Fastlane Pinball


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Fastlane Pinball is the latest game from Framework Studios. Fastlane Pinball is a fun-filled, action-packed, lightning-fast pinball game. Once you've seen the stunning graphics you'll wonder how you ever did without this gem in your pinball collection.

You play Michael James Smith who carries the burden of knowing how and when the world will come to an end. The vision you had was so clear, it just could not be read in any other way than the world’s demise.

So what do you do?

You get up from your couch, drag yourself to the nearest bar and start playing a great game of pinball -- Fastlane Pinball that is! Cause hey, you couldn’t be bothered by all the things you know, right? You just wanna clear your mind with a good old fashioned game of pinball!

Featuring a real-time 3D physics model and advanced 3D graphics, "Fastlane Pinball" delivers arcade satisfaction unlike any other pinball sim. Players can test their reflexes on the flippers in "Fastlane Pinball" as firetrails, explosions, close-up camera action, split-screen views and old-school display games are thrust onscreen.

Challenging missions like Subway Blowout, Jailbreak, and Monorail Maze give players a chance to pack pizzas for a buck, race police cars during a highway chase, or try one's luck on the slot machines. Players can also use combo shots to send pinball scores through the roof.

"Fastlane Pinball" offers network play via a unique ghostballing feature that allows players to compete head-to-head.

Features

- Ball missions with combo shots: Monorail Maze, Multiball, Jailbreak, Casino, etc.
- Display missions like Pizza Packing, Hit the Slots and Highway Chase
- Realistic 3D physics simulation, location-based reflections, dynamic shadows, bumpmapping and environment-mapping effects
- Metal sparks, fire trails, speedballs and explosions viewed through multiple camera angles
- Single-player includes ghost-balling options
- Turn-based, one-on-one play over a LAN
- Online high score tournaments and support at the game’s official site

Reviews:

"If you’re looking to get your pinball fix without having to scour the local bars and arcades with a pocket full of quarters, then you should take a look at Fastlane Pinball by Merscom. Fastlane Pinball does offer a lot of features and extras at an affordable price" 3.5/5 DMN Forums

Our Review

Isn't This Just Pinball?

Submitted by DrJ on Wed, 2007-01-03 22:24.

In my boyhood, the only place I remember seeing pinball machines was in cramped corners of bowling alleys and a little annex of a skating rink. The machines didn’t take tokens. You were allowed to play five steel balls for a quarter and I never saw anyone win a free game by matching or anything else. There were grooves in the boards and, sometimes, the flippers were so sticky that they would barely nudge the balls rather than sending them rebounding back for mega-points.

I blame those worn-out pinball machines of my youth (and the fact that I could never afford to spend more than one quarter (if that) on a pinball experience) on the fact that I am a horrible pinball player. I can dance to Tommy’s “Pinball Wizard” better than I can play pinball and I’m not a very good dancer. But, I can’t blame my inadequacy on Fastlane Pinball from Frameworks Studios/Merscom). In fact, my septuagenarian father humiliated me at the game when we played via hot seat.

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Player Reviews

User Reviews
7
out of 10
Review

I just downloaded the 60 minute demo and played it for awhile and here's my review:

Graphics: 9/10
Simply put, the graphics are first class. The only thing that stopped me from giving this a 10, is the (understandably) low details on the background and a few pixalated textures. Also the reflections on the ball looked slightly weird to me.

Sound & music: 7/10
The sound effects are just as you'd imagine them to be in a pinball game. All the *chunks* and *thumbs* sound realistic. The music consists mostly of a slightly jarring drum&bass beat. This goes pretty well with a fast-paced game like this one and the lack of real melody makes it a pretty good background music. At least it wont get boring after a while.

Gameplay: 6/10
To put it bluntly, I've played better tables that this one. Theres some combos and 'missions' to be done, but not many. Also, there seems to be only one table. The online scores are a good addition to this game, tho.

Overall: 7/10
This is a good pinball game, make no mistake. Fastlane pinball left me wanting for more and its seems that the demo itself is not enough to satisfy all my pinball needs. To be honest with you, I dont know what extras you get when you buy this game, but I hope theres lots. In that case, Fastlane pinball would definately be worth spending your hard earned $9.99.


by t3h on Sat, 2006-08-26 10:04

Voice of the Masses

Fastlane Pinball

Missing DirectX file and a workaround

t3h
minipost Posted: Submitted by t3h on Sat, 2006-08-26 09:19.
t3h's picture
Posts: 9
Newbie

Helloes, people.

I just downloaded this game and as I tried to run it, I got an error message saying that I was missing a Direct3D DLL file. With some googling, I found a workaround for this. Apparently theres some files missing from the usual DX install (I have the latest, naturally). Heres a quote from the website I found the files from:

"When I tried to distribute some trial copies of my 3D engine to my friends there has been a problem because their installations were missing some DirectX 9 eXtension library files. After some hours of browsing the internet and studying the license agreements of Microsoft's DirectX I found a possible workaround. Just distribute the matching distribution of DirectX 9 with my application. But hmmm... These files are 30-40 megabytes big. To big to pack to every small exe. I also found out that there are much more people out there facing this problem and some solutions on the problem."

The website can be found from ThreeLights.de. Heres a direct link to the .zip file.

Hope this helps.

________________
Samuli "t3h" Ulmanen
Lead designer / Fierce Talon
Vermin Entertainment

 
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