I've never played any of the past releases of this game even though I heard great things about it. Once I read that Pinball Hall of Fame was coming out on the Xbox 360, I knew it was time to buy it.
There are a total of 13 tables included with the game. I will list them by year.
Jive Time (1970)
Gogar (1979)
Firepower (1980)
Black Knight (1980)
Sorcerer (1980)
Space Shuttle (1984)
Pinbot (1986)
Taxi (1988)
Whirlwind (1990)
Funhouse (1990)
Tales of the Arabian Nights (1996)
Medieval Madness (1997)
No Good Gophers (1997)
Every single table in the game looks fantastic and are fun to play on.
I used to play Pinball FX on the Xbox Live Arcade before I tried Pinball HoF and I must say that Pinball Hall of Fame blows Pinball FX out of the water. The movement of the ball in Pinball HoF is the closest I've seen to playing in real life. I can't stress enough how much fun this game is.
Also the price point is very good. At $30, it comes out to $2.30 per table. Not a bad deal considering one downloadable table in Pinball FX will cost you $3.00 in Microsoft Points (240 MSP).
There is no online multiplayer, but you can play up to four players offline. There are also leaderboards so you can compare your score against other players on Xbox Live. The one thing I do not like about the leaderboards is that you cannot sort to show just your friends score. If this can be fixed through a patch I would be very happy.
I also heard that the developers were looking to add in some DLC tables later on down the road. This may include some licensed tables too. So there's a chance we can get Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Monster Bash, and more!
If you are a fan of pinball, do yourself a favor like Kyle said in his review and buy this game! You will not regret your purchase!
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I heard great things about previous versions of this collection, and decided to finally break down and get it on the 360 since its supposed to be the same thing, just in hi-def and with additional tables. This was a good move, as it's tremendously polished, accurate, and a great deal of fun. The only negative I can levy against it is that it's very difficult to accomplish the achievements, and the William Challenge (a great concept!) is also extremely difficult, but it doesn't stop me from try, trying again. Even my wife enjoys playing it with me. Great stuff, and for the price, one of the top values in videogames.
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I rarely played pinball in the arcade, because it was a quarter muncher for me. I have also played some pinball on computer and a few demos on consoles.
I heard some hype about Medieval Madness being the greatest ever. I had never played it and the price was right, so I gave in.
Medieval Madness is the most entertaining pinball machine I've seen in my life. The rest of the game is great too. The music for the game is lame, but I just start up a playlist and the game does a great job of mixing the game volume with my music.
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I have owned the Wii version since it came out. I was stunned at the high definition gameplay when compared to the Wii. I can actually read all of the lights on the tables now - they are blurry on the Wii (IMO). I own Funhouse, but still thoroughly enjoy playing it on the Xbox. I can't believe how accurately they have recreated these tables. I love pinball and would easily have spent a few hundred dollars to get these digitally created classic tables. For $20, this is a no brainer. If you have ever played even one of these tables, this is a great trip down memory lane. Support possible future table releases by buying this title!
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The only way to get your fix of Pinball before this title on the Xbox 360, was the Xbox LIVE arcade title Pinball FX. This game serves as a terrific complement to Pinball FX.
The presentation is very clever, and as another reviewer said, it does have cheesy music in the game, but that can be remedied on the 360, with the custom music option on the 360.
The game also features fliers of the actual pinball machines. One of the coolest features is a walk through of the table, that demonstrates how to finish goals/missions on each table and how to really rack up some points. Very nice feature, that I wish Pinball FX had implemented.
This is a very polished game. The developer should be proud. Nice addition to my 360 library.
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I was skeptical, but this game far exceeds what is required to be a good pinball game. The physics engine is great and the adjustable views are very good. Medieval Madness is worth the $30 price alone. The game replicates the arcade game, minus the maintenance issues. Medieval Madness is so good, I don't really feel the need to play the other titles. Don't get me wrong, the other tables available on this title are good too... and I find that I go to Tales of the Arabian Nights and No Good Gofers when I need a break from Medieval Madness.
If you are the least bit of a pinball fan - buy this game. It's a "no brainer." That said, I have some recommendations for the programmers and producers for building upon this success.
1. I would like to see the option to change the view from a horizontal HDTV setup to a vertical HDTV setup... while I think very few people would use the vertical setup, those who are passionate about pinball would make the effort to improve the experience. The people who buy this game likely older than the average video game buyer and likely have more disposable income.
2. Pay per table: Each one of these games is valuable, and the manufactures are doing themselves a disservice by bundling them all together at this point. There should be a market on Xbox live or PS3 online to buy new individual tables as they are programmed. They should be priced according to value. Top games at $10 to $20, simpler classic titles at $5. I would pay $30 for Twilight Zone alone... I am sure some would pay more as it's nearly impossible to find a perfectly working game.
