Pinball: Just one fix...
Although we’re still waiting on that pesky Xbox LIVE game to go…well live, we have something else to keep you gamers happy: Pinball League’s Dr. Pickaxe. If that name sounds familiar it’s because there’s a previous pinball game by the same company, Tainicom, called Pinball League - The Juggler. This game just hit the Windows Phone Store and we’re in love.
First off, we should note that we’re huge pinball fans. Pinball FX2 on Xbox 360 is our illicit drug of choice and we’re dying to get it on Windows Phone (see our interview with the developer for news on that front). In the meantime, Dr. Pickaxe is fullfilling our deepest wizard desires by offering a solid sequel to their previous effort.
Check out our quick video review after the break...
The game is actually much better than the Juggler because it has “more stuff” to do in it. By that we mean the board is more complicated with more ramps, bumpers and even a mini-game within the game ala FX2. That extra part is huge in our books as it keeps the game fresh. Although the main board is the same, there are multiple mini-boards within in that you can unlock as you progress along. Anyone who’s played Pinball FX2 knows how addictive those can be and they really keep us challenged.
The game features an all new physics board, solid music, global leaderboards and “stackable bonuses”. Oh and did we mention the fantastic graphics? It handled well on our 1.5GHz CPU in our Titan II but we can’t vouch for 1st gen devices with lower specs—in that case, try the trial first. (Tip: For the Titan II, we found it stuttered with the ‘HTC enhanced sound’ turned off in System Settings—which was odd. Turning it on actually made the gameplay smoother).
The many mini-boards within Dr Pickaxe
The game is priced at an introductory 99 cents for its first week. That means you’ll want to try the trial before it’s bumped up (probably to $1.49 or $1.99). We think it’s a steal and probably one of the more well done indie games on Windows Phone, not to mention one of the only pinball ones out there.
Edit: There does seem to be a bug whereby the game asks you to purchase the game even though you already have. The developer should have a fix relatively soon.
Pick up Pinball League - Dr Pickaxe here in the Windows Phone Store.
