Pinball Jam - The Atari Times
Woohoo! The Lynx's got some Jugs!by Ray Warren
January 19, 2001Everyone loves pinball. The bells and whistles, the lights and feel, its
classic gaming at its best. That's why virtually every videogame system has
had a pinball game and Atari felt the Lynx should be no different.
I think I can sum up the graphics in Pinball Jam in one word, no wait, in one
syllable. Ugh! Pinball Jam has two boards, "Elvira and the Party Monsters"
and "Police Force" and both boards are severelylacking in any graphical
prowess. The backgrounds on both boards are virtually indistinguishable from
the bumpers and rails which provides for unexpected bounces and lost balls.
Well, at least Pinball Jam has passable sound. The sound effects aren't
bad, but are nothing to get excited about. The music is surprisingly good. Catchy,
but not annoyingly so. The voices are also well done. For instance, when you
lose a ball on Elvira's board, she taunts you with "Leaving so soon?"
Basically just read my one syllable review of Pinball Jam's graphics and
insert them for the gameplay. The ball moves so fast that you cannot focus clearly on the
board, while the control is unbelievably sluggish. Playing this game an exercise in frustration.
While I love pinball as much as the next person, this game just doesn't do it
for me. Horrible graphics and gameplay coupled with two pretty unexciting
licenses make this a game for Lynx collectors only.
I like this game. The graphics are nice, the screen scrolls up and down so you can see the full table, and the physics are very good. Some of the voice effects are repetitive, but they don't bother me so much. The music on the other hand needs to be turned off immediately.
My only gripe with this game is the same gripe I have for all pinball games: The ball always seems to aim for the spot right between my flippers! I give it a 60% overall.
)
"Wohoo! Look at dem jugs on the scary lady!")
Both of these tables are authentic recreations of the originals.)
The screen scrolls upward so you can see the rest of the table, but here is the whole thing!
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