If Pinball be the food of love, play on. Iain Laskey plays with his silver balls.

Pinball Fantasies is another of the increasing flow of 3rd party games for the Jaguar. A familiar game to owners of other systems, how does the Jaguar version shape up?

Pinball Fantasies on the Jaguar has been uprated with 32,000 colours and user customisation producing what is claimed to be the best version yet.

There are four different tables each with a very distinct flavour and style of play. Up to 8 players can compete at once which can make for great fun when you have a bunch of friends playing together.

The gameplay is generally good. Most of the tables are great fun and very addictive. The action does seem a little slow to begin with but Pinball Fantasies is more about precision play than speed. However, some of the more obscure combinations of events needed to achieve bonuses are so convoluted as to be impossible to achieve through anything other than pure luck. Stones and Bones is by far the easiest in this department and is probably the best one to start with.

The graphics are very colourful with nice detailing. Some tables look realistically ‘used’ with dented tracks and rust marks.

The main tunes are fine to start with but soon start to get repetitive. Luckily they can be switched off leaving just the sound effects which are excellently varied and clear.

The whole game is bright and breezy and should provide hours of fun for all but the most jaded gamers. If you like pinball type games, Pinball Fantasies will not disappoint you.

Product Name:    Pinball Fantasies
Publisher:            21st Century Entertainment
Telephone:           01235 xxxxxx
RRP:                    £44.99

Pros:     Four very different tables. Good audio effects. Addictive.
Cons:    Music rather grating after a while, Some bonuses are more luck than skill
Score     8