Kiss Pinball

• Release Date: April 25, 2001
• Genre: Traditional
• Style: 2D Pinball
• Similar Games: Crüe Ball: Heavy Metal Pinball (Sega Genesis), Super Pinball: Behind the Mask (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)

Game Description

Ace, Gene, Paul and Peter rock and roll your PlayStation with Kiss Pinball. Decorated by the familiar makeup-enhanced, cartoon-like mugs of the "hottest band in the world," the game features two tables: "Last Stop Oblivion" and "Netherworld." Four game modes are available: Novice, Regular, Arcade and Tournament.

The storyline for Kiss Pinball revolves around the band battling the Dark Lord and claiming the "Kissneth" as their own. Your objectives include getting past security to snag an autograph, lighting "PASS" to access backstage, collecting weapons, shooting a spinner to upgrade record sales, hitting the Statue of Liberty repeatedly to reveal the Destroyer Skull to start 3-ball, spelling "MAYHEM" to light video mode, collecting lost souls, discovering hidden power-ups, locking balls with Gene's tongue and much more.

Your perspective is directly above each table. You can see approximately one-third of the playfield at a time with the screen scrolling to follow the course of the ball. Each table has the standard two-flipper layout, with the ability to nudge the table up, left, and right to influence ball movement. But be careful not to "tilt" the machine!

Roots & Influences

This game is likely influenced by the real KISS pinball machine, which Bally released in 1979. The original lineup (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss) of the popular 1970s rock group KISS is featured prominently on both pinball tables. However, the music is generic rock -- there are no KISS tunes.

Review: Overall

When a videogame featuring rock stars, sports heroes, movie actors or other famous people is less than stellar, reviewers will often end their critique of the game with something to the effect of: "Only diehard fans and/or collectors of [insert name here] should purchase the game."

Well, with KISS Pinball, members of the KISS Army as well as videogame enthusiasts should avoid the game at any price. Part of Take Two Interactive's value series, the game's meager budget is as glaring as Ace Frehley's shiny silver makeup and costume. The graphics are no better than those of a 16-bit console, slowdown (when multi-ball is in play) and load times are horrendous, and there are only two tables, both of which are virtually unplayable.

The ball in this game bounces around so quickly and the flipper action is so clumsy that it is difficult to keep the ball in play for any length of time. Adding to this problem is the scrolling playfield, which makes it almost impossible to aim shots. Physics are unrealistic as the ball tends to bounce around the playfield in a herky-jerky manner. Each time the ball hits something, it emits one of two annoying "thunking" sounds that will get on your nerves in a hurry.

Aside from poor gameplay, the worst thing about KISS Pinball is the mind-boggling fact that it is completely lacking in actual KISS music. The guitar rock that is in the game is about as generic as it gets. Uninspired voice effects include the seemingly obligatory "Lets get ready to rumble" and a female voice panting "Yes" as though she is playing at something more than just pinball.

Even pinball wizards will be hard pressed to rack up or even want to rack up high scores in KISS Pinball. Because of poor design in all areas, it is prohibitively hard and not much fun at all to play.

Review: Enjoyment

It is hard to work the table to keep the ball in play, and the quickly scrolling tables will give you eyestrain and a headache. Save your ten dollars (original retail price) and spend it on something else, such as a KISS CD.

Review: Graphics

The flat, grainy graphics do not do KISS, a band famous for how they look, any justice.

Review: Sound

Where's the KISS music? Why are the sound effects so annoying?

Review: Replay Value

There are only two tables in the game. "Oblivion" is slightly better than "Netherworld" because it has more targets and it is easier to keep the ball in play. However, both games are horrible representations of console pinball. For a more realistic, more enjoyable pinball sim, try {*Pro Pinball} for the {!PlayStation} or {*Super Pinball: Behind the Mask} for the {!Super NES}.

Review: Documentation

The manual explains the controls and game modes, but not much else. Luckily, the game itself has onscreen instructions for combos, targets and such.

Production Credits