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GF Rating
3
Bad
How NOT to make a pinball game...
posted by Jonny1500 (BROOKLYN, NY) Apr 16, 2008
Member since Sep 2006
16 out of 16 gamers (100%) found this review helpful
Let me start by saying that I have been waiting to play Dream Pinball 3D for quite some time. Retail pinball sims have been few and far between, and since the Wii controls are optimal for pinball I had high hopes. Within minutes after seeing that distinctive white and orange envelope in my mailbox my dreams were shattered.
Let me start with what this game gets right. The most important part of any pinball sim is the physics (how well it recreates playing a real machine). While the physics engine here is not perfect, it is far from terrible. In fact I would say its even pretty good. Overall it just feels right and flows smooth. Additionally, the controls are decent as well.
Similar to the recently released Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams collection, flippers are controlled with the B and Z button while nudging is motion controlled. One cool little feature is that you launch the ball by holding A and pulling back the wiimote. Unlike PHOF, DP3D offers players the option to use the wiimote held sideways. DP3D comes with 7 tables, and while this is three less than PHOF, it is a fair number. But it is the tables themselves that truly doomed this game.
Instead of just recreating well known and well liked pins, the developers decided to save some money and create their own machines. What a mistake! It leaves the user with the sense that these people have never played pinball in their entire lives. First, each table gives you 6 balls, which is just strange. Next, the tables have no real objective beyond shooting ramps and collecting points; with no real goal there is no real reason to even play. The designs are cluttered (1 table has 7 flippers!) and yet simple at the same time. Further more the tables themselves are just plain easy. The different balls add nothing.
Graphics are sub par, the music is repetitive and the voiceovers couldn't be more annoying.
I could go on and on about what is wrong with this game but I have a character limit. In sum back to GF it goes.
Let me start with what this game gets right. The most important part of any pinball sim is the physics (how well it recreates playing a real machine). While the physics engine here is not perfect, it is far from terrible. In fact I would say its even pretty good. Overall it just feels right and flows smooth. Additionally, the controls are decent as well.
Similar to the recently released Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams collection, flippers are controlled with the B and Z button while nudging is motion controlled. One cool little feature is that you launch the ball by holding A and pulling back the wiimote. Unlike PHOF, DP3D offers players the option to use the wiimote held sideways. DP3D comes with 7 tables, and while this is three less than PHOF, it is a fair number. But it is the tables themselves that truly doomed this game.
Instead of just recreating well known and well liked pins, the developers decided to save some money and create their own machines. What a mistake! It leaves the user with the sense that these people have never played pinball in their entire lives. First, each table gives you 6 balls, which is just strange. Next, the tables have no real objective beyond shooting ramps and collecting points; with no real goal there is no real reason to even play. The designs are cluttered (1 table has 7 flippers!) and yet simple at the same time. Further more the tables themselves are just plain easy. The different balls add nothing.
Graphics are sub par, the music is repetitive and the voiceovers couldn't be more annoying.
I could go on and on about what is wrong with this game but I have a character limit. In sum back to GF it goes.
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GF Rating
5
Fair
PinBall Done Wrong
posted by Cuddles (HAMLIN, NY) May 3, 2008
Member since Jan 2008
3 out of 4 gamers (75%) found this review helpful
I am a huge pinball fan. When I saw that this game finally released on the Wii, I was thrilled. With the wii controls, this could have been a fun game.
Instead though, the game is plagued by problems. There are 7 camera angles. But all of them still result in the camera scrolling too slowly. Thus meaning that you will have to GUESS when to hit the ball itself. By the time the camera scrolls down to the bottom of the table, you will have missed hitting the ball. Most of the time you will be in search of the ball. The glare on the "glass top" of the tables is a bit too much. You end up straining your eyes after a while because of the glare. The game description says 6 tables are included. Well in a way that is true. But in all honesty.... there are only 3 different tables. Then each table has a second table with the exact same layout.... just a different theme.
The game just feels like the creators themselves have never played pinball before. The table layouts are ridiculous. There are no goals. You are just hitting a ball around the screen. And again, most of the time you are guessing when to hit the ball.
The announcers and sound effects are a major turnoff. They are repetitive and just really lame. My kids were asking me to turn the sound off for them because it was even driving them crazy.
The game itself is sparse and repetitive. By the time I got to using up the 4th ball.... I was bored out of my skull. I kept wanting to just end the game.
The game can be a short bit of mindless fun. But don't expect anything more than that. After playing through each table once.... that is all you will want to play.
Could have been fun.... but isn't.
