WildWest
Developer: Pinball! Since I downloaded this game months ago, I have still never deleted it, and it is always there if I have time to kill. It’s a keeper.
This game first appeared after enjoying some time as a paid app at $2.99. It tried to offer tries to offer a more authentic pinball experience then what was available at the time. It has great animation with 3D panning and the ball becomes central to the game, your view follows it around the table. At times zooming to where the action is… more on these goodies in a few…
The developers then lowered the price to ‘free’ in preparation of their new release The Deep. This new game has been submitted to Apple and as of July 16th has been waiting approval. This clever move however made WildWest skyrocket to the top of the Free charts and while it was king of the charts for a time (occupying the number one spot with thousands of downloads) it is still in the top 50.
Over 30K people have commented on the app and for some reason it has maintained an average vote of 3 stars. I can not really understand why. I have read the reviews, and many of the things mentioned have been improved and/or added to. There is now a highscore area online so you can thrash it out with other pinball fans (me!!).
Why this game is so good is I really feel that it is brining pinball to the gaming world how it should be. The iPhone / iPod touch seem the perfect platform for this style of game. I play(ed) pinball in real life and enjoyed many hours trying to get a better score. You can read about Pinball innovator King Steve Kordek who made over 100 actual pinball tables in 1948! Ok, I digress I understand by man that’s a lotta tables and may shed some light on my love of the game. When I played it on my PC / mac it really is never the same, it is awkward and clumsy no matter how much I suspend disbelief. The iPhone is such a great new design for this style of game and I hope more pinball games companies get in the boat on this one.
The way WildWest is set up, I feel like I am actually playing pinball. It’s like I have my own private table on my iPhone. It has flippers that you can click but really, you could click anywhere on the right hand or left hand side to get them to work which is great. There is also plenty for the ball to hit, and the movement and action of the ball mimics how it would react in the real table. This is achieved through the GFX engine with smooth rendering. It runs at 40fps.
Sound is authentic pinball experience, and I would recommend playing it at high volume. There were times when I was pretty excited playing it and covered the little iPhone speakers so keeping it loud is a good idea.
This game is really quick to launch, you click the icon and then with one click it’s straight into game play. If you want to access the best scores, you just slide to the left and the top 15 players are there. Don’t get discouraged at the mammoth scores here! I would say maybe don’t look until you’ve had a serious go first. Once you are in, you pull back the slider to launch the ball and it’s all go!
Bad points about this game, would only be that initially when I played it, it did take some getting used to the movement of the table as you play in order to follow the ball. After some game play I grew to love it a lot, because you get far clearer and closer shots of where the ball is and the score you are racking up. But it did take me a bit of time to get used to it. I kind of would like to see that as an option, so I can play it as a stagnant table as well if I choose to.
[youtube DdICmteRFbc]
Overall, this game is hot, it was hot when I first got it and it has only gotten better. At free I can see no reason not to try it, it’s slick, smooth, and most of all fun. Pinball I love you~
I think we need more pinball games in the app store. When they are done right they are such a treat. WildWest has some pinball-tastic game play and at that price you have to get it, seriously – Now!
Tags: app review, iphone app, ooo gameprom, pinball, steve kordek, wildwest