Game Review: Slamball (Commodore 64, Americana)

Slamball was first released in the USA by Synapse Software in 1984.  If that name sounds familiar, that is because they also released the likes of Blue Max, Fort Apocalypse and the conversion of the Sega arcade machine Zaxxon too.  Naturally, when Americana was launched in 1986, it made sense to bring over to the UK games which may not have made it across the pond before, and at a budget price of £2.99, which on the early releases, shows as a circle near the bottom right of the front cover.

Although looking at the screen shots would indicate a pinball game, the plot is hilarious, describing how a long-forgotten pinball machine sits in the corner of an amusement arcade against all the recent video arcade machines, and the plan is not to beat them but join them, by taking over one of the machines and being a video representation of pinball instead, with the named being referred to as Mr. Slamball.  Yes, really.  Enjoy this hi-tech version of a real thoroughbred, it says.  We will see, and loading is relatively quick with Novaload.

Ever Since I Was a Young Boy, I’ve Played the Silver Ball

Naturally, being a fan of pinball, this game did intrigue me back in the day, and revisiting it many years later, I was soon able to remember everything in play.  The title screen is fairly basic, with a nice little version of a Bach tune playing in the background.  You can press F3 to select whether you wish to have three or five balls, with the default being five.  You can also press F5 to select one or two players, but the two-player mode is not what you think it might be, and we will come to that.  Pressing F7 or the fire button will start the game.

The pinball table is approximately four screens high by one screen wide, and scrolls smoothly as the ball moves up and down the table.  Holding down pulls back the plunger, with up forward, and fire then releases the ball.  If at the right pullback, the ball will get released into the playing area.  At the bottom the score display notes your score, what multiplier you are at, the number of balls left, the level you are on, as well the number of targets to hit (represented by T here.)  The targets are the small circles and dotted around in groups around the table, with careful and accurate hitting required.  There are thirty-seven targets to hit, and if you hit them all, the level completes and you move on to the next one.

Feeling All the Bumpers, Always Playing Clean

As the ball moves around, with the ball having a black side and a white side with a smiley face on, the flippers are activated either by pressing left or right on the joystick for each flipper, or down to activate all the flippers together.  In the absence of any keyboard controls, I can see why it was done, but having the option for keys may have been an improvement. There are many larger targets with circles that score points, as well as bumpers which the ball rebounds off at considerable pace.  There are also floating bumpers that move around the table once you have hit a set of targets.  If you hit them before they disintegrate, then your multiplier goes up to 2x, 3x, 4x, and if you hit it again at this point, back to 1x and you need to build that up again, so well worth noting. In addition, the background colour of the table changes to recognise this as well as the background music.

The ball physics are generally reasonable enough, but they can sometimes result in the ball being “trapped” in one of the flippers until you actually use the flipper to release the ball.  I suspect with the pace of the game, this can happen.  The other physics issue to note is that the ball can rebound a little too quickly off some of the bumpers, and arc a path around the table down towards the drain lanes at the bottom, especially the bottom left side, without you being able to do too much about it in terms of reaction time.  However, there is a useful weapon at your disposal which you can use to counteract this.

Always Gets the Replay, Never Seen Him Fall

The tilt (or jostle as it refers to in the instructions) is your friend here.  Pressing fire and then moving the joystick left or right does tilt the ball in that direction, allowing you to change the arc of the ball towards a hard-to-get target, or indeed to try and avoid the ball going down the drain lanes.  You are supposed to be able to only use this in limited bursts, but I did find that I could use it as often as I needed as long as it was not too quick between the times, I activated it.  Certainly, this comes in very useful with one target left to get and to complete the level that you are on.

If you do get all thirty-seven targets and complete the level, you are awarded a bonus. This is increased if you have more balls remaining, and if you chose three balls instead of five when starting the game, that score multiplier increases too, so definitely the risk versus reward is prevalent here.  You also then start the next level with either the full three or five balls depending on what you chose in the title screen.  The remaining three levels are actually the same table layout as the first one – the only differences being that the colours change their schemes, and the fourth one is quite ugly, as well as the initial low background music increasing in pitch on each level.  If you do complete level four, which I did manage to do and score a huge score in the process, you then go back to level four for another attempt at it.

Down the Drain

If the ball does drain down the bottom, then there is a little animation showing the drain hole being pressed in by two little bumpers, squashing the ball and showing the face side crammed more in as it gets crushed more.  This is entertaining enough, but you cannot skip this and play the next ball straight away.  There is also no bonus score to be added when you lose the ball either, so no multiplier bonus or anything like that, reflecting perhaps its older origins. If you do lose all the balls, then it is game over and if you do get a high score, this is reflected on the title screen – there is no high score table as such.

Two player mode is a very different affair.  Player one in port two controls the flippers and launches the ball, and player two in port one controls the jostle function of the ball.  This does mean you can work together to be able to get a high score, and it is different, but would have perhaps been an option to have two players compete for a high score on consecutive turns.  Maybe it was a case that it would have been more difficult to track down the status of each of the table targets for two players and instead concentrate on the one table, but worthy of note in any case.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics on Slamball are reasonable for their age.  The table itself is well defined, with clear lanes, bumpers and flippers for the most part.  Only when the colour schemes change later in other levels does it look a little cluttered and confusing, but at least an attempt was made to add colour.  The change of background table colour with the multipliers is a good idea, and that gives you impetus to score well, with the small animation when you do lose the ball and it being crunched.  The music is straightforward enough with a classical piece on the title screen, and a background low tune, which changes with each multiplier to later include The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and In the Hall of the Mountain King later on as those increase.  It is a shame they are very quietly played, or given a volume control option, as this may have enhanced play.  The sound effects are also good, with effects for the ball hitting the bumpers, targets and being flipped.

Final Thoughts

Slamball may be showing its age a little now, but the promise of some fast-paced pinball action is mainly met.  The length of the table may be a little longer than most, but the flippers are generally responsive and allow some ball control.  Whilst the ball physics may sometimes behave oddly, the fact that the tilt (aka the jostle) can be used effectively to be able to get that last target and complete the level you were on.  Perhaps more attention could have been paid to the occasional ball being stuck in the flippers, but that can prove to be to your advantage.  The game plays well and with the nice change of background colour and music when you increase the multiplier, there is plenty to recommend it.  And when you do start, you may find that one more go factor is heavily in evidence, meaning a longer session of play then you might think.  Well worth it.

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