Patreon button  Steam curated reviews  Discord button  Facebook button  Twitter button 
3DS | PC | PS4 | PS5 | SWITCH | VITA | XB1 | XSX | All

3D Pinball: Space Cadet (PC) artwork

3D Pinball: Space Cadet (PC) review


"The best thing that Space Cadet Pinball has going for it is that it's free. All of its other features are done much better in commercial games."

Space Cadet Pinball is, as the name implies, a pinball game. The problem is, it's not a particularily good one. The lack of exciting pinball action negates the fact that it's completely free, and included with a lot of different versions of Windows.

Traditional pinball action rules the table in Space Cadet. VERY traditional. Meaning, only one game screen for the entire game type of traditional. This drastically cuts down on the replay value - nothing really changes, no matter how good you get.

Not that getting good matters. My ten year old sister routinely tools the game, and that's by constantly jamming on the flipper buttons. The center pit is not nearly wide enough, and the flippers are too strong to be used skillfully, even if you tried.

The actual point-scoring in the game is lackluster too. Nothing in the game results in an ear-shattering explosion with huge point totals and bright flashing lights. Anything over five hundred thousand is considered a good score. That is grossly out of whack with much more popular pinball games.

The scoring places are also in weird positions; bumpers are located only at the very top of the table, and in a secret ramp. Both are very insufficient, and far too hard to get into. Almost all of the point scoring therefore has to come from hitting ramps, which don't even do anything special. They just shoot the ball back at your flipper.

Graphically, Space Cadet Pinball is a bit darker than you'd like to see from a typical pinball table. Parts of the table are not illuminated enough. Lighting is critical for a pinball game - you need to be able to see the ball at all times.

The sounds are typical of a low-budget game. There's the expected bells and whistles, which are more annoying than exciting. There are only sound effects, and no main theme in the game. If you're going to play this game, I'd suggest running a CD instead of relying on the in-game sounds.

The best thing that Space Cadet Pinball has going for it is that it's free. All of its other features are done much better in commercial games. If you're a real pinball fan, cave in a buy a commercial game instead of settling for this free watered down version of pinball.



sgreenwell's avatar
Community review by sgreenwell (Date unavailable)

A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.

More Reviews by sgreenwell [+]
Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (SNES) artwork
Bulls vs. Blazers and the NBA Playoffs (SNES)

Bulls vs. Blazers sucked, sucks and will suck.
Gradius III (SNES) artwork
Gradius III (SNES)

An aspect commonly overlooked in classic gaming is how solitary the experience is. Like lonely teenagers in a basement, the heroes of Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog work in complete isolation. While they may be working to save the world, there is little representation of this in their respe...
.hack Part 4: Quarantine (PlayStation 2) artwork
.hack Part 4: Quarantine (PlayStation 2)

The .hack series has established itself as a guilty pleasure of roleplaying video games, akin to Sylvester Stallone and action movies or The OC and cheesy teen dramas. Despite repetitive button mashing and frustrating artificial intelligence, .hack remains entertaining because of a ruthlessly addi...

Feedback

If you enjoyed this 3D Pinball: Space Cadet review, you're encouraged to discuss it with the author and with other members of the site's community. If you don't already have an HonestGamers account, you can sign up for one in a snap. Thank you for reading!

You must be signed into an HonestGamers user account to leave feedback on this review.

User Help | Contact | Ethics | Sponsor Guide | Links

eXTReMe Tracker
© 1998 - 2024 HonestGamers
None of the material contained within this site may be reproduced in any conceivable fashion without permission from the author(s) of said material. This site is not sponsored or endorsed by Nintendo, Sega, Sony, Microsoft, or any other such party. 3D Pinball: Space Cadet is a registered trademark of its copyright holder. This site makes no claim to 3D Pinball: Space Cadet, its characters, screenshots, artwork, music, or any intellectual property contained within. Opinions expressed on this site do not necessarily represent the opinion of site staff or sponsors. Staff and freelance reviews are typically written based on time spent with a retail review copy or review key for the game that is provided by its publisher.