Flipper Critters Review




Disclosure: We may earn a commission from links on this page

Developer: Zen Studios Publisher: Ignition Entertainment
Release Date: October 9, 2007 Also On: None

Pinball is one of the oldest pastimes known to arcades even though technically pinball machines are not video games at all. There is just something about watching a small metal ball bounce around in a playing field and only doing anything when said ball reaches the bottom that has many people addicted. Certainly it is a pick up and play concept. Many attempts have been made to recreate the pinball phenomenon on video game consoles all the way back to Video Pinball on the Atari 2600, with mixed results. Now Ignition Entertainment has attempted to put their own unique stamp on the pinball genre with Flipper Critters for the DS. Is this a pinball game worth playing? Read on to find out.

The graphics in Flipper Critters are simple, but they get the job done. The cartoony environmental style does a good job of conveying a laid-back happy feel to the game so that it does not seem too foreboding. Naturally, animation is generally restricted to the ball, the flippers, and whatever the ball might be coming in contact with, but those animations are done well. Overall, there is not anything awe-inspiring in this game, but there’s nothing bad either.

In terms of sound, this is a pinball game, so most of the sound effects relay the feel of a pinball table. In doing so they convey that feel quite well. Some things unique to this particular pinball game such as the destruction of objects also sound like one can imagine they would if such things happened on real pinball tables. The music is not anything overly inspiring, but nor is it anything that is going to seriously tempt you to turn the sound off. Overall, the sound in this game is average, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

On the off chance that somebody is reading this review and does not understand how pinball regularly works, allow me to explain it to you. Pinball takes place on a playing field on which are various objects. The objective of the player is to bounce a small metal ball off of these objects to accumulate points. The only objects which are under the control of the player are two flippers on the bottom of the screen. Truly skilled players can time their activating of these flippers to aim the ball at certain objects to achieve objectives to allow them to get higher scores. Either way, when a ball falls past these flippers, it is lost. After a set number of balls, the game is over.

Flipper Critters does play with this formula a little bit. First of all, objects other than the two flippers on the bottom of the screen will be under the player’s control through the use of the stylus and the touch-screen. This creates more problems than anything as the most convenient way I found to control the flippers was with the L and R buttons, thus leaving no hand free to use the stylus to tap these objects conveniently. Those of you who can adapt to controlling the flippers using the four buttons with your right hand will not have that problem.

Also, Flipper Critters takes place in a world full of objectives. By traveling off of the screen in many areas, the ball can be transferred to a different pinball table representing a different part of the world. This brings in another difference between Flipper Critters and regular pinball. You are not just trying to rack up a high score, but to get to certain places and do certain things to advance the plot. This means that the precise aiming that is not necessary when playing a pinball table for a high score is now necessary, which may prove frustrating for those pinball fans who are not as hardcore.

Essentially, then, what we are left with is an adventure game where you use pinball flippers and touch-screen use to travel from area to area. Just as in regular pinball, however, you can lose a life if you fall past a set of flippers and can lose completely if you lose all of your lives. Those of you who love precision-based maneuvers in pinball will probably be in heaven with this game, then, but those of you who are not capable of precise aiming will get frustrated quickly.

Should you get tired of regular pinball, there are a few minigames that can be unlocked to be played. Granted, they do not add a whole lot to the game, but they can be a nice diversion from the main game every once in a while. There is also a mode where you can play on different tables the old-fashioned way, just for points, but you have to unlock tables for that by traversing through the story mode. Still, the story mode is reasonably fun as well as reasonably lengthy.

What then is my conclusion? One of the strongest selling points of this game is the fact that it is a $15 budget title. For that price, any hardcore fan of pinball would be foolish not to buy it, and any casual fan of pinball would be foolish not to at least consider it. At the same time, however, it probably will not win pinball any new fans.

Graphics: 6
Sound: 6
Gameplay: 6.5
Creativity: 7
Replay Value/Game Length: 6.5
Final: 6.4
Written by Martin Review Guide

Leave a Comment