Although the tables are of the unlockable variety, the game does give you a short ‘trial’ to play the advanced ones before you do actually unlock them. It’s a nice way to give you a taste for what you’re missing.
Unfortunately, the tables get worse as you proceed. Biology is by far the best table, and each one gets progressively more frustrating. In Biology, one of the tasks is to climb a mountain with your ball. You’ll get the ball up by using flippers; however the right flippers are on the left hand side, so it can get very confusing. There is a color-coding system so you can tell which button you need to hit; however it is more of a puzzle than pinball skill – and it only gets worse.
In addition to the ‘original’ game, there are also some two player minigames that are very interesting. A foosball-like game, a basketball like game, and a pong like game round out the offerings. There’s really nothing to write home about with these games, but they can be fun diversions.
The graphics are rough. It looks very jagged in places and seems like a PS2 launch title. The drop targets and greenery look very anime-ish. The animated cut scenes look like someone just figured out how to make .avi movies. They are not impressive at all. The sound is also so-so. The pinball sound effects are fine, the background music is not.
There’s a reason why this game is $19.99. Quite simply it screams bargain bin. You could say it’s so bad, it could be a cult classic, but you’ll have to give it a few years. Otherwise, avoid it.