I'm not just talking about the kind of pinball that comes with Windows (you know, the Space Cadet table), but actual pinball machines and pinball "sims" like the Farsight Pinball Hall of Fame collections and more recently, The Pinball Arcade. I've played about 4 or 5 tables for real and several via sims, and I find it as enjoyable as a good video game. Here are some of my favorite tables:
- Medieval Madness: One of the BEST Williams tables ever, hilarious soundbites ("They took our shrubbery!") and some interesting table mechanics.
- TX-Sector: Old Gottlieb table from the late 80s, "teleporting" ball mechanic, great music and sound.
- Black Knight 2000: Update of the Black Knight table with a FANTASTIC theme song (look it up, it's just awesome) and some Mortal Kombat guys did work on it too!
- Jack*Bot: Part of Williams' Pin*Bot series of tables, themed after a casino. Expect to see scores in the billions on your first ball if you're good!
- Stargate: Shoot the pyramid!
- Tommy: Based off the musical/movie, has a pretty nice rendition of the "Pinball Wizard" song and some cool features.
- Doctor Who: It's not based off the newer Who series, but that doesn't keep it from being fun. The multiball has you attacking Daleks for the jackpot!
I've been into Pinball since I was 9. Rollergames was the table that introduced me into it.
My local amusement park has a classic arcade with five pinball machines, so I still play real machines a few times a years. Three of the machines (High Speed, F-14 Tomcat, Spy Hunter) are in serious need of maintenance (score boards, solenoids, springs and light bulbs need to be replaced), while the other two (Cyclone, Whirl Wind) are in good shape.
I've played quite a few emulations over the years. Everything from PinMAME to TPA (The Pinball Arcade). Personally, when it comes to video game pinball and emulations, I prefer original content over emulations. Mainly because video games can offer so much more to pinball if done correctly. This is why I like the pinball tables from Zen Studios so much. They made the ball physics extremely realistic, while keeping the "basic" mechanics of pinball intact. At the same time, they created things that are impossible to do in a real pinball machine. I really like the moving figures, the unique concepts and the techniques that they created for the game.
Avatar: Rosette and Chrono from Chrono Crusade
Rollergames looks cool. I listened to a podcast with an interview with the designer, Steve Ritchie, a while back. He also made High Speed and its sequel table, The Getaway, which were both good tables as well.
It's a really fun table with very catchy music. It's a nice table to introduce someone to pinball to.
Avatar: Rosette and Chrono from Chrono Crusade