You might assume that the pinball genre would be a quick choice for facile transition to mobile, but it has proved quite difficult for developers to recapture the nuanced table physics and tactile response of the game. Wizard Pinball--Mforma's shot at mobilizing the venerable coin-op novelty--is a solid effort all the way around, featuring a number of interesting, fantasy-oriented gameplay twists.
Although Wizard Pinball features only one table, it is quite zippy. The ball rolls along at an energetic clip, caroming off various bouncing pads, scoring you points in the process. Occasionally you manage to send the ball sailing up one of three ramps. At the end of one, there's a ghoul head you can destroy. Another ramp just brings your ball around the perimeter of the table and back into play. The third ramp, when used, lights up one of the letters of the word "spells." When all the letters are lit, your ball mutates and wins you bonus points. This is the game's signature move.
Wizard Pinball's greatest weakness is probably its control. The 1 key controls your left flipper; the 3 key controls your right. Unfortunately, the 2 key had to be assigned as the button to activate both flippers because simultaneous button presses aren't possible on current Vision handsets. This is highly counterintuitive at first and will cost you more than a few games. After 10 minutes or so, though, your pinball instincts should adjust.
Even if it can't replace the pinball games of my Mac IIci days, Wizard Pinball is a welcome addition to the mobile arena. There's no arcade experience purer than a good game of pinball, and WP delivers. A couple more tables would have garnered it a higher score.
