Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection

I remember the pinball machines lining the walls of the arcade. With a few exceptions, that's all you used 2 find at the arcade. Then, they started getting crowded out by Pong, Death Race, Space Invaders, PacMan, & their many descendants. To keep up, pinball started innovating, & arguably no one was better at it than Williams. Here you have the first talking pinball machine (GORGAR), the first multi-level playing field (Black Knight), & the first modern multiball machine (Firepower). Williams continued 2 pull out all the stops 2 vie 4 customers' quarters. Latter day machines like TAXI, Whirlwhind, & Fun House seemed 2 realize the dream of the ultimate Rube Goldberg machine, with more gimmicks than your eye can take in at once.

The Williams Collection has done an awesome job of simulating all of these classic pinball machines. I've played each of these tables over the last twenty-odd years, & the authenticity of these recreations is breathtaking. From the obvious, like the gleaming steel of the ramps & flashing bonus lights, 2 nuances like the sound of the ball rolling across an open table, Crave has captured a lot of sensory detail.

The "feel" of the game is the best I've ever seen in pinball simulations going back 2 the late 1980s. Gravity is realistic, table nudging is invited, & best of all, nothing _ever_ breaks. I give it five stars. Those not interested in pinball might not be as enthusiastic, but as a simulation, this is spot on. I would welcome any similar future releases from Crave.

While the Williams' line of pinball tables were probably not my favorite overall, this game does do a good job of recreating their more famous tables. Ball & table physics could be slightly improved but the game plays well overall on the PS2 & a fair range of tables 2 keep you amused.

This game is very good. The simulation is excellent, I would give it 5 stars if it emulated the tables at 100%. For example in Black Knight there are some events that are not emulated, when activating multiball, in the real table, the Black Knight spoke some words & all the lights went out, in this game, there is no speech neither the lights go out. Those are the only complaints I have about it, 4 the rest this is a very good emulation.

Being a big fan of arcade & home simulation pinball, I was really looking forward 2 The Williams Collection.

However, my expectations were not quite matched. For starters, I just didn't really like the look of the tables. I wished they had used digitized images of the tables rather than using polygons.

Secondly, the feel of the tables is a bit too off 4 me. I much prefer the physics of the Pro-Pinball series. Lastly, I was dissapionted not 2 see Mars Attack, Monsters, & few others on this collection.

Otherwise, It was nice 2 have 8 tables & multiple views of each table. I also enjoyed the sound effects.

Because of the lack of any pinball simulations on the market, I'll still recommend this title. Nice 2 relive some arcade memories & also enjoyable as a multiplayer game.

One of the best games I've ever played & the best pinball video game I have ever played! This game goes beyond the Gottlieb Collection, & I mean way beyond. The mechanics & physics are outstanding, so much, that at times it may feel better than real pinball.

You can adjust camara views, tilt, & the Williams tables are much more advanced & fun! This game should be awarded, that's how good it is.

8 Classic Williams pinball tables from the 70's, 80's & 90's 4 the Playstation 2. Gorgar, Pinbot, Funhouse, Black Knight, Space Shuttle, Whirlwind, Firepower & Taxi.