3-D Ultra Pinball (video game)
{{Short description|1995 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| collapsible =
| state =
| italic title =
| title = 3-D Ultra Pinball
| image = 3d ultra pinbal.jpg
| alt = Cover art for 3-D Ultra Pinball
| caption =
| developer = Dynamix
| publisher = Sierra On-Line
| series = 3-D Ultra Pinball
| platforms = Microsoft Windows
Macintosh
| released = October 25, 1995
| genre = Action
| modes = Single-player
}}
3-D Ultra Pinball is a 1995 pinball-based video game for personal computers and the first in the 3-D Ultra Pinball video game series, published by Sierra On-Line.
Gameplay
The original 3-D Ultra Pinball game was released in 1995. This game is based on the space simulation game Outpost. There are three tables named "Colony", "Command Post", and "Mine". Each table holds a set of five challenges. Smaller "mini-tables" are featured with their own set of flippers. The goal is to build and launch a starship, completing the game's entire course.
Development
A port on the Sega Saturn was planned, but it was cancelled for unknown reasons.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-03|title=File:SSM JP 19960726 1996-12.pdf|url=https://segaretro.org/File:SSM_JP_19960726_1996-12.pdf|access-date=2021-04-03|website=Sega Retro|language=en}}
Reception
{{Video game reviews
|rev1=MacUser
|rev2=Next Generation
|rev3=PC Gamer
|rev3Score=86%{{cite web|first=Todd|last=Vaughn|url=https://archive.org/details/UneditedPCGamer_marktrade/PC_Gamer_019u/page/n239/mode/2up|title=3-D Ultra Pinball|magazine=PC Gamer|page=237|date=December 1995|accessdate=October 1, 2024}}
}}
Reviewing the Macintosh version, a Next Generation critic commented that "there is some substance to the argument that pinball is not a game meant for the monitor, but 3-D Ultra Pinball works, and it works very well". He particularly praised the fact that the graphics and physics both include elements not possible on a real pinball table, while remaining "true to the pinball spirit". Despite this, he gave it only two out of five stars.{{cite magazine|title=3-D Ultra Pinball|magazine=Next Generation|issue=13 |publisher=Imagine Media |date=January 1996|page=168}} It received a score of 3.5 out of 5 from MacUser.{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990225083300/http://macuser.zdnet.com/mu_0696/personal/gameroom.html | url=http://macuser.zdnet.com:80/mu_0696/personal/gameroom.html | title=The Game Room | date=June 1996 | archive-date=1999-02-25 | author=LeVitus, Bob | work=MacUser | url-status=dead | access-date=2018-09-24 }}
CNET said "For pinball players who like the idea of computer razzamatazz to enliven the game and suggest new playing possibilities, 3-D Ultra Pinball is a great twist on an old classic"{{cite web|first=Peter|last=Scisco|url=http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Cdcentral/Reviews/0%2C50%2C330%2C00.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19961222163456/http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reviews/Cdcentral/Reviews/0,50,330,00.html|title=3-D Ultra Pinball|website=CNET|archivedate=December 22, 1996|accessdate=October 1, 2024}}
According to market research firm PC Data, 3-D Ultra Pinball was the 18th-best-selling computer game in the United States for the year 1996.{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970606030526/http://www.next-generation.com/news/022697a.chtml | url=http://www.next-generation.com:80/news/022697a.chtml | title=1996 PC Best Sellers | archive-date=1997-06-06 | date=February 26, 1997 | author=Staff | work=Next Generation | url-status=dead | access-date=2018-09-24 }} According to Sierra On-Line, its sales surpassed 250,000 copies by the end of March 1996.{{cite report | date = March 31, 1996 | title = Sierra On-Line Form 10-K |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416004925/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/724991/0000891020-96-000721.txt | url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/724991/0000891020-96-000721.txt | archive-date=April 16, 2018 | location=Bellevue, Washington | pages=7–9 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|https://web.archive.org/web/19980214053026/http://sierra.com:80/titles/3dupb/bot.html}} (archived)
- {{moby game|id=/935}}
{{portal|Video games}}
{{Dynamix}}
Category:Cancelled Sega Saturn games
Category:Sierra Entertainment games
Category:Single-player video games