Appletell reviews Pinball HD for iPad
by at June 18, 2010 6:27 am
Sections: iDevice Apps, iPad, iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, Reviews
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Seller: Gameprom
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.2 or later
Compatibility: iPad
File Size: 58.6MB
Version Reviewed: 1.3
Price: $2.99
Age Rating: 4+
What we’ve learned from Gameprom’s Pinball HD is that pinball makes much more sense on the iPad than on the iPhone. In fact, it makes much more sense than on the computer. Pinball sims will never duplicate the feel of standing in front of a large metal and wood cabinet, but as far as simulating the gameplay experience, Pinball HD is the closest we’ve come yet.
A lot of this can be attributed directly to the iPad itself. It’s easy to hold and tap without your thumbs getting the way of the action. The large screen and strong graphics processor provide a powerful engine on which to build tables, allowing for very detailed playfields with some nice lighting effects. It’s big and bright and fun to pass around to other players.
The rest of the credit goes to Gameprom, of course. They’ve included all three of their iPhone machines—Wild West, The Deep and Jungle Style—for only $2.99. They’ve been updated with improved graphics, and they look fantastic. The animation is smooth and fast, with only the occasional hiccup. This is impressive considering the amount of zooming in and out the camera is forced to do.
That’s actually one of my only issues with the game. The iPad screen is certainly large enough to fit an entire playfield on the screen, but Gameprom didn’t include this option…in portrait mode. Rather, if you want to play with the entire table visible at all points, you have to rotate the iPad to landscape where the height is actually shorter. I’m sure there’s a reason for this, but it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t play pinball the way I want to.
Thankfully, the camera zooms work better on the iPad than on the iPhone. The camera rarely lagged behind the ball, although that’ll still be an issue when the ball shoots down a ramp. And in certain cases, being able to zoom in makes targeting much easier, as with the harpoon shot in The Deep.
I’m also not sure I like the method of switching tables. You swipe up or down to get the table you want, depending upon which one you’re on. Swipe right for some Gameprom app promotion, left for the high score lists (local and online). It’s simple enough, but I’d prefer to just have three tables show up as buttons when I launch the app so I can decide from there.
But none of this changes the fact that The Pinball HD provides tremendous bang for your buck. Three HD pinball games for $2.99. Each of these is worth that on its own. I will confess that I don’t find any of the tables as engaging as those from LittleWing on the Mac, but here’s the thing; LittleWing isn’t on the iPad yet. Gameprom is. And they’ve got some inventive machines here that would fit in quite well at your local truck stop or bowling alley.
And isn’t that the best we can hope for from a pinball sim?
Buy Pinball HD
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