Balls of Steel

Requested Refund. Posted in the game forum and no response within over a twenty four hour period. Noticed others have asked questions left unanswered. The screen on the games is far too small and the graphics options are literally none existent. Sorry but with a tight threshold of refund or keep and await a fix my own impressions are it shall be ignored. Now I own many Atari games that are on Steam and do enjoy them. Alas this lack of responding to reasonable questions by us the consumer is surely an expectation! Yet no such urgency is forthcoming and so I have made my stand by refunding. On ultra wide screens the game field is just too small. Literally nothing can be done to change it and seemingly no communication answered, I am left with no choice but to leave a negative review. ADDED: The devs have replied and you can read that below in the comments I've allowed. IF you have a 1080 monitor or such then I see no reason why this game won't play well. So in that case go for it! I'm too old now nearing sixty to be petty. It seemed to play very well indeed. I just have an ultra wide and I had expected graphical options to play a modern version without the need to down resolution. So, If you have a 1080p monitor then I suspect this game is great. The price in THAT CASE IS GREAT AND WELL WORTH IT.

The tables are all very good, first class classic 2D PC pinball of timeless appeal. I encountered no strange performance issues (unlike with some other recent Atari titles I have played). Many issues mentioned in negative reviews have already been explicitly fixed by a recent patch. There may be some missing features that were present in prior releases, but they are not sorely missed if you have never played, or forgotten about this title for the past 30 years; there are also two (charming if unexceptional) new tables, and considerable effort has clearly been put in on the backend to make the originals run smoothly in a modern context. This isn't a high-brow museum remaster, and in some ways it may be a disappointment to some die-hard fans, but it's also $9 (I got it for $4). For perspective: the original 1997 license would cost about $50 in inflation adjusted dollars today. I think $9 is fair given the quality of the tables and the development effort expended here, keeping in mind they are paying for the IP as well (whereas the 2014 release was available only briefly and delisted for alleged breach of contract with IP holders). I think proper respect was shown to the source material, and I would happily buy new DLC tables, even if they were mediocre. I like the franchise and think it could certainly be revived profitably. P.S. I don't really understand why people still complain about the lack of superfluous in-game key mapping when Steam has a built-in controller abstraction layer for exactly this reason, or you can use any open source input mapper you want. I found a user template for this game (not a popular one) that addressed all my issues in about 10 seconds. Making your own template doesn't take much longer.

Bei zu hoher Punktzahl stürzt das spiel regelmäßig ab Bugfix nicht in Sicht Schade, war im Original mein Lieblingsflipper

I read the other reviews, I could forgive removing the Duke Nukem table, and I didn't really care about the new tables. But it simply didn't run on my current PC (which is nice for a port of a 20 year old game). It would randomly lag, making it barely playable. I got my 30 minutes of nostalgia, then got refunded.

Pinball with Atari flare. I'm in

The interface to choose what table you play doesn't support controller. The new Atari tables are all fullscreen with no option to make them scroll like the original tables. I had the ball get stuck on one table with nothing to do but quit. No seperate button for plunger. No achievements. Feels rushed and not setup to be controller friendly.

I only picked up this game for nostalgia and the new tables of Centipede and Missile Command (and on sale). I recommend the same for anyone else. Otherwise, most people will be disappointed with this. Modern pinball games on pc are much better. I like Atari games but I expected more from them with the addition of the new tables but it's the old game with 2 new tables that play as the other tables do but look a little better. If you like old pinball games that play and look as they did back in the day, this games for you. If you're looking to be impressed and have played modern pinball games on PC, this will be a disappointment.

Bon jeu de flipper des années 90. Je le possédais dans ces années là, et je retrouve les sensations. Super !

Balls of Steel (Steam Edition) Balls of Steel is back — and it’s still one of the best digital pinball games ever made. First released in 1997, it delivers five original tables, each with their own missions, voices, and personality. The Steam edition runs smoothly on modern systems, and to my surprise, works flawlessly on Arch Linux through Proton. The physics hold up incredibly well: the ball has weight, shots feel intentional, and multiball is pure chaos in the best way. The sound design and music capture the 90s arcade vibe perfectly, making it both nostalgic and still genuinely fun to play. One important note: the iconic Duke Nukem table is not included in this version, likely due to licensing. It’s a shame, since Duke was a fan favorite, but the four tables here are still excellent. Pros: Four unique, well-designed tables Responsive, satisfying physics Classic 90s sound and style Runs perfectly on Linux (Arch + Proton tested) Cons: No Duke Nukem table Graphics are dated, but that’s part of the retro charm Overall: Still one of the best pinball sims out there. I only miss hearing “Come get some!” while hitting multiball.

Atari and pinball are 2 of my favourite things. Seeing a Centipede and Missile Command pinball, I decided to get it. I've never played the original Balls of Steel, so this is my first experience with it. Comparing it with recent/modern pinball sims, this one's physics aren't the greatest, but seeing as this is a rerelease(?) of a game from the 90s, I'm willing to give it some leeway, as the physics aren't that bad once you get used to it. So far I've played 3 tables: Centipede, Missile Command, and Firestorm. I found myself super hooked on Firestorm, with Missile Command coming in second. It's a great choice for the new tables of Centipede and MC to have the full table visible, as I was always bothered by the scrolling aspect of some pinball games where you can't see everything at all times, although it's not so bad here. Missile Command has some good gameplay mixed with cool aesthetics, whereas Centipede's table seems a little more bland, although the graphical work is great there. It's got the 90s pinball features of various modes, with some games featuring video modes, so a 90s pinball fan would find themselves right at home, although it does lack the flashing lights. It's becoming one of my favourite games rn for the Firestorm and Missile Command tables. I find the lack of a 3-ball setting a bit annoying though (it seems you can only play at 5 balls). One more thing I wanted to mention is that I wish the "mission start" intense music would play throughout the mission rather than changing to a more casual track, which feels kinda less appropriate.