Monster's Pinball, as you would guess, is a pinball game for your Windows Phone that pays tribute to the what is described as the cult classic pinball games of the past. Nicely animated with simple controls, Monsters Pinball is more than just a typical pinball game.
You have experience levels, tasks, power-ups and online scoreboards. Monster's Pinball has over one hundred bonus items to unlock. Add two pinball tables into the mix and Monster's Pinball has plenty of gaming to it.
The main pages of Monster's Pinball are laid out in panorama fashion. The primary page is where you choose which table to compete on (Scarlet or Teal). Swiping to the right you will find pages listing your powerups, journal entries, two pages of challenges, and then two pages of high scores (one for each pinball table).
At the bottom of the game selection page there are three buttons. One to mute the sound, one to turn on your location services for the ads, and the third to access the help and about pages. The help pages are laid out nicely with instructions on game play as well as illustrated diagrams of each pinball table.
Primary game play is your typical game of pinball. You slide down on the right side of the table to launch your pinball and tap the right or left side of the table to activate the flippers. You can tilt or nudge the table by tilting the device this way and that. You can not tilt the game as you would a traditional pinball game.
Monster's Pinball has bumpers, gates, and spinners just like any other pinball game but you are also trying to encounter and defeat monsters. To encounter or activate a monster you need to send your pinball up the right loop three times and then send it into the encounter switch.
To battle a monster you run the pinball up the left loop three times and then hit the battle switch with your pinball. To defeat the monster you have to hit it six times with your pinball as it runs around the table. It all sounds a little complicated and I found it to be rather challenging to get the pinball to cooperate (but isn't that the case with every pinball game?).
I like the concept of having the games within the game that Monster's Pinball has. You can play it as a typical pinball game or you can try to battle the monsters and collect all the challenges. Graphically, the game is well presented but a little on the dark side. I guess if the game was too brightly colored it would defeat the monster mood.
All in all, Monster's Pinball is a fun game to have in your Windows Phone gaming library. There are two versions available, a free ad-supported version and a $1.29 ad-free version. My only complaint with the free version is that at times the ads that run across the top of the screen can obscure your view of the table.
You can find Monster's Pinball Free here and Monster's Pinball here at the Windows Phone Marketplace.
