Pro Pinball: Big Race USA

1998

platform

Microsoft Windows , MS-DOS , Mac OS , PlayStation

genre

Pinball

Game mode

Single player or 2-4 players (one after the other)

Age rating

USK

Pro Big Race USA is a computer game released in 1998 , it contains a pinball table . It was developed by Cunning Development and published by Empire Interactive . It is the third game in the Pro Pinball series .

Game theme

Basic principle

The player is in the role of a taxi that wants to take part in a car race in San Francisco and therefore travels from New York to San Francisco. There are also two game modes, At the City and On the Road .

Normal game modes

These are the modes that are normally available without the player having to unlock them in any special way.

At the city

Here the player is in the city. Before he can drive out of the city, he has to solve a mission, it does not have to be successful, but if it is successful, he gets a so-called Big Race Booster , which when he arrives in San Francisco , he gets during the race helps. In addition, when he has passed a ramp three times, a flap opens and a model car sits underneath. If he tries to hit the ramp, the ball is sunk in the hole below and a challenge with the car begins; if successful, a Big Race Booster beckons here too. In addition, if the player has previously activated it, he can put balls in a taxi in the upper right corner. If he reaches his destination, the so-called passenger frenzy is triggered, a multiball with 2-4 balls. The aim is to hit all the ramps and then the taxi, the player is rewarded with a jackpot of up to 25 million points, the ramps before each bring 5 million points. As soon as the player has completed the mission, he can "drive out of town" by hitting a target; he switches to On the Road mode .

On the road

In this mode, the player is "on the street", practically on a country road that brings him to the next town. He sees the general overview in the middle of the playing field, there is a map showing where he is going. By meeting certain targets such as B. the slingshots the goal is changed, unless he has explicitly set his goal in the city by buying a card. The player must reduce the distance from himself to the next city by hitting the targets, if this is zero miles, he can switch to At the City mode by hitting a target . On the street, however, he can also activate several modes, if enabled, e.g. B. the so-called Police Chase Frenzy , where the player has a chase with a police car, which he can control by hitting targets with the ball. In addition, if activated, he can also activate the video mode, if he successfully completes it, he also gets to the next city, i.e. comes back to the At the City modes .

Special modes

In addition to the normal modes, there are also others that have to be specially activated, and the player e.g. B. enable a strong increase in the number of points.

Passenger frenzy

Passenger Frenzy is a mode that the player can activate in the city, which allows him to multiball 2-4 balls. Completing the Super Jackpot (only possible with 4 balls) brings the player a fragment that is required for the Very Big Race .

Police Chase Frenzy

Another goal that you need to achieve the Very Big Race , a multiball with 3 balls, the goal that brings you the jackpot is to hit four times.

Video fashion

The video mode can allow the player to go straight to the next city, or even to get an extra ball, it consists in this game that the taxi is on the street, it can be steered to the right and left, and The goal is to push as many cars as possible off the road without being pushed by them yourself. After the first ten cars comes the particularly stubborn police car. If you manage to do that, you can get an extra ball according to the same principle: You have to push the symbol off the road.

Special features of the pinball machine

Unlike the other pinball machines in the Pro Pinball series, there is a kind of second score here, the taxi can earn money. There is also a so-called head to head mode, in which two players can duel online. The server is no longer accessible for this, but you can still play the mode against a computer. In contrast to the predecessor Timeshock! however, if it has additional options, B. adjust the angle of the table or the strength of the flipper. In addition, there are also graphical innovations at Big Race USA. B. changed the texture of the ball, so you can now see how the ball rotates. There is also the option of hitting the ball against the virtual pinball glass, although there is no visible effect, but a suitable sound can be heard.

Airbag

The airbag is also new , if it is activated, it lifts itself out of the playing field, and prevents the ball between the two pinball machines from going out of play, provided that they are not up. However, the ball can be lost at any time via the outlanes.

Head to head

The head to head challenge is a special form of these pinball machines, it was playable online (the servers were switched off), but can still be played against the computer. It is completely separated from the normal game, where two players fight a duel. So z. B. In all three rounds different targets are hit, there are three states, which are represented by colored arrows. Yellow means neutral, red means that the opponent (who is not visible) has hit the target, and green means that you have hit the target yourself. Each green arrow gives you points, each red arrow to the opponent. In order to win a red arrow for yourself, you have to hit the target twice, first to "neutralize", then to win it over.

Special game elements

The pinball machine also has special game elements that normal pinball machines do not normally contain, but that can only be found in this pinball machine.

MagnoCharger

The MagnoCharger is a function that, if activated, makes shooting a ramp a lot easier, because when the function is triggered, a magnet simply pulls the ball up the steep and otherwise difficult-to-reach ramp.

Open the trunk

The Open the Trunk function is a facility on the playing field that enables the player, if he meets it, to consider whether he would like a previously known number of dollars (not real ones, but these are added up on the taximeter on the playing field ), or whether he wants to open the "trunk", i.e. the trunk of the car. In that case it contains various "winnings", e.g. B. a number of points, dollars, or a multiball.

Web links

Pro Pinball: Big Race USA at MobyGames (English)
Information on Big Race USA , accessed January 6, 2014