Customer Reviews

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The Gottlieb collection, having already been released on a number of other systems for several years, is now available on the Wii. The Wii version of this game does have good controls and similar game play as The Williams Collection but it's not without its problems. Overall The Gottlieb Collection for Wii does not serve as a fitting sequel to the terrific Williams Collection.

Initially I found the graphics to be very unacceptable in comparison to The Williams Collection. Turning off "Table Reflections" in the options menu does generally improve the readability of the table and the graphics overall. But they still suffer from a fair amount of jagginess and pixelization. The graphics lack of clarity is more of an issue on some of the tables, where smaller details are lost and gameplay suffers. This can be compounded by a camera view that is too far pulled back on some of the older, smaller tables. This is in stark comparison to The Williams Collection which has much better graphics and clarity on every table. This issue is obviously a result of the game being porting from older systems without much consideration being given to updating the graphics.

Overall this game is average. The Wii controls implementation is good but does not have the same tight exact feel as found on The Williams Collection.

Conclusion
If you are looking for a pinball game for the Wii and don't already have Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection get that instead.

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of this game, and while I think it's a very good pinball simulation, it falls short of the Williams Collection. Part of the reason, is that the graphics are not as good as the Williams Collection, and the other part of the reason, is not really the software's fault. It's that the machines themselves are just not as fun to play. I'm a pinball junkie from way back, and in my opinion, Gottlieb pinball machines were never on the same par as Bally's & Williams machines. The flippers always felt sluggish, the ball never moved as fast, and the table designs were usually not as intricate & exciting. Overall, I'm glad there is another decent pinball game for Wii, but if you're just a casual pinball fan, and only want one pinball game, I'd definitely choose The Williams Collection. Now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Bally's Collection.

UPDATE 1/23/10:

I emailed Crave regarding possible future Pinball Hall of Fame titles, and was informed that they are interested in releasing additional titles, and are in the process of procuring other licenses.

I was looking forward to the Gotlieb collection after spending many hours playing the Williams collection. To get any enjoyment out of the game you must first turn off the annoying table reflection. The game plays similar to the Williams collection but the tables just aren't as much fun. Very disappointing so if you want a fun pinball game go with the Williams collection.

I've paid top dollar for 4 other games that are rated with 4+ stars, but this game, by a long shot, is the best value for my dollar. I've only had it for 1 night, and if I had paid a quarter for each time I played a machine in the game, I would have already gotten my money's worth. It's that awesome!
This collection does feel different from the Williams collection, but if you've ever played a Williams machine and Gottleib machine after, you'd know the difference between the two collections is authentic; Williams' machines play differently that Gottleib's machines.
The best part of this game, to me, is that some of the machines you get to play are extremely rare, which make this simulator one of the only places in the world that you can or could have ever, played their machines.
The 2nd best thing about this game and the other Pinball Hall of Fame game: Anyone can play it and have fun!

In response to the first reviewer, I am not sure if this is a sequel, or a prequel. The Gottlieb collection has been released on several other systems previously, including GameCube. It is the GameCube version I am comparing the Wii version to.

Pinball Hall of Fame - The Williams Collection was / is an awesome game and very well thought out in terms of graphics, camera views, and table goals. However, the Gottlieb collection is not so well thought out and seems to be merely re-coded for the Wii.

The table goals are truly simplistic, one goal per table in the Gotllieb collection. The Williams collection has 5 regular goals per table, and when those goals were completed, there were 5 Wizaerd Goals to complete. This makes the game much more challenging. In comparison, the one goal per table is not really too difficult to achieve.

However, I still love this game, and it is miles ahead of the GameCube version. Control using the Wii remote and nunchuck is a lot more accurate. It was pretty difficult to accurately aim, and get power to the ball using the GameCube controllers - the force to propel the ball from the flippers just was not there, and aim was off in the Gamecube version.

The Wii version of this game brings the power back to the flippers and the accuracy necessary to enjoy the games. The lack of goals to complete actually helps me enjoy the games more and not worry about beating goals. However, the goals still need to be made in order to unlock free play on other tables, as well as turning off the tilt and using custom balls.

