Crüe Ball: Heavy Metal Pinball

• Release Date: 1992
• Genre: Traditional
• Style: 2D Pinball
• Similar Games: Virtual Pinball (Sega Genesis)

Game Description

Endorsed by heavy metal hair band Mötley Crüe, Crüe Ball: Heavy Metal Pinball features instrumental versions of three of the band's most popular songs: Dr. Feel Good, Home Sweet Home and Live Wire. Despite their involvement with the project, the members of Motley Crüe never make an appearance in the game.

This vertical scrolling pinball simulation is composed of nine similarly designed volumes (levels) of play, each with bumpers, gates, spinners, bunkers, ramps, bonus multipliers and more. Each volume consists of an upper screen, a middle screen, and a lower screen.

In addition to shooting for targets and other staples of the pinball genre, you must kill skeletons, maggots, killer clowns and other heavy metal monsters. Your most formidable battles may be against Craig, who is "Keeper of the Wall." In each level, the Wall, which stands between you and the Volume Knob, must be torn down in order to "Crank it Up" (advance to the next level).

After cranking it up to level nine, you must face Mr. Gore, the spirit of ANTI-METAL. To win the game, you must shoot the ball into Gore's mouth three times.

Roots & Influences

This game is a distant relative of the 1970s arcade pinball game based on the rock group KISS. Crüe Ball: Heavy Metal Pinball is an official licensed product of Mötley Crüe Production Partnership.

At the time of the game's release, the band consisted of lead singer Vince Neil, drummer Tommy Lee, guitarist Nikki Sixx and bassist Mick Mars. Band mascot Alister Fiend is featured on the cover of the box.

Review: Overall

Produced with full authorization of the raunchy heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, who were immensely popular in the mid-1980s, Crüe Ball: Heavy Metal Pinball is an irreverent pinball game that will alienate purists, but please gamers simply wanting a good time. With floating enemies such as slimy green head maggots, sandal-wearing skulls and Beethoven Dude statuettes, this isn't exactly textbook pinball, but it is fun in a horror movie kind of way.

Crüe Ball: Heavy Metal Pinball boasts nine levels of action, but the levels are entirely too similar to one another. The table layout and flipper placement are basically the same. The instruction booklet boasts that the designers of the game have programmed many real pinball machines in the past. With this kind of experience, you'd think that they could've created at least two or three completely different level designs. On a positive note, the game does have bonus rounds.

Despite the similarities among the levels, you'll enjoy the raucous pinball action. The multi-leveled playfield scrolls smoothly and without defect, the monsters are a nice addition to the standard bumpers and targets, and the ball rolls with smooth realism. Also, it's fun and effective to tilt the machine all you want without getting penalized.

Fans of Bally's Kiss pinball machine will probably like this game, but metal heads impressed with the appearance of Aerosmith in Revolution X for the Genesis will be disappointed. Revolution X actually features Steven Tyler's likeness (along with the rest of the band) and his voice. The Mötley Crüe songs in Crüe Ball: Heavy Metal Pinball are merely voiceless videogame versions. The songs sound pretty good for what they are, but there's no comparison between games. In Crüe Ball's defense, it makes a better pinball game than Revolution X does a first-person shooter.

Review: Enjoyment

This game has plenty of flipper action and lots of things for the ball to hit.

Review: Graphics

The assortment of creatures are creepy and humorous at the same time, and the playfield is filled with blinking lights and lots of detail.

Review: Sound

The sound effects create a cool pinball ambiance. However, the Mötley Crüe tunes are merely adequate; it's a shame Vince Neil's vocals are absent.

Review: Replay Value

The levels are too similar.

Review: Documentation

The instruction booklet gives plenty of information about the designers, levels and bad guys. However, a {$Crüe} mini-bio would've been nice.

Production Credits