Ever since I was a young boy,
I've played the silver ball.
From Soho down to Brighton
I must have played them all.
But I ain't seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall...
That deaf dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball !
-The Who's "Tommy"

Back in the day, arcades had no videogames. That's right, a typical arcade had pool tables, darts, and Pinball. Sadly Pinball games are rather hard to find these days, and the last American Pinball maker recently closed its doors. Astroll feels your pain, so they released American Arcade, a game recreating many tables from the 60's and 70's. Despite its name, American Arcade will likely never be released outside of Japan, so if you want it, you'll have to import it. Is it worth it? I'll let you know.

As I mentioned before, this game concentrates on bringing classic pinball action to the Playstation2. Those of you looking for more machines like Jurassic Park, The Twilight Zone, and The Adams Family are out of luck, cause it's all old school here. After entering your name on a California license plate, you are taken to the main menu, where you can choose from three options. Free Play lets you play the two tables initially available, or practice on the ones you have unlocked. Challenge mode is where the meat of the gameplay is. You are given 50 credits to unlock all 10 tables. To unlock tables you must beat a certain score, which varies from table to table. In the "Extra" mode, Astroll has thrown in a game of billiards. That's right, you can shoot some pool if you are tired of playing the silver ball. The pool mode has a fair amount of options, and plays pretty well, but it's still a pool game, so I didn't get too excited about it.

When I played my first game on the "Western Sheriff" table I was informed that I would need 31,500 points to advance. "No problem" I thought to myself, knowing that a score of 150 million on my favorite game "Jurassic Park" is usually what it takes to get a free game. What I forgot to account for was inflation. Not only are today's prices inflated, but apparently so are our scoring systems. I watched in horror as my ball bounced from target to target accumulating only ten points at a time. Fortunately I pulled my self together and started to clear some tables, and I rolled through: Surf King, Mars Patrol, Special Lanes, Fun Circus, and several others. As I opened up each new table I found that each was slightly more intricate, and more modern than the previous one. I really enjoyed seeing the new technology that was utilized on the newer tables, and it left me wanting more tables to unlock.

The game plays fairly realistically, and Astroll took some time to add some nice touches that help complete the experience. My favorite was being able to use the right analog stick to control the plunger (The thing that shoots the ball into play). By pulling the stick back, and releasing it, the ball would be shot into play. Even though it didn't work sometimes, it was a nice touch. The L1 and R1 buttons control the flippers, and unfortunately there is no analog support here. Controlling the flippers is the most integral part of pinball, and I'm disappointed that the developer didn't take the time to add this feature. The other buttons, and the left analog stick control the camera, but the default view is the most conducive to playing, so I didn't use those very often.

I suppose this argument could hold true for any game, but it is imperative for a pinball simulator to have excellent physics. If I wanted to play a game with seemingly no gravity, and unrealistic ball movement, I'd go dust of my Apple IIe computer and have a go at its pinball game. The physics in American Arcade are a mixed bag due to the inconsistent way the ball reacts. It only seemed to happen on certain tables, but sometimes the ball would just speed up for no apparent reason. I'd get the ball moving around nicely, get a bounce off one of the bumpers, and then all hell would break loose. The ball would streak around the table in frenzy, like the Worlds Fattest Man at an all you can eat dinner. The flippers seemed a bit sluggish, making it difficult to strike targets with accuracy. Being the proud owner of "Magic Circle" a circa 1970 pinball machine, I know that the old machines are not quite as precise as today's models, but they aren't as bad as this game makes them feel.

If you play a lot of pinball, you know how frustrating it can be. This is one area where this title is just like the real thing. Nothing is more frustrating than watching your last ball slip away, just a few hundred points shy of your goal. Unfortunately for yours truly, this was a common occurrence in my quest to beat the game. The collection of games here is much more difficult than most of the pinball titles previously available for home consoles. It seemed like the difficulty varied from player to player, as it was not uncommon for me to score 80,000 with player 1, and 4,000 with player 2. This made the game seem a bit unbalanced, and this problem was the cause of most of my frustration.

The graphics presented here are fairly good, and easily get the job done. The tables are nicely and accurately depicted, and they offer a high level of detail when you examine them closely. Even the instruction cards are present and legible if you take the time to inspect them. After comparing what I saw in the game, to some early screenshots released I was disappointed with the look of the ball. In the pre-release pictures it was extremely shiny, with what appeared to be real time reflections on it. This level of detail was nowhere to be found in the actual game, and the silver ball, looks dull and gray.

The sounds of American Arcade need to be divided into two different categories: Music, and sound effects. The tables sound very nice, and there were many different table sounds present. It didn't seem like each table had unique sounds, but some definitely sounded different than others. The targets, bumpers, and buttons each sounded like they were supposed to, and did a nice job of creating the illusion of playing a real table.

The background music that played throughout the game made me want to glue my ears shut. Even though the tables are supposed to be from the 60's and 70's, much of the music sounds like it was from the 50's. After playing a few rounds I wanted to put on a Cashmere sweater, pick up my steady girl, and head on down to the Malt Shop for a swell time. I understand what Astroll was trying to do here, and it just doesn't work. Most of the songs sound the same, and they don't fit the game in any way, shape, or form. If you do choose to play this game, turn off the music, and hum to yourself.

Since this is such a niche title I'll try to sum up this title for two groups of people. The large collection of tables, and the high replay value make this an excellent buy for pinball fans. However, the number of small problems keep this title from becoming a must have. Those of you who only play pinball when there is a long line for Tekken should stay away, because this title is most likely too slow paced for you.