Review Date: December 29, 2010
Developer: Wildsnake Software
Publisher: Wildsnake Software
Platform: Browser
Genre: Pinball
If you mashed together pinball and foosball, you'd get something that looks a lot like Online Pinball Soccer Stars. The browser game mixes the two styles of play into a game with a very intriguing premise and a nice twist on the regular pinball formula. But as good as that premise is, it doesn't matter when the game has such poor physics.
Pinball, Meet Soccer
Unlike traditional pinball, in Online Pinball Soccer Stars there are two holes where the ball can disappear, with one located at opposite ends of the table. And unlike traditional pinball, you have an opponent. You'll be playing against a computer controlled player and the goal, just like in soccer, is to get the ball into the net at their end of the table. To further mimic the beautiful game, Online Pinball Soccer Stars gives you six flippers to use, as opposed to the usual two. This gives the game even more of a soccer vibe as the flippers feel like players scattered across a field.
And that's about it. There's no high scoring, instead the first player to score five goals wins. Aside from the two nets and the dozen flippers, the only other notable part of the table are the four bumpers located directly in the middle. It's a standard table with no frills, but it suits the concept of soccer pinball quite well.
So it's too bad that the game features absolutely horrible physics. The ball moves at a terribly fast pace, making it almost impossible to accurately gauge your shots. It just doesn't feel right. And worse still, the ball will frequently stick to flippers as if it was magnetized. The ball simply doesn't move naturally, which really undermines the rest of the game.
The Bottom Line
With a bit more work, Online Pinball Soccer Stars could've been something very interesting and unique. But as it stands, it's a really great concept but a fatally flawed execution. It's still playable, but the floaty and sticky physics don't resemble real world pinball in the slightest, making this a tough game to recommend.