Pro Pinball: The Web
{{Short description|1996 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Pro Pinball: The Web
| image = Pro Pinball - The Web Coverart.png
| developer = Cunning Developments
| publisher = {{vgrelease|EU|Empire Interactive|NA|Interplay Productions}}
| platforms = PlayStation, MS-DOS, Windows 9x, Sega Saturn, Macintosh (Mac OS 9 or earlier)
| series = Pro Pinball
| released = PlayStation
{{vgrelease|EU|July 1996|NA|30 September 1996}}PC
{{vgrelease|NA|25 October 1996{{Cite web |date=1997-02-27 |title=Online Gaming Review |url=http://www.ogr.com/news/news1096.html |access-date=2023-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970227065725/http://www.ogr.com/news/news1096.html |archive-date=1997-02-27 }}}}Sega Saturn
{{vgrelease|EU|August 1996|NA|31 October 1996{{Cite web |date=1997-06-06 |title=Pro Pinball |url=http://www.sega-saturn.com/saturn/software/propinball.htm |access-date=2023-11-15 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970606060655/http://www.sega-saturn.com/saturn/software/propinball.htm |archive-date=1997-06-06 }}}}
| genre = Action
| modes = Single-player, multiplayer
}}
Pro Pinball: The Web (Pro Pinball in North America) is a pinball simulation video game developed by Cunning Developments for PlayStation, MS-DOS, Windows 95 and Sega Saturn. It is the first game in the Pro Pinball series.
Background
Pro Pinball: The Web uses graphics pre-rendered from an intricate 3D model.{{cite web|url=http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name?app_id=3327|title=Compatibility - Pro Pinball: The Web - CodeWeavers|publisher=www.codeweavers.com|accessdate=2010-11-29}} Consequently, the game had superior graphical capabilities to other popular pinball games of the time, while playing at full speed on MS-DOS. The Web supports screen resolutions up to 1024x768 with 32,768 colours, and features Red Book CD-DA audio tracks.{{cite web|url=http://www.empire.co.uk/propinball/theweb/techspec.htm|title=Pro Pinball - The Web - Technical Specifications|accessdate=2010-11-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990501123634/http://www.empire.co.uk/propinball/theweb/techspec.htm |archive-date=1999-05-01}}
Gameplay
Pro Pinball: The Web is a pinball simulation in which players operate a virtual pinball table. Players can score extra points by making combos, i.e. performing a move twice in a row.{{cite magazine|title=Pro Pinball: Weaving a New Kind of Pinball |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=88 |publisher=Ziff Davis|date=November 1996 |page=232}} Hitting targets at the far end of the table activates the game's missions, in which the player must hit lighted ramps or bumpers to score bonus points. Completing a mission results in a huge point bonus.
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| GSpot = 5/10 (PS1)
7.4/10 (PC)
| rev2 = Sega Saturn Magazine
| Allgame = {{rating|4.5|5}} (SAT){{Cite web |last=Ottoson |first=Joe |title=Pro Pinball (Sega Saturn) Review |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=7758&tab=review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116093241/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=7758&tab=review |archive-date=November 16, 2014 |access-date=July 18, 2022 |website=Allgame}}
{{rating|3|5}} (PS1){{Cite web |last=Brett Alan Weiss |title=Pro Pinball (PlayStation) Review |url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=2241&tab=review |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116060952/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=2241&tab=review |archive-date=November 16, 2014 |access-date=July 18, 2022 |website=Allgame}}
}}
The PlayStation and Saturn versions received mixed reviews. While critics praised the realistic pinball graphics and physics and the wide variety of scoring opportunities, they criticized the voice samples and the absence of a directly overhead view. Some also concluded that with only one table, the game would get old very quickly, though Next Generation remarked, "While many developers have tried to wow gamers with multiple tables, Empire went the other way - giving the player one table, but doing it right."{{cite magazine|title=Pro Pinball |magazine=Next Generation|issue=26 |publisher=Imagine Media |date=February 1997|pages=122, 124}} Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot concluded that it "is a convincing simulation of pinball, but it falls short when compared to other video pinball games."{{cite web|last=Gerstmann|first=Jeff |author-link=Jeff Gerstmann|title=Pro Pinball: The Web Review|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pro-pinball-review/1900-2548973/|website=GameSpot|accessdate=15 November 2017|date=December 1, 1996}} Rob Allsetter of Sega Saturn Magazine assessed that "All in all, this is a decent enough interpretation of the game itself, let down only by the exclusion of different table to variate the action a little",{{cite magazine|last=Allsetter |first=Rob |title=Review: Pro Pinball The Web|magazine=Sega Saturn Magazine|issue=10 |publisher=Emap International Limited |date=August 1996|pages=86–87}} and Dan Hsu of Electronic Gaming Monthly said, "It's a great board, but it'll get old real quick."{{cite magazine|title=Review Crew: Pro Pinball|magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly|issue=88 |publisher=Ziff Davis |date=November 1996|page=80}}
Reviewing the PC version, Tim Soete highly praised the game's realism and summarized that "its high-resolution graphics and true table physics combine to make it one of the most immersive pinball titles out there."{{cite web |first=Tim|last=Soete |title=Pro Pinball: The Web Review|url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pro-pinball-the-web-review/1900-2545910/|website=GameSpot|accessdate=15 November 2017 |date=September 26, 1996}}
The Web was named the 64th best computer game ever by PC Gamer UK in 1997. The editors wrote, "Nothing else has quite come close [...] to Pro Pinball{{'}}s utterly convincing physics and slick presentation."{{cite magazine |author1=Flynn, James |author2=Owen, Steve |author3=Pierce, Matthew |author4=Davis, Jonathan |author5=Longhurst, Richard | magazine=PC Gamer UK | title=The PC Gamer Top 100 |date=July 1997 | issue=45 | pages=51–83 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{MobyGames|id=/pro-pinball-the-web}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/19990508173112/http://www.empire.co.uk/propinball/theweb/ Pro Pinball - The Web (Wayback Machine)]
{{Pro Pinball series}}
Category:Cunning Developments games
Category:Empire Interactive games
Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games
Category:PlayStation (console) games