Pinball Dreams / Fantasies

The click of a spring, a metal ball launched onto the playfield and hours that vanish before you know it. Pinball Dreams and its successor Pinball Fantasies showed that pinball on a computer need not be a poor substitute for a real machine, but a fully-fledged, addictive experience. On the Amiga they became a benchmark that no one could touch for a long time.

The games were made by the Swedish studio Digital Illusions, whose name later became famous as DICE, creators of the Battlefield series. Pinball Dreams was released in 1992 and Pinball Fantasies followed the same year with improved graphics, more elaborate tables and greater depth. Each of the titles offers several thematically distinct tables, from cosmic to sporting to musical.

The secret of the success was the realistic physics of the ball and brilliant technical execution. The game scrolled smoothly across long vertical playfields, the sounds of bounces and bumpers rang out convincingly and the overall feel of play came so close to a real machine that players lost track of time chasing a higher score. Score and the fight for the top spot are the very heart of the whole game.

Technically it was a showcase of what the Amiga could do when taken in hand by an experienced team. Smoothness, sound and controls were flawless and both games became a commercial and critical success. The series continued with Pinball Illusions and the concept was ported to a number of other platforms.

The beauty of these games lies in their immediate accessibility and at the same time in the endless drive to surpass oneself. You sit down for five minutes and get up an hour later. No complicated tutorials, no unnecessary fluff, just the pure joy of a well-crafted game mechanic.

Why play it: The best video game pinball of its era from the future creators of Battlefield, with realistic physics and an addictiveness that will glue you to your chair for hours.