Pinball Arcade

Pinball Arcade is a solid pinball fix for your iPad or iPhone. Gathering pinball games from across the ages, this is a retro trip into pinball’s past that features ten tables like Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, Monster Bash and Black Hole by such table masters as Williams, Stern and Bally.

Gameplay is simple and intuitive – clack the general side of your iPad or iPhone and the paddles respond. Ball psychics are apt although seem to be a little bit forgiving at times as balls seem to reach their mark even if you think you made a wonky shot. Graphics are also on par and the attention to detail with the music and sound effects to re-create the machines to their fullest rounds out the solid experience. Some extra features include: leaderboards that can be accessed through Facebook and histories of tables and the companies that made them.

The one major downfall of Pinball Arcade has to be the annoyance of constantly being told to purchase the upgraded version of a table before each play and only being able to play the table once before having to purchase it. And for between $1.99 to $3.99 a piece or packs of two for $4.99, it’s pricey. There is minimal enjoyment to get out of the free version as re-playing a table will suddenly stop when you hit your previous high score.

Pinball Arcade is aimed at those who want a retro-fix with their pinball and are ready to pay a hefty price for it.