July 2020 Retro Game: Epic Pinball The Complete Collection (PC)
By Thonos
7/1/2020
By Thonos
7/1/2020
I am a fan of pinball games, although I am not good at them. I used to play pinball machines when I had an arcade near me and transitioned to PC when it closed up. Back in the mid nineties one of my friends gave me a shareware version of Epic Pinball for the PC. It had three tables on it and it was alright. Fast forward almost twenty five years later and I find Epic Pinball: The Complete Collection on GOG. So I picked it up to relive some memories of my past.
The first thing I noticed was there are a lot of pinball tables in this game. While there were only three tables in the shareware version, there are thirteen in the complete collection. The tables have varied settings from androids and wildlife to mythical and modern. Before you start each table you can look at the rules to see what your overall objective is. I have to say, the rules section for each table is well done and clearly explains what you have to do.
The actual gameplay is pretty good for a game that is over twenty five years old. You use the space bar to shoot the ball and to shake the machine while using the left and right arrows to control the flippers. Your goal is to progress through the table unlocking events and racking up your score. This sounds easy, but it’s pinball and sometimes lining up shots can be a pain. You get five balls per playthrough and at the end you get a final score. Your top three scores for each table get saved.
One thing I want to point out is how well this game looks for its age. The menu system is clean and easy to navigate. All thirteen tables look good and are detailed for the theme they represent. The game has really good music for its menus to each of its tables. Normally I don’t go on about stuff like this in a retro article, but a good portion of this game was done by one person. When you put it in that perspective, it is quite an accomplishment.
Whether this game stands the test of time is a question of perspective. I think this game holds up very well and while not as flashy as some modern pinball games, it still gets the job done. Then again, I spent a lot of time playing the android and cybergirl tables so I might be slightly biased here. Then again, you are getting thirteen tables wrapped together with a good presentation. I say this is one to look into if you like pinball games.