Pro Pinball: The Web

Pro Pinball: The Web (Pro Pinball in North America) is an action video game developed by Cunning Developments for PlayStation, MS-DOS and Sega Saturn. It is the first game in the Pro Pinball series.

Pro Pinball: The Web
Developer(s)Cunning Developments
Publisher(s)
SeriesPro Pinball
Platform(s)PlayStation, MS-DOS, Sega Saturn, Macintosh (Mac OS 9 or earlier)
ReleasePlayStation
  • EU: July 1996
  • NA: 30 September 1996
MS-DOS
  • NA: 31 August 1996
Sega Saturn
  • NA: 30 November 1996
  • EU: 1996
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Background

Pro Pinball: The Web uses graphics pre-rendered from an intricate 3D model.[1] Consequently, the game had superior graphical capabilities to other popular pinball games of the time, while playing at full speed on MS-DOS. The Web supports screen resolutions up to 1024x768 with 32,768 colours, and features Red Book CD-DA audio tracks.[2]

Gameplay
Pro Pinball: The Web was the first of the Pro Pinball series of realistic computer pinball simulations.

Pro Pinball: The Web is a pinball simulation in which players operate a virtual pinball table. Players can score extra points by making combos, i.e. performing a move twice in a row.[3] Hitting targets at the far end of the table activates the game's missions, in which the player must hit lighted ramps or bumpers to score bonus points. Completing a mission results in a huge point bonus.[3]

Reception

The PlayStation and Saturn versions received mixed reviews. While critics praised the realistic pinball graphics and physics[4][5][7][8] and the wide variety of scoring opportunities,[4][5] they criticized the voice samples[4][7] and the absence of a directly overhead view.[4][5] Some also concluded that with only one table, the game would get old very quickly,[4][5][8] though a reviewer for Next Generation remarked, "While many developers have tried to wow gamers with multiple tables, Empire went the other way - giving the player one table, but doing it right."[7] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot concluded that it "is a convincing simulation of pinball, but it falls short when compared to other video pinball games."[5] Rob Allsetter of Sega Saturn Magazine assessed that "All in all, this is a decent enough interpretation of the game itself, let down only by the exclusion of different table to variate the action a little",[8] and Dan Hsu of Electronic Gaming Monthly said, "It's a great board, but it'll get old real quick."[4]

Reviewing the PC version, Tim Soete highly praised the game's realism and summarized that "its high-resolution graphics and true table physics combine to make it one of the most immersive pinball titles out there."[6]

The Web was named the 64th best computer game ever by PC Gamer UK in 1997. The editors wrote, "Nothing else has quite come close [...] to Pro Pinball's utterly convincing physics and slick presentation."[9]

References
  1. "Compatibility - Pro Pinball: The Web - CodeWeavers". www.codeweavers.com. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  2. "Pro Pinball - The Web - Technical Specifications". Archived from the original on 1999-05-01. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  3. "Pro Pinball: Weaving a New Kind of Pinball". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 88. Ziff Davis. November 1996. p. 232.
  4. "Review Crew: Pro Pinball". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 88. Ziff Davis. November 1996. p. 80.
  5. Gerstmann, Jeff (December 1, 1996). "Pro Pinball: The Web Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  6. Soete, Tim (September 26, 1996). "Pro Pinball: The Web Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 15 November 2017.
  7. "Pro Pinball". Next Generation. No. 26. Imagine Media. February 1997. pp. 122, 124.
  8. Allsetter, Rob (August 1996). "Review: Pro Pinball The Web". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 10. Emap International Limited. pp. 86–87.
  9. Flynn, James; Owen, Steve; Pierce, Matthew; Davis, Jonathan; Longhurst, Richard (July 1997). "The PC Gamer Top 100". PC Gamer UK (45): 51–83.
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