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Website
design &
programming
(c) 2000 James Burrows
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What a brilliant
game! Simple, yet incredibly addictive and playable.
It's nice to get a harmless, unhyped game that
you can load into your computer and just play
without having to get to the next screen or solve.
No hassle, just pure playability. The graphics
are alright and the sound is pretty basic, but
the gameplay is just superb and the scenario totally
stupid. Be a devil and lash out a huge three quid
for it.
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If you took any notice
of the scenario, you would probably put the thing
back on the shelf, which would undoubtedly be
a mistake, because Slamball
is more than worth every penny as far as fun is
concerned.
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Technically
it's smooth enough, but certainly not a game to
impress visually, which hardly matters as you
get a fine pinball game with some unusual additions,
and one which poses no problems in getting into,
though it's quite hard to put down.
.
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| Welcome
to Game of the Week! Each week there will be a
new featured game on this page. The game may be good,
average or diabolically bad, it really doesn't matter!
Just look at the pics, read the text and enjoy the nostalgia!
:-) Game of the Week! is open to contributions so if you
would like to contribute
a game article for this page you're more than welcome
to! Every article we receive will be considered! |
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Slamball
1984 Synapse
Software
Programmed
by Stephen C. Biggs
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| Most
text of the present article comes from the review published
in the fifteenth issue of the British C64 magazine ZZAP!64
(street date: June 12th, 1986). |
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SLAMBALL
Americana,
£2.99 cass, joystick
only
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Well the big and nasty Americana Monster has come along
and eaten up Mastertronic's pinball table and it's in
there that the cute 'n smiley Slamball family
habitate, a living clan of ball bearings with a happy
disposition. The pinball table is inside the monsters
stomach and the balls are in quite a bit of trouble.
The pinball table is still operational and since the
monster's stomach knows that the chewy and munchy slamball
family are sitting inside, it's ejecting them one by
one into the game. The hole at the bottom of the table,
which normally recovers the ball, instead slides straight
down into the monster's digestive tract. Luckily though,
you, as a member of the secret society of prevention
of cruelty to pinballs, have gained radio remote control
of the table and you must now prevent any of the Slamball
family from getting into Americana Monster's digestive
tract.
The
whole game revolves around a vertically scrolling window
of four screens' worth which covers the entire length
of the table. Even though the monster's stomach lining
is pressing the 'play' button, it's up to you to decide
on the power at which the ball is ejected into the playfield.
There are four sets of flippers throughout the table
and various positions of the joystick determine their
movement - joystick left operates left flippers, joystick
right operates right flippers, and pulling back on your
stick causes them to flip away.
All
the features included in a normal pinball machine are
there, with bumpers, rollovers and everything else.
Even a nudge is implemented for times of extreme danger.
Hitting nudge causes monster wobble and the whole table
wobbles as well. When a member of the Slamball family
is about to meet its demise, it is quite wise to use
the nudge feature as a last resort. Unfortunately overuse
of nudge results in the table tilting and your flippers
are then disabled until the current ball hits the Monster's
alimentary canal. Very digestive.
Around
the table are a number of monster stomach enzymes held
in groups of up to four, just sitting there, waiting
for a slamball to pass over. A slamball travelling over
an enzyme disappears and when a whole group are devoured
a blob materialises. Bash into this blob before it destroys
itself by wandering into the table's walls and your
score multiplier is increased. At the most, you can
travel up to four times score, get another blob and
the table resets itself to normal scoring. If all the
enzymes are collected then that level is deemed to be
complete and a bonus for any balls left is awarded.
The sound effects are suitably pinbally and all the
while you can hear the monster gently humming to itself
as it trogs down the street.
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I
like Slamball, its the best game I've played
for ages and is very addictive indeed, though
really just a simple implementation of Pinball,
it is so very well thought out that the enjoyment
it provides is huge. For graphics freaks there's
little to amaze or astound, the colour schemes
are garish but the ball moves in an exceedingly
convincing manner. For the money Slamball
would be hard put to be beaten even by some of
the excellent deals now offered by Mastertronic.
Go out and buy a copy now.
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Presentation
88%
Straightforward, with neat and tidy on-screen
appearance.
Graphics
65%
Large, rather simple and strongly
coloured, but ball movements are convincing.
Sound
79%
Good pinball FX and stomach rumbling
atmosphere.
Hookability
96%
Can't fail it, nothing to hold
you back from instant enjoyment.
Lastability
96%
This one has the essential ingredient
-- you just don't know when to stop.
Value
For Money 99%
At its low price it's a steal.
Overall
96%
A simply addictive and highly playable
pinball.
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Htmlized
by Dimitris
Kiminas (4 Mar 2006)
Other
"Games of the Week!"
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