It’s through no fault of its own that I can’t wholeheartedly recommend Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection for Nintendo 3DS. It’s a good collection of tables, each of which is developed faithfully. The problem is that I’ve played pinball on the iPad and iPhone. And having done that, pinball sims now make absolutely no sense anywhere else.

Many game companies are feeling charitable in the way of the 2011 Sendai earthquake in Japan, with iOS games being an easy way to encourage people to donate. They can discount the game and give the money made directly to charity, so people help out and get something as a reward. Capcom did it with Street Fighter IV, 5pb did it with Memories Off 6 and now Sega’s at it as well.

Sega’s actually one-upping the other companies…

The PlayStation Store has updated around the same time it did last week. That means there’s actually time to download some stuff before you get too sleepy to stay awake. This week brings in a new batch of PlayStation Plus content, add-ons for games such as Dead Space 2 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and the debut of the long-awaited digital release for Vagrant Story.

If you caved in and bought something during Steam’s massive sale that’s been going on for the past few days, there’s a small chance you might start regretting some of your purchases. Amazon’s doing it now too, with almost 200 of its downloadable games. It’s really copying Steam, since many of these games are 75% off. So, if you waited or missed out on one of Steam’s deals, you might actually find it cheaper at Amazon during its sale.

The fate of the world depends on your ability to flick a metal ball back and forth for hours on end. Marvel Pinball is a new game from Zen Studios that is planned to be released on PSN and XBLA before the end of 2010. Zen Studios is no stranger to pinball games. This is the same studio behind Zen Pinball on PS3 and the Pinball FX series for Xbox 360.

It took five years to find a publisher and GameStop almost didn’t carry it, but it finally happened. Intellivision Lives has finally been released on the DS. The portable incarnation is the most faithful yet, as the DS touch screen is used to perfectly emulate the control sheets that would go over the keypads that were used with the original Intellivision. The result is a collection of over 60 games, many of which are retro-fabulous…

Don’t get too excited about this week’s Nintendo downloads – they’re not worth it. First of all, it’s a small update with only five new downloads. Second, only three of the five are games. The other two are apps. And one app is so ridiculous I can’t imagine anyone actually spending money on it.

Yes, I’m talking about Discolight for the DSi, Kaasa’s follow-up to its equally lackluster Flashlight. It’s the same program, only Discolight has multiple colors and generic muzak in the background. That’s totally worth $2!

Gamertell’s Nintendo Download pick for the week would have been Gods vs Humans (WiiWare), if it weren’t so expensive.

If you live in or near Northern California and are a mad pinball freak, then you can’t miss this weekend’s Pacific Pinball Expo. Sponsored by the Pacific Pinball Museum located in Alameda, California, the expo will feature over 300 pinball and other kinds of games from its collection.

Time for another incredibly brief Nintendo Downloads update. Yes, this is another one of those weeks where there’s barely anything new available to download. Honestly, if you’re not a fan of casual games you probably shouldn’t even bother checking the Wii Shop Channel or DSiWare store. There are four new games this week, three for the DSi and one for the Wii.

The most disappointing release is easily myNotebook: Tan. Yes, the myNotebook series has jumped the shark! I started to expect as much when myNotebook: Pearl debuted August 30, 2010, but myNotebook: Tan has cinched it. We’ve seen myNotebook: Blue, myNotebook: Carbon, myNotebook: Green, myNotebook: Pearl, myNotebook: Red, myNotebook: Tan and the slightly different but very similar myPostcards. We get the idea Nnooo!

Gamertell’s Nintendo Download picks for the week is Castle Conqueror (DSiWare).

If you want to play over 60 classic Intellivision games on your DS, don’t go to GameStop. The store will turn you away at the door. The creators reported on both the Intellivision Facebook page and website that GameStop decided the DS version of Intellivision Lives! wasn’t for them. GameStop acknowledged that older gamers (over 30) may want it, but younger gamers probably wouldn’t so they don’t want it in the store. I guess they’re afraid having it on the shelf will taint surrounding games…