(Italian bottom of wire lanes and
flippers) . This company opens up the
wire form and adds a post for some
nudging possibilities on out -lane
balls .
ANALYSIS: The play on Future
World is unfortunately not powerful
enough off the flippers , and is also
unbalanced , with too much emphasis
on the left side and not enough on
the right side . But the biggest
problem this manufacturer has 'faced
on most of its recent efforts lies in the
power off the flippers . Compared to
the new domestic models , it is like
night-and-day, and only detracts
from whatever merit the games do
have . More unfortunately , here ,
most of the shots are long away from
the flippers . There is some nice play
possible to the drop targets or even
the right side kick-out hole, but the
top becomes a dead issue, and that
set of posts and the saucer kick-out
hole loom useless.
GRAPHICS : Though it is fairly
clean and decent , the Zaccaria
artwork hasn't really caught up to the
intricacy many of its competitors
show in 1979 . The use of color is soft
on the eye , and the space theme
works , but is less than outstanding
and does not compare to the likes of
a Stellar Wars. And I can't for the life
of me understand the stein of beer
drawn in between the 1st and 2nd
player readouts .
PLAY: With 5X a possibility , the
scoring potential on Future World is
adequate by today's standards . For
three -ball free play , go with a
150,000 start, followed by 300,000
points and 450 , 000 . Lower this by
about 30 ,000 to 50,000 points for
each limit on extra ball play . On
five -ball, you can increase the levels
by this same amount, again depend-
ing upon the caliber of play in the
particular location .
RATING : ##
Zaccaria's QUEEN'S CASTLE
Remember scoring drums and
black numbers on white background?
Well, obviously Zaccaria does, be-
cause they feature the dying breed
Mali
The Henry W. T. Mali & Co . Inc.
257 Park Ave . South
New York, NY 10010
(2121 475 4!Bl
Toll Free: 11m! 223 6468
64
with this new electro- mechanical
effort (and a single-player to boot) .
PLAYFIELD: Once again , we
have another saucer kick-out hole to
start the action , this time better
flanked and closed in , similar to such
Williams' games as Triple Strike .
Move down a bit to two thumper
bumpers and a roundabout on the
right top . At the top left is a short
access , back to the top , with a valued
rollover button .
The center is taken up with a
spinner and post set-up that is fairly
head-on and the sides offer five
targets each that is almost hidden
from view when playing . Down a bit
and a first set of flippers is in evidence
on either side . Move to the bottom
and it's the Zaccaria variation again
with flippers and wire lanes along
with the opening and post possibili-
ties.
- ANALYSIS : This really isn 't too
bad a game with its seven-digit
scoring . The problems stem from a
situation similar to the way most
people design their living spaces the
same way : they take all their
belongings and put everything
against the walls, leaving the center
fairly open . The imaginative qUirks
available by just angling things is left
out, unfortunately . The game does
have some good play possibilities,
although the steepness with which
the side targets are set can leave the
player not really in the position to
know what he has gotten and what
remains to be hit. The flippers are
stronger than on other Zaccaria
pieces and the build-up of action
always noted on single-player games
is a definite plus. And , last but not
least , is the lOX potential on the
field , which can really get the scoring
up to unrealistic limits .
GRAPHICS : Queen 's Castle is a
nice looking game , not remarkable
by any stretch of the imagination , but
a good blending of subtle tones and a
pretty-as-a-peacock playfield (with
the latter a dominant part of the
board's artwork) . It's a return to
basics, and for this reviewer ,
achieves the desired effect much
better than Future World .
PLAY : The scoring is going to be
grand on any scale , and for five -ball
play , which is a must here , try the
follOWing limits for extra ball areas:
500,000 pOints to start, followed by
800 ,000 and 1,200 ,000 pOints . On
free play you may want to up this by
about 100 ,000 points to each limit
depending upon location and play-
ers .
RATING : ##1/ 4
Inder's SCREECH
This Spanish company keeps
churning them out , most with a
Gottlieb influence , although this
four-player effort does come through
with a bit of a different personality .
PLA YFiELD: Four lanes at the
top begin with the action and lead
down to a three thumper bumper
middle . There's an access back to the
top at the left side and two short
kick-back kickers at both the right
and left sides . Move down and there
are two drop target banks on both
sides with four color-keyed drop
targets and a fifth behind the drop
targets . Also behind the lower target
(the red one) are two captive balls,
with Inder doing much to economize
space . Two more targets on either
side finish off the board before one
gets down to a double lane set up to
the flippers .
ANALYSIS : Inder, as many
Spanish manufacturers , offers much
more to most playfields than initially
meets the eye . The best example of
this is its multiple use of a standard
drop target bank and the other
features it builds into this space .
Here , with a fairly symmetrical
board , Screech offers some good
play , but the death of the game is a
weak , wide open center that may
mean sporadic play that's far too
precise for domestic tastes. This is
especially true when you add the
increased slope of the playfields from
these manufacturers . The flipper
power is adequate , but not nearly as
good as it should and must be to
work on a machine of this type where
the shots are relatively far away . But
the nice touch is the fuller use of the
Billiard Cloth
tyle 20-Plain, Style 920-Backed
Fabric developed specifically for
coin-operated table.
A vailable through your distributor.
PLAY METER, August. 1979