Overall, Pinball Hall of Fame is a nice collection, as well as a history lesson in the world of gaming's past.
Pinball Hall of Fame usefully recreates eight games manufactured by Gottlieb, a company that made a hundreds of classic pinball machines throughout their history. They were the leaders of the industry along with other companies such as Bally. the collection features games from different time periods, ad holds as timeline of evolution in the pinball industry. You'll see games like the flipperless machine in Play-Boy (1932), pinball classics such as Big Shot (1974) and Ace High (1957), a great late-'70s wide-body table like Genie (1979), all the way to more modern tables like Victory (1987) and Teed-Off (1993). Each have their own styles, and are noticeable for their impact on the industry like for example: Black Hole which featured the first underlying table, complete with flippers, underneath the main pinball table.
Since Pinball Hall of Fame is an collection of simulation Pinball Machines, graphics, sound effects, and gameplay must be spot on to the machines. Luckily PHoF manages to hit it spot on. The physics of the ball and rendering the feel of playing the machine are very accurate. Through most of the ball moving is done with flippers you can also nudge the machine with the left analog stick...the only problem is that there isn't that much control of the tilt as you like, which is a must for a game like the challenging Central Park, which is known for a must in table nudging. You'll encounter a lot of tilts before you gain a handle on properly nudging with the left analog stick.
The game also features very accurate recreations in the look of the game, as well as playing the machine. The game gives you 6 angles to view your machine from, which allows for players to pick which way they want to view the machine. the sounds in the game, are accurate for each machine, ad for it's game environment. you'll hear some background noise, like you would in the arcade. It would been nice to include some options, as turning off the noise, or having music play while you play each game, but PHoF focuses heavily on simulation only.
Pinball Hall of Fame also contains unlockables that can be earned by completing each tables goal (or by inputting a code at the main menu). Some of these goals are achievable, while others are VERY HARD to achieve even unless you are a pinball veteran. Some of these are options that let you turn off tilt, play with a custom ball, or even gain access to quirky little arcade throwbacks, like a love tester machine or a Xolten fortune teller machine. You can even unlock other game play modes and another arcade table. Pinball hall of fame features a save option, as well as saving your high scores for each game (and some modes like tournament play.) Also, each machine can be played up to 4 players, which adds some challenges that are a throw back to the old arcade days. PhoF loads well though not as fast as it’s Xbox brother, and doesn’t feature online scoring, but overall it’s still a nice package.
In the end, Pinball Hall of Fame is a nice collection, as well as a history lesson in the world of gaming's past. It looks good, controls well, and is at a budget price, and is a title that every pinball fan, as well as serious game collector, should have.