Pinball fans, Metroid fans, and gaming fans of all genre are encouraged to attend.

User Rating: 9.2 | Metroid Prime Pinball (w/Rumble Pak) DS
I've been a pinball fan for most of my gaming life, so it would stand to reason that I would take an interest in the first pinball game announced for my loveable Nintendo DS. Then I heard it was a Metroid theme... and quickly lost interest. Thoughts of "they'll screw it up", "milk the license", "sell out", etc went through my head and this one quickly dropped off my radar. Then the previews started to hit the Internet complete with gameplay footage and positive feedback. So I took a chance on launch day and haven't been disappointed for a single minnute.

The pinball gameplay is outstanding. The variety of the boards, fun factor of the board design, challenge of the layout, and (most importantly) the ball physics are all but perfect. Huge accomplishment that the developers nailed on the head.

The big question though was going to be how they'd pull off implementing the Metroid theme into this all and they delivered in earnest. The atmosphere is fantastic. Sites, sounds, and all from the Metroid universe are put to good use here. The biggest surprise here is just how well they managed the mission themes on these boards and how you travel from one zone to the next. These on board mini games of sorts (including the main boss battles) are executed quite well and really help to add a much welcomed layer to the pinball game.

I should also note that the rumble pack is a huge bonus to this game and isn't nearly as noisy as some of the other reviews I've read make it out to be. Plus you always have the choice of playing the game without it, but I haven't wanted to once since I began using it. That pack adds a lot to the overall experience.

The only drawback to the game is what would seem to be a shorter than desired "main game". While it didn't take too long get through through all of the boards (5-6 hours?) you do unlock a new mode and difficulty level to play through. I've yet to finish that second difficulty level and can't stop playing this game, both in mission and single table modes, to best my previous high scores. So while the short gameplay of other reviews do factor into things a bit here, the worries aren't as big of a concern because there is a lot of replay value here.

All in all this is a wonderful game that I would recommend to any DS owner. I would even go so far as to say this title is a system seller for all pinball lovers and/or Metroid fans. If nothing else, give this title a rental and you won't be disappointed. You'll be hard pressed to return it and will find yourself on your way to your local video game dealer.