Software:3-D Ultra NASCAR Pinball

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Short description: 1998 video game

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3-D Ultra NASCAR Pinball
North American box art
Developer(s)Dynamix
Publisher(s)Sierra Attractions
Series3-D Ultra Pinball
Platform(s)Windows, Mac OS
ReleaseDecember 1, 1998[1]
Genre(s)Pinball
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

3-D Ultra NASCAR Pinball is a 1998 pinball video game for Windows and Mac OS,[2] and the fourth game in 3-D Ultra Pinball series. It was released under the title 3-D Ultra Pinball: Turbo Racing in Europe.[3][4] The game uses an improved graphics engine first used in 3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrillride, which takes advantage of greater color depth and resolution up to 800x600 pixels.[3] The game includes multimedia information about four NASCAR tracks,[5] namely Bristol Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and Watkins Glen International Raceway;[6] but only includes a single Speedway table alongside Garage and Pit Stop tables.[5]

Gameplay

Up to four players play a virtual pinball simulation with a NASCAR theme.[6]

Players can play a full season of races racing as Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte or Bill Elliott. The choice of driver only affects some graphics, and some callouts by the in-game commentators.[3] Play begins on the Garage table in which the player uses a single ball to hit targets to improve their car for the race.[3] This is followed by a 60-second qualifying lap on the Speedway table which determines the players starting position in the race.[3][5] Four ramps on this table represent the four turns of the racetrack.[6] When the race begins, players have up to five balls or until a timer ends to finish the race. During a race players can start the Pit Stop table, to increase score and improve efficiency of their car.[6][4] The players finishing position in each race is tracked across an entire NASCAR season.

Development

The pit crew on the Pit Stop table were motion captured.[6]

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGW3/5[8]
IGN3/10[9]
PC Gamer (US)65/100
Gamezilla!79%[5]
Happy Puppy5/10[7]

Reception

The game was nominated for "PC Family Title of the Year" at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards organized by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.[10]

Game reviews were mixed; IGN found the game to be sub-par without attention to detail, with dated physics and graphics, though found the design of the table to be clever.[9]

The Chicago Tribune said the game does a good job of presenting the various stages of a race day, but that only die-hard NASCAR fans would enjoy it.[11]

Gamezilla! found a solidly-constructed fun game with crisp sounds that is entertaining for a modest price, although doesn't break any "significant ground" in gaming.[5]

HappyPuppy criticized the lack of depth.[7]

See also

  • NASCAR Racing

References

  1. ↑ "News Briefs". December 1, 1998. http://pc.ign.com/news/5920.html. 
  2. ↑ Jones, Art (July 1999). "MacHome Product Review- 3D Ultra NASCAR Pinball". http://database.machome.com/action.lasso?-database=reviews&-layout=search&-response=/reviews/detail.html&-recid=33923&-search. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Brence, Corwin (November 28, 2011). "Hardcore Gaming 101: 3-D Ultra Pinball". http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/3dultrapinball/3dultrapinball.htm. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "3-D Ultra Pinball: Turbo Racing Manual". https://archive.org/details/3D_Ultra_Pinball-_Turbo_Racing_-_Manual. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Houghton, Suzanne (April 21, 1999). "GameZilla Review of 3-D Ultra NASCAR Pinball". http://www.gamezilla.com/reviews/n/nascarpinball.asp. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Strecker, Candi (1998). "NASCAR turns, tilts and flips the tables". InterAction Magazine: 90-92. https://archive.org/details/InterAction_Magazine_Holiday_1998_1998_Sierra_On-Line_US/page/n93/mode/2up?. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Garcia, Pablo (October 2, 1999). "3D Ultra NASCAR Pinball Reviewed". http://www.happypuppy.com/win/reviews/3dultrapin1.html. 
  8. ↑ "Reviews". Computer Gaming World (177): 174. April 1999. https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_177/page/n177/mode/2up. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "3D Ultra NASCAR Pinball" (in en). 1999-01-28. https://www.ign.com/articles/1999/01/28/3d-ultra-nascar-pinball. 
  10. ↑ "Second Interactive Achievement Awards - Personal Computer". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. http://www.interactive.org/iaa/finalists_pc.html. 
  11. ↑ Kujawa, Kraig (1998-12-03). "NASCAR runs out of gas". Chicago Tribune: pp. 71. https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune/108804715/. 
  • 3-D Ultra NASCAR Pinball Demo on Archive.org
  • MobyGames

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