Mile High Pinball Preview

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Even though the competition is steep with the PSP and Nintendo DS, Nokia is still pushing N-Gage with a great lineup of games, two of the best being One and Payload.

Another top-tier N-Gage title is Mile High Pinball. Everyone – the associate producer, the PR agent – tells me that this is a game for casual players. True, this may be more appealing to a casual gamer like my sister than Splinter Cell would be to her. But the minute I saw Mile High Pinball, I couldn’t wait to learn more.

Differing from other puzzle games by having one ball, one persistent game and 80 different levels, Mile High Pinball is a game where you get one chance to score. The levels could be thought of as an elevator: it goes up and down. If the ball falls through the paddles (you know it will), you drop right back down to the level you were previously at. You know what that means, don’t you? It means that you could spend several hours, maybe longer, working your way to level 79 and drop right back down to level 1.

There are no continues in Mile High Pinball, but there will be a cornucopia of power-ups. Some make you go faster; others decrease your speed, which is helpful in some circumstances. Suppose you’re playing a frantic stage and you want the ball to go to a specific point, but it’s moving too fast to do it. It’s become a game of chance; you’ll either hit the bull’s eye or you won’t.

Snatch the slow ball power-up and your ball’s movement will slow down. Grab the multi-ball power-ups and your balls will multiply. Is this a fancy way of disguising a continue? No – you only get one shot. That isn’t going to change. The multiplier multiplies the number of balls that are bouncing around the level. Most likely if one of two or three balls reaches the next level, the other balls will stay behind. But while you’re in the level, paddling away, those balls will keep bouncing until they fall through.

It was great seeing Mile High Pinball at the show. It’s due this summer, but you don’t have to wait till then for excitement – look for a full interview next week.

For All E3 2005 Previews