Graphically, pinball games can be pretty limited. However, Capcom's done a pretty good job of keeping things fresh with Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball. There's a nice variety of background imagery and the visuals that are 'in-game' kept my interest as well.

The audio of Flipnic is pretty decent, too. There's nothing spectacular here, but the sound effects have most of the bells and whistles associated with pinball, and then some. The music is okay, too, but sometimes the game’s audio is almost laughable (in a fun, cheesy way) because of how some of the ‘cut scenes’ react when you accomplish something in the game.

Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball is a video pinball game, and as such, different people will have different opinions about it. On one hand, it's extremely hard to capture the feel of a mechanical pinball machine and put it onto a flat television screen with any degree of accuracy, in an effort to please hardcore fans. On the other hand, the limitations of arcade pinball can be thrown out because of the limitless possibilities of the digital domain. Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball does a nice job of merging the two.

As you play through the levels, there will inevitably be some you love and some you hate. And while I'm a bigger fan of mechanical pinball machines than of the video variety, I have to admit that I sometimes felt myself being sucked into the game with an addictive "I gotta have more" attitude. There were other times, however, that I actually felt that the game had gone too far, making me feel disconnected from the action.

The greatest thing about Flipnic isn't flipping the triggers all day long, but the reason for making those flippers move. There are actually goals associated with Flipnic, so each level will have many different accomplishments to attend to. And each level has different types of goals, including ones that need to be completed before the next level is unlocked. While most of the areas are laid out well, there are some sections (anyone want to play some Breakout?), that could almost be considered mini-games, which are a bit annoying to play through.

Flipnic has a very nice variety in its difficulty level, because some of the goals are quite easy to accomplish, while others are nearly impossible. It's the in-between goals that actually make Flipnic fun, and sometimes offer a good challenge. It's also these goals that can often be frustrating. In all, anyone can play Flipnic, but only hardcore players with a lot of time on their hands will likely complete every possible goal.

By its nature, pinball is a game with few buttons. Flipnic adds a couple of buttons, but is basically very simple to control. In addition to the two flipper buttons, you can also 'nudge' the game (but be careful not to tilt it!) to shake the ball up a bit, and you'll also be able to make the ball 'jump' to reach higher spots -- to grab coins that are floating above the surface (or track) your ball is on, for example.

Flipnic: Ultimate Pinball is a good game by video pinball standards, and fans of either video or mechanical pinball should give it a try. These type of games usually appeal to a niche audience, so a rental can sometimes be worth the money to see if it appeals to you. In all, Flipnic is a pretty good fantasy pinball simulation with a nice variety to keep things fresh. Oh, and it has the potential to be a bit addictive as well.