3D Ultra Pinball: Thrillride

It's amazing what you can do with a Gameboy. In the past, we've played darts, raced cars and bikes and popped balloons. This time it's a game of pinball that fits in your pocket. 3D Ultra Pinball: Thrillride is based on rides in a Pennsylvania amusement park, and the game comes with a built in rumble pak for real-time feedback. It's a lot of fun and natural to operate. Just flip the flippers with the left arrow and the A button and use them to keep the ball going for as long as possible. Skilled pinball players can use the other arrows and the B button to nudge the table during play.

Up to 4 people can play together, taking turns with the controls and competing for high score. There are 3 skill levels - Easy level gets 5 balls per game, Hard gets 3. The game has one main table and 10 fun mini (half size) tables, like Great Bear or River Rapids. As usual in pinball, the objective is to hit lots of different things on the table and win points. Use of Ramps, Loops, the Spinner, Scoops and Lanes triggers awards, special events and bonuses. Serious players can read the instruction booklet to find out how to trigger a sequence of events, gain access to Lights Out and a bonus multiball round (multiple balls in play for extra challenge).

3D Ultra Pinball: Thrillride can be enjoyed by anyone from about 6 years old to adults. Younger kids will simply play the Easy game, while older ones can try to stay the course at the Hard level till Lights Out. The rumble pack and the mini games add to the enjoyment. Given the relative size difference between a real pinball table and this emulation, it is amazingly like the real thing - though I did occasionally find it hard to track the ball when the main table scrolled. I used to think that Gameboy was only for kids but have found more and more games lately that adults can enjoy just as much. This title is one of them, a great addition to the collection for family fun!