The games really are a lot of fun, especially now that the flippers actually do something. There is a great assortment of tables here from 1957 to 1995. I am huge fan of Electro-Magbetical games of the 70s, of which there is 1 table - Big Shot. I really love this game and it was my favorite on the Gamecube version of this game. But - now that I can get the ball to the top of the table and aim more acurately, I think I have to say the Genie is now my favorite in this collection.

Almost all of the games are enjoyable in this collection. The games included are as follows:

Play Boy (193?) It's from the 30's and not too much fun
Ace High (1957)
Central Park (1966)
Big Shot (1974)
Genie (1979)
Black Hole (1981)
Goin' Nuts (1983) This game was actually never released and is a lot of fun
El Dorado City of Gold (1984)
Victory (1987)
Tee'd Off (1993)
Strikes 'n Spares (1995)

There's also a Zoltar machine and a Love Meter, neither of which appeal to me.

Again, the majority of these games are fun, and challening on their own. The unreleased Goin' Nuts is a perfect example. It's a bit different than traditional pinball in that you don't actually shoot a ball and the game runs on a timer. Three balls are shot out and you must play the three balls and try to collect extra seconds to add to your timer. There are no outlanes, just the drain down the middle. When you lose 2 balls, you play single ball mode and the object is to return to multiball mode before your time runs out. It's really frantic, and you can play for a long time. It's a lot of fun.

As in the William's Collection, the Gottlieb collection provides spoken / visual detailed instructions of each table, whcih explains the major goals to shoot for and different ways to score. This is a valuable resource to learn the games.

As I said earlier, some options are unlockable, and it might have been nice if they detailed how to unlock the options in each table. So far, with the goals I have reached I have unlocked free play on a few tables. The bookley says there are other unlocable options and hidden items, but gives no clues as to what or how. The booklet also says you learn unlock codes to unlock crtain features. You can buy unlock codes for 100 credits. In case you are wondering, the Gamecube codes do NOT work in the Wii vrsion.

The locked options on all tables are TILT mode and Custom ball. The options that can be changed out of the box are 3 /5 ball game, Music volume, game volume, rumble and table reflections. I guess I just have to keep playing to figre out how to unlock the other features.

Overall, I'll sy it again. I love this game. There might be a bit of negativety here, which is why I only gave this 4 stars instead of 5, but it will not change the fact that this game is a lot of fun. If you like pinball like I do, I reccommend this highly.

The main reason why this game doesn't seem as fun as the Williams version of this game is just that for most people, especially the casual pinball player, Williams games were easier and just more fun to play. Half of the Gottlieb games in this group, mostly older games, are a giant luckfest. Pull the handle, watch the ball go down the outside pocket. Insert another virtual quarter. The other half of the games have some insane requirements like skill shots in certain a order only. Very difficult. Personally I avoided Gottlieb games when I was growing up and only bought this game to see if my advanced age would give me increased patience for them. Nope! Adjectives like 'historic' and 'classic' are used to describe these tables. Classic in the way of an Edsel, maybe.

One nice thing that Gottlieb has that Williams doesn't is the ability to switch from 3 to 5 balls. I hated having only 3 balls available in Williams games since most merchants were generous enough to give us five balls a game. Gottlieb fans will not be disappointed with this virtual recreation, though, especially the skill-shot games like "Big Shot" but I still don't understand why anyone would like it or "Central Park" unless they were serious players because they're are some of the toughest games to play.

Another thing, someone complained about the way the ball looked. I agree it's a dumb idea not to have the standard ball but I suppose the creators figured it was a bonus to be worked off. Another new feature about this game is you can use the credits you've earned to buy special options like custom balls, turning the tilt on and off, etc. Each special code could be purchased with 100 credit increments. Unfortunately even the custom balls don't seem to include the reflective silver which is really disappointing.

Finally, turning off table reflections is a must in the options so you can see what you're doing. Also, the table views have changed. Be aware the 1 button switches between smart cam and full view cam only, while the number 2 button switches between smart cam 1-4 or full table cam 1-4 if I recall correctly. Whatever the case, camera views are different than the Williams game in that respect so be aware.

