep up no matter the speed. It is also more than a little difficult to keep track of the ball in relation to the rest of the table, but that could be just me.
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Hold Enter (or both flipper on a controller) and release to set the power for the plunger (left).
You will default to the 3D full table view when multi-ball is triggered (right).
You will default to the 3D full table view when multi-ball is triggered (right).
2D Plainview in less impressive visually with the same scrolling bird's eye view seen in other games like Pinball Dreams or Pinball Fantasies. It is much easier to keep track of the ball here and 3D objects protruding from the playfield don't obscure anything hanging out behind them. Regardless of which view you choose, it will always defer to 3D Full Screen when multi-ball has been activated. This gives you an angled view of the entire table but it doesn't come without flaws. My bespectacled eyes couldn't quite see the back of the table well enough to understand what's going on, nor could I read the flashing text alerting me to the next target or bonus points. This is the only view available in the highest resolution of 800x600 and those extra pixels do help a lot, but I found none of the views to be comfortable enough to stick with for any length of time.
Gameplay-wise, the ball physics seem realistic enough, but I did find it had a tendency to drop the ball directly in the centre of the paddles. There's nothing quite so disheartening than frantically flapping the paddles only to see the ball sail untouched directly between the two. I do feel that this space is perhaps a little too large, but that could be my lack of pinball skills talking.
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The same section of the table from 3D (left) and 2D (right) scrolling views.
3D is far more visually impressive, but in 2D it's easier to see what's going on.
3D is far more visually impressive, but in 2D it's easier to see what's going on.
Of all the tables, the most interesting mechanically was the least interesting thematically. Road King USA doesn't have the knights and wizards of Myst and Majik, the undead creatures of The Monster Table nor the organised crime of Gangster, but it does have a crammed feature list. I was able to trigger selectable events on the Dotmation dot-matrix display and even the odd FMV that represented the ball travelling through the Subway. Considering this was supposed to be the second hardest table of all of the six available, I found it bizarre that I got on with this one the most.
Remember: "the golden rule is not to get angry". Like life, "pinball can be an infuriating game, but if you get angry then the table's beaten you." I wasn't expecting a pinball game to offer life advice, but calls to "keep calm", "aim accurately" or "avoid Double Flipper Hits" do have a strained essence of wisdom about them. As a game, Tilt! is a looker, and a competent addition to anyone's digital pinball collection. To me, it's not as good as Maxis' Full Tilt Pinball from the same year but regardless, you can't go really wrong with this one. Just don't let it be your life guru.
To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses the DOSBox-X build of DOSBox to bring the game to modern systems. Manual included. Read the ChamberNotes.txt for more detailed information. Tested on Windows 10.
File Size: 291 Mb. Install Size: 394 Mb. Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ
Download
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Tilt! (aka Hyper 3-D Pinball) is © NMS Software & Virgin Interactive
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me
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Slight typo in your review there, Biffman. You named one of the tables as 'Space Quest', when in actuality it's 'Star Quest'. I imagine that your brain was thinking of the classic Sierra series of adventure games when you typed that :p
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it; it's kinda odd that Sierra never made a Quest themed title within their 3D range of pinball games. They could have had tables for Space Quest, King's Quest and Police Quest. That would have been awesome!
DeleteIt is odd. They used their IPs for a lot of other mini-games like Larry's Casino or the Crazy Nick's Software Picks titles.Even Simon the Sorcerer got a pinball game. (I'll also fix that typo :P )
DeleteWords of wisdom for sure. Of course you could turn them on their head and note that the ability to predict, control and react to the events of a video game are exactly what make them more appealing than pinball (and real life!)
ReplyDeleteHaving said that there is a definite element of skill to these games. I didn't believe it myself until I spent some time with the free table in Pinball Arcade, Tales of the Arabian Nights. The feeling of getting better with practice until I was finally able to conquer it was extremely rewarding. Maybe it depends on the table?
That's a good take. I've played a fair amount of real-world pinball tables and a lot of them suffered from what I found here; the ball gravitated towards the middle of the flippers. It's as if the physical design of the thing made sure of it. Sure, there's a certain amount of skill needed to prevent that but their arcade roots mean that the more difficult it is, the more money is pumped in by the player. Much like arcade video games, it's a fine line between challenging and unfair. This one just teeters on the edge of the latter.
DeleteIt's just as you say. The arcade business model means that to make a good amount of money, a game or table needs to feel fair without being too generous. I've always thought it interesting that since pinball video games don't need to adhere to that model, the designers are free to give the player more agency and control in terms of avoiding the fail state, but we have few examples of where they've tried. Yoku's Island Express is one, but beyond that.. Sonic Spinball? Kirby Pinball? I'm sure there must be more.
DeletePerhaps they thought that deviating too far from the template would alienate their target audience. Or perhaps they thought that, to refer to your Fade to Black review, tables would be too quickly and easily conquered. Maybe if you push too far in this direction you just end up with Breakout!
Oh wow, this reminds me of my late father, we used to play this so much, I found his original box a couple of months ago when we cleaned out his house. Really good Pinball game.
ReplyDeleteDoes it work on Windows XP?
ReplyDelete