Ha….. You pay all that money for a "State of the Art" gaming console, and you end up playing Pinball. These words fell accusingly from my 16 year old son's lips, a veteran of the world of serious online gaming. Yep Pinball, Pinball FX for that matter, and it sure plays a mean Pinball. Pinball FX, an Xbox Live Arcade game, emulates the familiar flashing lights, trick shots, special combinations and the heart breaking fight against gravity of a real life Pinball table in the comfort of your own home on the Xbox 360.

The full game, at the cost of 800 MS points, gives the player a choice of three different themed tables, Speed Machine, Extreme and Agents, all based on the current trend of having two decks of play with a third flipper on the top deck to enhance scoring opportunities. The tables look sumptuous and real and you have the ability to change the table view in six different aspects to give either a closer look at the table or a follow the action type view. The game sounds as good as it looks, with all the expected whistles and bells howling when appropriate. Your score and other game information is displayed on a digital counter in the top left hand corner which is placed in a position that does not to detract from the actual gaming space. All three decks have a distinctive metallic "feel" and sound, and a very shiny reflective metal ball, that, as it rolls and spins on the table, can at times be mesmerizing.

Game play is simple, hey, it is pinball after all. Press the "A" button to place the ball in play and use the "LT and "RT" triggers to operate the flippers. This simplicity is where the game excels, the immersive realism will have you suspending belief and give you the feeling of playing an actual table, including all the frustration of not getting that stupid ball to go exactly where you want it to go and the peril of pushing things too far and tilting the machine. With patience and practice you will "learn" the tables and just where and when to hit the flipper to get the ball to hit that magic spot to unleash a scoring frenzy that will make you feel like a real Pinball Wizard.

Wonder how Xbox Live Arcade would implement multiplayer for this game? The thought of waiting and watching while three other players had their turn at the table leave you a little cold? Pinball FX multiplayer is about doing, not waiting. What Xbox Live Arcade has come up with is a very clever and effective idea, a race to a predefined score between you and up to three other online players. During a multiplayer session, you and your opponents Gamer Tags (or live video with Xbox Live Vision) will be displayed in a small window along the top of the screen. These windows are boarded in one of four colours that identify a player's progress during game play. Even though getting a huge score in single player mode is exciting, the multiplayer race to a target score concept is addictively compelling, the thrill of scoring quickly against your online opponents and watching your progress arrow slide toward the target score keeps you lining up again and again for "just one more game" before you go back to your favourite "real" game.

To conclude, a very entertaining release on Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox 360 has some amazing titles that can deliver you to some alternate universe and keeps you playing for hours on end, but sometimes you just want to have a bit of fun- quick, mindless, frustratingly good, old fashion fun, which Pinball FX delivers by the bumper.

Pinball FX looks good, it's simple and addictive, and you may just end up singing ¹"He's a pinball wizard, there has to be a twist, a pin ball wizard, got such a supple wrist":

I would give this game a bumping 8.5 / 10.

And yes, my son now cranks up the table just for a quick bash and to show the Old-man just how it should be done.

¹Pinball Wizard Lyrics
Artist (Band): The Who