** Spoiler alert **
Enter the code 'CKF' in the codes section in 'Options' for custom balls.
Enter the code 'BZZ' to turn on/off tilt so you'll be able to slam the tables around.
The remaining codes simply unlock the various tables so they don't cost credits to play. Of course you shouldn't need these codes as this you will also be able to unlock other tables once you meet the table goals of each game you play. You should be able to do that, right?

Hope the review helped.

This game could have been great. And it is very enjoyable, especially if you havn't played the earlier released Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection. I have to admit that from what I read here I was prepared for graphics not up to the Williams game. But that said, I was still disappointed in the Gottlieb's. El Dorado is so badly pictured that it hurts my eyes to even play it. On the other hand, Genie and Goin' Nuts are presented very well and are addictive pinball games. I bought this collection primarily for Goin' Nuts and Stikes 'n' Spares, and it is worth the purchase for these games alone plus Genie. Black Hole was never a favorite of mine and I find it rather boring. So, overall, I agree that if you want just ONE pinball game for the Wii, the Williams Collection is the one to buy (Taxi and Fun House are hard to beat). But, the Gottlieb Collection of excellent (and sometimes unusual) pinball is very worth the low price this collection commands as long as you don't expect too much from the graphics on one or two of the games. Let's hope that Crave creates a Bally Collection of pinball games but takes the time to engineer it as well they did the Williams Collection.

If you are a pinball fan, the Wii "Hall of Fame" collections can't be beat. The biggest difference between Wii and other video systems' pinball games is the "nudge" feature - you can use the Wii controllers to nudge the machine, just like a regular machine, and influence the movement of the ball. You can also tilt the machine if you're not careful.

The Gottlieb Collection, like the Williams Collection before it, faithfully recreates the look of the machines and gives information on the history of each machine and instructions on how to maximize your score. The Gottlieb Collection also features some fun and goofy old-time arcade machines, including the Love Meter and the Fortune Teller.

That being said, the Gottlieb Collection is not as much fun as the Williams Collection simply because the Gottlieb machines themselves are not as much fun, at least for me. Some of these machines are really old - from the '50s and '60s - and don't have as many bells and whistles (literally)as the machines created in the '80s and '90s. A couple of the games are great - Black Hole is my favorite. Most of the featured machines have multiple flippers, a couple have multiple levels, but many are of the type and era of "Jive Time" on the Williams Collection (although even Jive Time has a cool Wheel of Fortune feature). Play on these old machines can be a little slow as there's basically only targets and bumpers, and with some it's quite difficult to keep the ball in play for extended periods.

I think if you are a fan of arcade pinball, this is a good game to add to your collection. If have limited experience with arcade machines, the Williams Collection might be the better one to start with. But either way, the Wii "Collection" series are far superior to most electronic pinball games.

I played pinball games growing up in the 1960's and 1970's, but never mastered them, I was a casual player. I initially purchased the Williams Collection and avoided the Gottlieb Collection based on other people's reviews. While I agree that the Williams Collection games are better graphically, the games on Gottlieb are more varied and as equally as much fun to play. They include non-traditional pinball games such as bowling and a card game as well as other novelty devices found in arcades (Love Meter and Zoltan). In addition, I liked the fact that some games required more than one credit per game making me appreciate the credits I earned as I had to decide which games to use my quarters on in my younger arcade days. For under $20, this game is well worth it. If you enjoy pinball, I recommend getting both Williams and Gottlieb.

I haven't played a real pinball machine for many many years and I remember when all pinball games were 5 cents for five balls. When I saw that a decent pinball game was available for the Wii (which was purchased primarily for my grand children) I couldn't resist buying the Williams collection. Wow, back to the old days but with no need for those hard earned or often stolen nickels. I just purchased the Gottlieb collection a few days ago and actually prefer it to the Williams collection. In short most of the games are easier to beat and being able to play all the tables with five balls really appeals to me. I don't feel that the graphics are really all that great on either the Williams or the Gottlieb collection but that may be due more to the somewhat lesser graphics capability of the Wii versus other game consoles. I highly reccommend either collection for anyone with even a casual interest in pinball. For what it's worth, cheat codes for the Wii Gottlieb collection are available on [...]. I haven't tried these as yet so they may only work for the UK version of the Wii Gottlieb collection.