Games for Lunch: Metroid Prime Pinball
In a nutshell: If bounty hunting doesn't work out, Samus has a fallback...
1/8/2009 5:43 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3
Developer: Fuse Games
Nintendo
Release Date: Oct. 24, 2005
System: Nintendo DS
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web Site
0:00 I used to love whiling away the portable pinball hours with Kirby's Pinball Land and the oft-overlooked Revenge of the 'Gator. But that was over a decade ago. Will this bring the fun times back?
0:01 The game jumps right to a title screen with a logo and some futuristic ephemera in the background. There are high scores from the old owner of this used copy. The gauntlet is thrown!
0:02 I feel bad for not having the Rumble Pak, as the Options screen suggests. The only actual gameplay options are "Single-Mission" and "Multi-Mission." I choose Multi, and then get to choose between the Pirate Frigate or the Tallon Overworld stages. I choose the Frigate because it's an awesome word. FRIGATE!
0:04 And just like that, I'm on the pseudo-3-D rendered pinball stage that goes from the bottom screen all the way to the top. A rolled-up Samus Aran is the ball here. It's a very crisp, clean, high-tech look ... nice animation too.
0:05 Somehow I activate. "Parasite purge" and a bunch of little crawly things fall down onto the table. I hit them for 1,000 points each before my ball inevitably falls between the flippers. That was quick...
0:06 As I fall into a bumper area, a futuristic holo-message tells me that the "Jackpot Grows!" While I'm admiring this awesome stylishness, I die again. Man!
0:07 I can get an extra ball at 2,000,000 points. I currently have 33,000 points. This ... is gonna be tough.
0:08 I somehow activate a "Wall Jump" bonus game, where I have to hit L and R to make Samus jump between walls. I can't figure out the timing and quickly go falling back to the pinball. Sigh.
0:09 Holy crap, a lot of stuff's going on. I got a "Clone Multiball," which means three Samuses bouncing around. Some Metroids also fall onto the playfield. Then I double the jackpot a few times and activate a shooting mini-game in which I use the flippers to aim a constantly shooting Samus at a horde of encroaching bugs. THIS IS ALL IN ONE MINUTE OF GAMEPLAY!
0:10 I just collected an artifact and activated "Metroid Mania" and got the jackpot and OMG I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON BUT I LOVE IT ALL!
0:11 It seems hitting the Metroids from below with a quick flip hurts them, while falling into them from above hurts me Samus. I eventually knock them out and "Mode completed ... artifact collected." I ROCK! As does this remixed Metroid music.
0:12 I lose my last ball during "Space Pirate Panic," which has me shooting Samus at black aliens that routinely jump out of the way of my attacks. "Mission Over" and I'm unceremoniously sent back to the title screen with 300,000-plus points. Well, that was anticlimactic! Here we go again!
0:14 "Lock is Lit." Updates as warranted.
0:15 After doubling the jackpot a few times during an insane multiball, I use the top flipper to knock the ball through a loop a few times, getting JACKPOT, DOUBLE JACKPOT, SUPER JACKPOT! Holy crap!