3. The simulated arcade menu user experience is nice the first time, but if a user likes no good gofers, they are spending a minute to get to the game they want. The user interaction here could be better. There should be an option to move to a list like menu after the initial play.
4. There should be a picture of every table that the users can look at and zoom in on from multiple angles. It's tough to see some things from the initial scrolling menu once you have selected the pinball game but before selecting play table. The instructions are great, but for those who appreciate the playfield art and just want to see things better, this feature would be nice.
5. While I recognize that this game was developed with Williams, (probably because the developer could buy the rights to the games for low $$$) If I were a developer or a distributor I would go after some games that are great and target a younger audience for strategic reasons - specifically - Simpson's Pinball Party. It's a top 10 pinball game of all time that could warrant its own release. Family Guy would be another great title to get. You might actually convince stern that while pinball is dying, this is the way to attract a younger audience. Both these games could get $30 to $50 in stand alone releases
6. If going outside of Williams is not an option, make Monster Bash... it's a great game... highly underrated. If licensing costs a reasonable, Star Trek: The Next Generation and T2 would be good tables to program. People will remember playing those games at the arcade.
In closing, keep up the good work and please keep developing and incrementally improving digital pinball.
Best,
Ben
Note: I purchased the PS3 version, but my understanding is that there are very few differences generally limited to the online high scoring leaderboard.
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Long story short, buy this game you will not be disappointed. Worth every penny.
This game is an updated version of the one released for the original Xbox, PS2, and the Wii with 3 added tables, higher resolution graphics, and better physics, so if you're looking to buy this game (you should be) make sure this is the version you buy.
I'm currently 35, and when I was a lot younger, I used to frequent the local arcades. Unfortunately for me, I only occasionally paid attention to pinball. Back then, I was under the impression that your point totals were simply based on your reflexes and timing of using the flippers so I concentrated on video games. After purchasing Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, I now see how completely wrong I was in that assumption and how I missed out on some really good gaming. Pinball tables had a lot of depth to them, from lane changing, to earning scoring multipliers and multiball play, to making the jet bumpers increase their point values, and so on. A lot of thought went into the design of pinball tables and I wish I wasn't ignorant to this fact until now when it's rare to see a pinball machine out in the wild.
This game has 13 accurately recreated real life tables, some of the best that Williams had to offer from the 70s, 80s, and 90s (and after reading up on them, they have MANY more great tables so hopefully we see them recreated in another game or offered as downloadable content), these are not made up tables like you see in Pinball FX on the 360 or Zen Pinball on the PS3.
Although I missed out on these in the arcade, the hard work put into this game really gives an accurate representation of what it would have been like to play these in person. Of course I realize that NOTHING beats the real feel of playing these in person, but since I can't go back in time, this is the next best thing, the physics of the ball seems very realistic, from the way it bounces off of targets or travels around the playfield, and the I think the controls are mapped perfectly on my 360's controller - the triggers operate the left and right flippers, the right analog stick is the plunger, and the left analog stick is used to nudge the table. The sounds of the machines are spot-on as well.
I think this game has a lot of replayability too as each table has a list of goals to accomplish to earn your achievements. These goals are really teaching aids to teach the ins and outs of each table so if you were like me and had no idea about the depth these tables had, you'll quickly learn how you were missing out. There's also an option in the menu of each table called "Instructions" that is a very good tutorial that shows each and every feature the table has to offer. The newer tables like Medieval Madness and Tales of the Arabian Nights have so much depth to them, it's insane, and I'm very glad for these tutorials as there's no way I would have figured all of the stuff I could do on my own.
This game really is for everybody. If you're into pinball, this game is a no brainer. If you're a casual gamer, this game would be a fantastic choice as it is a TON of fun and a great pick up and play game if you don't have a lot of time, and there's a lot of depth to it if you do have the time. If you're a hardcore gamer this game is also a great choice because after you beat the Basic Goals of each table, there are Wizard Level Goals that are very challenging to achieve if you're looking to up your Gamerscore. If you're looking for a great family game, this game is easy to pick up and play, and you can set up a 4 player tournament to include any number of tables you've unlocked for Free Play.
I have a ton of fun with this game and it is probably the best game I've purchased in years, well worth the budget price.
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Let's face it, I bought this for Medieval Madness. I briefly flirted with a couple other tables, but this game would have been worth it even if the only table were Medieval Madness. Great game, very realistic, except more reliable and less likely to make me jump at the replay 'POP' than the real machine.
