Flipper Critters

Rating ESRB: Everyone Genre action Publisher Ignition Entertainment External Links Official Nintendo Website

Welcome to the world of elite multi-leveled pinball action, where classic Pinball and cute cuddly creatures combine to make one hell of a game. Flipper Critters places the player in a fantasy world where they must lead an overly cute team of animal friends in a series of small objectives that connect to one overarching quest

However Flipper Critters is not so easily defined as just an adventure game because it is primarily played as a pinball game or even sometimes a shooter. Players advance the single player game by completing mini objectives in different places in the world in order to advance their character's quest. To complete these objectives the game makes players hit certain elements of the map with the ball. Each part of the land is divided up into different pinball tables; each with different mini parts of your quest to unlock, making it so that there is some skill beyond just whacking the ball needed.

Players will use the touch screen to influence the course of the pinball game. Touchable elements on the map will include objects like ramps, which players could tap and flip so that they can launch a ball up onto higher parts of the map. Sometimes players might have to touch things in a certain order in order to clear a certain path for the ball. This element could add subtle strategies to the game that make the pinball much more skill based and fun.

In between pinball areas there are various mini games that the player will also engage in. From what's been made available it appears that players will often engage in a 1942 / Captain Skyhawk-esque overhead shooter while they travel between different parts of the pinball landscape. While this will undoubtedly break up the action, it remains to be seen how well they manage to pull this off in a game where the emphasis is pinball.

One of the most promising features of this title is the absolute push of the graphics card. A full 3-D world is everywhere in this game. Both top and bottom screens are used almost like a Metroid Prime Hunters or Final Fantasy III type game. The graphics would make a girl squeal and a guy want to puke while still loving this Banjo Kazooie-looking game. Lets face it, this game rocks! Also added was a multi-card multi-player function, which I sadly did not get to try since I only had the one copy.

While Flipper Critters has all the potential to provide lots of fast enjoyment (after all, it is a pinball game), it remains to be seen if the adventure aspect of it will be compelling enough to make the player desire to play pinball over and over again. My 13-year-old sister loves the game. I myself say its good, but I’m more of an RPG guy. But I must say if you have kids who own a DS or maybe even are a pinball fan at heart, check this game out. It’s well worth the money.