Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection for Nintendo 3DS Reviews by Gamers

Pinball Hall of Fame is one of the best virtual pinball games available. I've rented the PS3 version a little while ago and enjoyed it, it plays exactly as you would expect out of a game like this. When I saw that they were doing a port for the 3DS, I decided to put it in my GameQ to see if the 3D enhances virtual pinball. I was expecting a scaled down port with 3D effects, and it was only a little bit lower than expected.

As far as gameplay goes, it plays just as well as the PS3 version. The physics are still just as good as the PS3 version as far as I can tell. The game has two control methods: the usual method with the shoulder buttons, or with the 3DS upside down with the left d-pad and A button. The upside down method looks and sounds ridiculous, but it is actually better, as you can look down on the 3D play field and up at your score.

The game only has seven tables to choose from. Not only is the 3DS version missing the late 90s pinballs that were removed from the other non-HD versions (read: no Medieval Madness), but it is also missing Jive Time and a few of the older pinball machines.

The 3D effect may have worked, but there was something incredibly off about the game, and I couldn't realize why. Once I went to the 3DS's home menu, I found out why: The game's brightness is incredibly low. It's very distracting. Also, the game only runs at 30 FPS because of the 3D effect, which can be a problem with a fast paced game like pinball. There's no option to trade in the 3D for 60 FPS like certain other 3DS games.

The game still plays the part, but I can't help but feel that this is the least best version of the game available even with 3D. There are worse options for portable pinball, and as I write this is the only option for pinball on the 3DS as far as I know. If you want to know how the 3DS can handle pinball, check this game out.