Review by: the Dark Falcon

You'll be seeing a lot more good reviews from me within the next few days, as I'm about as worn out on bad games as Liz Taylor is on husbands. VF2, Sega Rally, Manx TT, the original World Series Baseball...I'll get 'em all written up over the next week or so, but, in the meantime, let me start with one of my all-time favorites, a pinball game from Kaze (the creators of Super Pinball: Behind the Mask for SNES).

The game is Last Gladiators Digital Pinball, and it takes video pinball up to the next level. We all know how video pinball's history goes, right? Well, I'll do a small step back in time and give you the lowdown. First, there was overhead view games, like Midnight Magic on the 2600 and Rollerball on the NES (my brother-in-law still owns that one- remains a favorite of mine also). Then came Rare's NES translations of Pinbot and High Speed, which represented video pinball the way it should've been to begin with- from a 3/4 perspective that gives you a 3-D look at the table, almost as if you're looking at a real pinball table. Well, years later, the trend would continue on the SNES, both in ridiculous overhead view (Pinball Dreams is about as much fun as judging Weight Watchers candidates in a swimsuit category) and 3/4 perspective view (Kaze's Super Pinball). Now, here we are on 32-bit, and here we go with the review...

Last Gladiators features four different tables, each with their own LED screen and innovative table designs, with plenty of ramps and skill shots to be found. But it's the themes of each of these games that really caught my eye. You've got Gladiators, a Greek-themed game where a coliseum is featured right there on the table, and warriors scream out stuff like, "We who are about to die salute you!" (Personally, if I was them, I'd yell out, "Screw that, I'm off to the Bahamas!" But that's me...). Then there's Knight of the Roses, a knightly-themed table with a young Darth Vader-ish guy muttering, "ENTER THE QUEST" with total vigor. Then we come toa samurai pinball (YES!!!) known as Dragon Showdown, which features legendary warriors going, "Be ready for battle... big conquer!" as you play through. Finally, my favorite of the four, Warlock, which has a darkly displayed look to it and some of the coolest voices in any game, with warlock's voice bellowing out usual warlock stuff like "Prepare to die!!" (well, what else are warlocks supposed to say, "I'm off to get a carton of milk?!").

As you can tell, the game features a lot of dedicated voice on each table, but it also contains some of the best music ever to be implimented into a pinball table, most notably on the Warlock table, where, after the multiball round, you hear the best orchestrated hellish tune ever composed. It really does kick, believe it or not.

The gameplay on Last Gladiators is very balanced, just like Pro Pinball's was. The ball never loses its weight in physics and never takes a life of its own. It acts like, well, real pinball. That's the way it should be done, and, amazingly, Time Warner and Kaze got both the feel of the game down and multiple tables to boot. Well done, I say.

And the look on each table is gorgeous, as each backglass and table has the design of beauty and grace, as if Kaze really wanted us to think these were real tables. Hell, they probably are, we just can't find 'em anywhere except Kaze's studios, I guess. But the variety of ramps, drop shots, skill shots, bumpers, and lit rounds on each table is great, leaving you a lot to shoot at and, in some cases, very little time.

So do I recommend Last Gladiators? YES, YES, HELL YES! As a total pinball freak, I cannot find a closer experience to the real thing than this game, as it delivers both the play you expect and the tables you'll have the desire to play over and over again. And the best part? It's an older Saturn title, one you can probably find for $15 in some spots. I recommend a purchase if you absolutely love pinball, and, even if you play it only like once a month with your family, I still recommend it as a rental. Pinball gets no better than this, folks. I give it a "flippy" 9 out of 10. Speaking of flippy, I may have just gone that way. Excuse me while I go tilt myself.