Instead though, the game is plagued by problems. There are 7 camera angles. But all of them still result in the camera scrolling too slowly. Thus meaning that you will have to GUESS when to hit the ball itself. By the time the camera scrolls down to the bottom of the table, you will have missed hitting the ball. Most of the time you will be in search of the ball. The glare on the "glass top" of the tables is a bit too much. You end up straining your eyes after a while because of the glare. The game description says 6 tables are included. Well in a way that is true. But in all honesty.... there are only 3 different tables. Then each table has a second table with the exact same layout.... just a different theme.
The game just feels like the creators themselves have never played pinball before. The table layouts are ridiculous. There are no goals. You are just hitting a ball around the screen. And again, most of the time you are guessing when to hit the ball.
The announcers and sound effects are a major turnoff. They are repetitive and just really lame. My kids were asking me to turn the sound off for them because it was even driving them crazy.
The game itself is sparse and repetitive. By the time I got to using up the 4th ball.... I was bored out of my skull. I kept wanting to just end the game.
The game can be a short bit of mindless fun. But don't expect anything more than that. After playing through each table once.... that is all you will want to play.
Could have been fun.... but isn't.
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GF Rating
1
Horrible
Horrible
posted by tjm0531 (WASHINGTON, DC) May 20, 2008
Member since Jan 2005
4 out of 6 gamers (67%) found this review helpful
I played this for maybe 30 minutes and put it back in the envelope and sent it back.
The physics might have been ok, but the rest of it was absolutely horrible. If the ball was moving too fast, the screen couldn't catch up with it and boom...lost ball. And there was no point in playing because it was hit a bumper score 5 million points. And as far as I could tell there was absolutely no objective to any of the tables..just hit bumpers, score points, get bored, and send it back. YAY!
The physics might have been ok, but the rest of it was absolutely horrible. If the ball was moving too fast, the screen couldn't catch up with it and boom...lost ball. And there was no point in playing because it was hit a bumper score 5 million points. And as far as I could tell there was absolutely no objective to any of the tables..just hit bumpers, score points, get bored, and send it back. YAY!
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GF Rating
1
Horrible
Dream Pinball 3D
posted by bluptcrzr (BLAIRSVILLE, GA) Mar 9, 2009
Member since Jan 2009
I was so excited reading the description & couldn't wait to get this game only to be extremely disappointed. The screen moves around so much it makes you dizzy trying to watch the ball. It's not as realistic as The William's Collection. I love pinball, but this game just isn't what I thought it would be. The graphics move to quickly and by the time you realize where the ball is, it drops past the flippers.
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GF Rating
2
Really Bad
Could it get any worse?
posted by seanag (IRVINE, CA) Oct 18, 2008
Member since Mar 2007
This is a terrible game. The graphics are horrible. The game play is weak. The physics are unbelievably bad. The developers need to look at the Williams pinball game to get a clue.
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GF Rating
1
Horrible
Like Pinball? Stick with the Williams Collection!
posted by Cubbie (Grand Rapids, MI) May 9, 2008
Member since Nov 2007
This game is a joke! its not 6 tables like advertised its one table with 6 themes! This game play is horrible ! way to easy to score points in, scored over 300 million points 1st time i played! Maybe if you have never played pinball before this may be for you otherwise don't waste your time !
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GF Rating
5
Fair
This could have been super!
posted by WiiLii (CUMMING, GA) Apr 26, 2008
Member since Mar 2005
The graphics and sounds are very good. This would have been a great pinball except for one BIG problem. The pin ball table scrolls slower than the ball moves down the table! So, you have to guess when to flip as the ball will get to your flippers before you can see your flippers!! Sometimes the scoll works and sometimes it is too slow.
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GF Rating
1
Horrible
Don't Bother
posted by NeilkCA (YORBA LINDA, CA) Apr 18, 2008
Member since Jan 2008
I LOVE pinball, couldn't wait for this to arrive. I bought the Williams Challenge after trying it. I put this one back in the shipping envelope after two rounds of each table. The tables are cluttered looking. There are no real objectives, they are repetitious, more than pinball should be. Even the tables feel repetitious, being very close in design and features. I tried each game, giving each one two shots to make sure I didn't miss anything, hoping to find one that redeems the game, there were none. The flippers are too numerous, some being in very strange places, having no true function, and they are hard to see. Instead of standing out, most of the flippers go into hiding, blending back into surface they are on. Although the graphics are colorful, they are flat looking rather than being 3D.
If you like pinball, try the Williams Pinball Challenge, it is excellent. Avoid Dream Pinball as it is very poorly designed. Another item is that the camera does not always follow the ball. You'll be hitting the bottom flippers by chance as the ball drops below your viewing level. The view control does not work as designed.
If you like pinball, try the Williams Pinball Challenge, it is excellent. Avoid Dream Pinball as it is very poorly designed. Another item is that the camera does not always follow the ball. You'll be hitting the bottom flippers by chance as the ball drops below your viewing level. The view control does not work as designed.
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