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Category: Games
Seller: Gameprom
Requirements: iPhone OS 2.1 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod Touch
File Size: 6.6MB

What is it?

It’s pinball. With a western theme. Isn’t that obvious?

How does it work?

It works like a pinball machine, more or less. Slide your finger back on the plunger to put the ball into play, then tap the left and right side of your iPhone or iPod touch to activate the respective flippers. They’re quite responsive and easy to activate, but some camera issues still make gameplay tricky. More on that in the features section.

Shaking the iPhone will shake the table, but this behavior is a bit dicey. Sometimes, it didn’t register. Other the times, the table would shake when I didn’t want it to. Neither behavior is much of a problem, however, as “tilting” doesn’t factor too much into the basic gameplay.

Features

• Hi-res 3D Graphics The playfield looks great, although there’s a noticeable lack of lighting effects. More importantly, the animation renders beautifully at 40 fps. An annoying drawback, however, is that the ball often moves faster than the camera, meaning you’ll occasionally have to play the ball without actually seeing the ball.
• Online Ranking System: Compare your scores with other Wild West Pinball players online. Or, more specifically, with this Fix chap who currently holds 4 of the top 15 slots in the online score table. I salute you, Fix!
• Decent Physics: Flipper and bumper action is a bit too bouncy to feel realistic, but it still provides a solid, lively pinball experience.

App it Up Sum-Up

Although you’ve got a few pinball options on the iPhone, few currently look as good or play as well as Wild West Pinball. The board may be a bit empty of features and goals, and the lack of continuous audio makes it sound as if something’s broken internally, but this is still a solid pinball experience on the iPhone. Plus, it’s now free. Gameprom has decided to use this tactic to promote their upcoming release of The Deep Pinball, and Wild West Pinball is certainly good enough to have me looking forward to that.

Cost - Free
Worth the Money? - It’s free pinball. Of course it’s worth it.
Availability - Now, at the iTunes App Store