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Pinball fans would be crazy to pass up such a faithful recreation of some of the game’s best tables.

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams collection is about as faithful a recreation of classic pinball that you can find on a modern console. The game features ten classic tables from the glory days of the arcade, with plenty of replay value in the form of unlockable achievements.

The game features single player challenge and practice arcade modes, and multiplayer tournament (and single board) play. Arcade mode allows players to practice on the boards, learning the nuances and earning credits as they complete goals. This represents the meat of the single player game – players meet goals (such as hitting certain events or reaching high scores) in order to effectively “beat” the boards, earning credits and eventually unlocking new features.

Williams Challenge mode allows players to tackle the boards one at a time, playing to best the goal score each time. It starts out innocently enough, with a 100,000-point goal on Gorgar, but before long the challenge begins to really build. Unfortunately, beating challenge mode doesn’t really give the player much in terms of rewards. Players interested in unlocking the hidden tables and the gallery should stick to the arcade mode.

The game is simple, fun, and addictive, just as pinball should be. Each board has its own nuances, from Gorgar’s relatively simple set-up to the intricacies of Funhouse and Black Knight. As with any pinball title, learning the in’s and out’s of each table is 90% of the game.

The boards themselves are absolutely arcade perfect. Every detail, from Space Shuttle’s blast-off sound effects to Pinbot’s awesome flashing lights is presented in its full glory. And there’s an excellent variety representing the golden age of pinball machines from the late ‘70s to the early ‘90s. Going in chronological order, the tables include groovy Jive Time, the demonic (yet simple) Gorgar, slightly more advanced mechanics of Firepower, Black Knight and Sorcerer, the Retro-fantastic Space Shuttle and Pinbot, and the more complex Taxi, Whirlwind and Funhouse.

The presentation is simple and effective, if not exactly eye-popping. The interface is basic, setting the action in a virtual ‘80s style arcade. The controls are genius in their simplicity – the nunchuk stick controls the plunger, while the Z and B buttons control the left and right flippers, respectively. Developer FarSight was wise to include the Wii’s motion controls subtly, allowing players to “nudge” the board by flicking the nunchuk and Wii-mote. It works beautifully, and complements the intelligent, dynamic camera perfectly.

If the game has any shortcomings, it is this simplicity. Some gamers will find the bare-bones presentation a bit boring and may wish for a few more classic tables (Williams or not, I know I wanted to play a little Adam’s family pinball, and Williams’ own Star Trek: The Next Generation is sorely missed). However, this is perfectly in keeping with the budget price ($29.99 on the Wii) and the scope of the title. It’s clear that FarSight set out to do a retro pinball game right, and they’ve performed admirably.

Overall, this game is a must-buy for collectors or retro game fans. Pinball fans would be crazy to pass up such a faithful recreation of some of the game’s best tables, and gamers looking for a simple, addictive title on a budget could do far worse.