Pro Pinball: The Web | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Cunning Developments |
Publisher(s) | |
Series | Pro Pinball |
Platform(s) | PlayStation, MS-DOS, Windows 9x, Sega Saturn, Macintosh ( Mac OS 9 or earlier) |
Release | PlayStation PC Sega Saturn |
Genre(s) | Action |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Pro Pinball: The Web (Pro Pinball in North America) is a pinball simulation video game developed by Cunning Developments for PlayStation, MS-DOS, Windows 95 and Sega Saturn. It is the first game in the Pro Pinball series.
Pro Pinball: The Web uses graphics pre-rendered from an intricate 3D model. [4] 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. [5]
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. [6] 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. [6]
Publication | Score |
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AllGame | (SAT)
[11] (PS1) [12] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 5.125/10 (PS1) [7] |
GameSpot | 5/10 (PS1)
[8] 7.4/10 (PC) [9] |
Next Generation | (PS1) [10] |
Sega Saturn Magazine | 70% (SAT) [3] |
The PlayStation and Saturn versions received mixed reviews. While critics praised the realistic pinball graphics and physics [7] [8] [10] [3] and the wide variety of scoring opportunities, [7] [8] they criticized the voice samples [7] [10] and the absence of a directly overhead view. [7] [8] Some also concluded that with only one table, the game would get old very quickly, [7] [8] [3] though 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." [10] Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot concluded that it "is a convincing simulation of pinball, but it falls short when compared to other video pinball games." [8] 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", [3] and Dan Hsu of Electronic Gaming Monthly said, "It's a great board, but it'll get old real quick." [7]
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." [9]
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." [13]