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Very good sim, great value, couldn't be happier with purchase and hoping for a sequel or DLC
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This is a really fantastic game and a big improvement over the (also great) Wii and PS2 version, both because of the addition of 3 more and much new machines and the HD graphics. Also the 360 version has the superior achievements (they are based on the machine achievements, unlike the PS3 version where all you have to do is get a high score on the machines). One glariing flaw which I can only hope will be fixed in a future update is that after you complete the wizard goals on a machine you unlock special options for the machine, one of which is to disable to the Tilt. Why someone who can do all the wizard achievements would need that option I don't know, but the bad thing is that after disabling tilt your scores still count for the leaderboards, pretty much ruining them as the top scores are all held by, to my mind, cheaters... with incredible patience. You also can't filter the leaderboards to just your friends, although the developers have said they are looking into that for a future patch, but they don't appear to be interested in changing the no-tilt leaderboards. Aside from that, though, this is a superb game and I really hope they release new machines via DLC and/or create a sequel. Ideally both. I'd like a PHoF: The Bally Collection.
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I am a huge pinball fan from way back, but have been suffering from a lack of tables in my area. Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection has been a revelation for me. It has the games I grew up with like Taxi and Pinbot. It has tables from what I consider the high point of the game in the mid 90's like Medieval Madness and Tales of the Arabian Knights. But it was the classic 70's and 80's tables that have really sucked me in. I highly recommend Sorcerer and Space Shuttle from this time period.
I love this game because massive variety of tables for only 30 bucks, and the sense of accomplishment I get from mastering the table goals and collecting the achievements. The care that went into recreating these tables is quickly evident as you play the game. The physics are tight and the audio is right on.
If you love pinball I suggest you pick up this game. If you are too young to have played pinball extensively, I suggest you pick this up for something new, but expect to lose many hours mastering each table. I highly recommend this game!
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I've always loved pinball games. As a result, I lament their demise from the modern world. Pinball video games are usually a mixed bag, and enthusiasts can point to a few really great ones in the annals of gaming history (Alien Crush, Pinball FX, etc.). Pinball Hall of Fame trumps them all.
Pros:
-It's got about a dozen tables -- all painstakingly modeled after the real thing. Legendary tables like Pinbot and Fun House are here. 3 new tables have joined since the Wii/PS2 version -- including Medieval Madness, my all-time favorite. Some of the older tables are a bit basic, while the more modern ones have tons of progressive tasks to do within the game. It really spans pinball history from the most acclaimed manufacturer, Williams.
-Table goals give you little meta-missions within the games. Each table has 5 challenges, which unlock an achievement when you complete them. This then opens up a more difficult set, wizard challenges. It's great replay value, and got me to continue with tables I would've otherwise stopped playing.
-The physics are just perfect. This is a make-or-break for pinball games, and they couldn't be better. Even the flippers react differently, paying homage to their respective tables.
-Graphically, the game looks amazing. Hi-res textures are a big improvement from PS2/Wii, and the way the LED screen is called out in the corner is clever.
-There's a mode with score challenges for random tables in a time limit. It's a great little idea to tie all the tables together, and is the only way to unlock Jive Time.
Cons:
-I love having leaderboards, but there's no way to organize them. It merely shows your placement in the entire leaderboard. I thought having a friend leaderboard was mandatory for Xbox Live...
-It's tough to find a perfect view. I tend to use smart cam, which pans along with the ball. But regardless of the view, you can rarely make out the lights on the table's surface. This causes you to miss out on a few elements.
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Overall, I absolutely love this game. I find it spending more time in my Xbox than Tekken 6, Brutal Legend and NBA 2K10 put together! If you have any affection for the silver ball, pick this up!
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Do you like pinball? Even just a little bit? If so, get this. Really fantastic game, at a great price. Lot's or replay value here. Plenty of tables to keep you busy. You won't love them all, but the ones you do like there are a list of goals to achieve, and great instructions detailing the ins and outs of each table and what to look for to score big points. I can't say enough good things about this title.
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I have always loved pinball, but have rarely been able to play it at an arcade in the last fifteen years. I have played a few pinball games, but they always feel hollow and a little off.
This collection brings back the feelings I had when I was at a great pinball machine. The physics are near perfect and the goals are a great addition. I *LOVE* how there is an option to explain everything on the table. The table selection is varied and has something for everyone. In short, the game is brilliant and gives me an entire pinball arcade in my living room.
While there are a few changes I would have made to the game, they are tiny compared to the long list of things they did perfectly. Here is hoping for additional tables to download or another great collection!
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The three new tables really make this title shine. The previous version had a lot of good but was missing more modern tables due to having to include the dot matrix display. The display is included here (in the upper left hand corner)which really adds to the fun. The HD upgrade is also nice. The the three new tables No Good Gophers, Tales of The Arabian Nights, and Medevial Madness are endless fun. Since MM is the lead title in this edition it's set to free play from the beginning.
If you love pinball particularly the over the top kind you need to have this in your collection. Now that the power of the current gen consoles had shown I'm hoping to see future sequels perhaps one spotlighting Bally machines.
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