The Pinball Arcade

 PlayStation 3
The Pinball Arcade Image
Metascore
  1. First Review
  2. Second Review
  3. Third Review
  4. Fourth Review

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User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 4 Ratings

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  • Summary: This downloadable pinball game features licensed tables from Williams Gottlieb, Bally, and Stern.

Trailer

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The Pinball Arcade Launch Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. NZGamer
    Jul 26, 2012
    85
    If you're a fan of the tables, you'll love poring over each of the included flyers, reading up on the game's history, and generally soaking up the care and attention that's gone into each game's digital double.
  2. IGN
    Apr 22, 2012
    85
    It's an admirable goal: The developer is manufacturing a museum full of terrific, timeless proxies. Whether you're obsessed with the old-school or still waiting to discover it, playing four pieces of history for $10 is absolutely worthwhile.
  3. Games Master UK
    Aug 24, 2012
    70
    Its dedication to form over function may baffle some players minds. [Oct 2012, p.87]
    All this publication's reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. afwhigs
    Jan 30, 2015
    9
    I've been a fan of pinball sims since the PS one, so it's really nice to have a sim like this with graphics detailed enough to reallyI've been a fan of pinball sims since the PS one, so it's really nice to have a sim like this with graphics detailed enough to really represent the tables. I played a lot of real pinball in my youth, and I've played a number of these tables in real life. While I can't say that the tables are "perfect" (who could), I feel that this is an excellent representation of pinball. With a pinball sim it's all about ball physics, and TPA seems to get this right. The balls seem to have the right weight and feel on the flippers, and my rudimentary set of pinball flipper moves work just fine.

    My only issues with this game are DLC related. The base game gives you 4 tables for $9.99, which isn't a bad deal at all, considering that these tables are complex and each represents many hours of gameplay to master them (if that's really possible - I've been playing pinball for years and I've only ever progressed to being perhaps slightly above mediocre).

    Beyond the original 4 tables you can buy individual tables for anywhere from $4.99 - $7.99, which some double table packs in the same range; or you can choose an entire "season" for $29.99, or $39.99 for the "pro pack", which I think allows you to tinker with the tables' settings more. There are several seasons available, and each seems to contain 15-20 tables. Now, that's a LOT of content for $30, but still, I don't like the $10 bump to get the pro pack - partly because I don't know if I really need/want the pro features, or not.

    So, as you can see, a $10 game can become very expensive very quickly if you desire to increase your collection of tables. But then again, $30 for 15+ tables isn't a bad deal at all if you think about it.

    I guess what I want is for more pack variations (half season? I don't know) and for them to ditch the regular vs. pro packages, and just have it so that if you buy a table you get all the features for that table.

    However, this is a great game. It's fun to sit and learn a table (and many are very complicated) and see your scores improve. If you care about pinball, this is a great game.    … Expand

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