Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball

Reviewed by Victor Araujo
September 23, 2005

Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Publisher: Capcom Consoles Available: PS2 Number of Players: 1-2 ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) Website: Click Here

Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball delivers a unique style of pinball by breaking away from the conventional formula. Instead of trying to recreate a real pinball table, Flipnic offers multi-tiered tables that are almost maze-like in structure. Each table carries its own unique theme, ranging from a lush tropical rain forest to an UFO infested industrial setting. Along with mirrored versions of the tables and pinball style boss battles, Flipnic offers a surprising amount of variety. The gameplay is fast-paced and simple, but the last two tables don't flow as well as the first two. The game sports nice visuals along with flashy video sequences for achieving various goals. While I liked the retro-Vegas quirkiness, you will be seeing the video sequences too often. Players are not able to skip them and they seem ill placed amongst a frantic multi-ball session. A nice compilation of sounds bring the game to life, with the music only blemished by a few repetitive tunes.

The game modes offered include Original mode and Free Play with adjustable difficulty levels and Two-Player matches. Original mode progresses through each table accomplishing various missions, such as destroying UFOs. Successful completion of missions on one table grants you access to the next. In addition, all the tables are accessible in Free Play without having to unlock them. Free Play is the mode geared towards the high score junkie while Score Attack and Time Attack each keep its own ranking board. The Two-Player game types are a nice distraction but won't pull you away from the main game. It's nice to see the creativity behind the match types, but the true competition comes from ranking on the score boards.

Flipnic offers an enjoyable experience for those who prefer their video pinball with a little more flair. This budget title (at $20) offers a surprising amount of polish and creativity. Unfortunately only two of the four tables offered are really worth repeated play. If you're into pinball games and don't take them too seriously, I recommend giving Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball a go.

Thanks to its unique take on Video Pinball not found in other pinball games, Flipnic earns a medium Evolution Factor. Adding some more pinball tables would have gone a long way in adding to the replay factor. With a bit more refinement I'd love to see what the developers could do with Flipnic a second time around.

Screenshots (Click image to enlarge) :