Epic Pinball

src: i.ytimg.com

Epic Pinball is a 1993 pinball video game developed by James Schmalz and published by Epic MegaGames. The initial release pre-dated Schmalz' Digital Extremes name. The game is played seen from a 2D top-down view within a scrollable window with plain raster graphics in 320x200. It was noted for being programmed entirely in x86 assembly language for MS-DOS systems. On November 30, 2017 the game was re-released on GOG.com.

Video Epic Pinball

Tables

The game was originally distributed on floppy disks in 3 separate packs of 4 tables each. The original shareware version (and an early retail version) included only the original "Android" table. Later shareware versions and retail versions contained an updated version called "Super Android" (although it's still referred to as "Android" in the game, the table was changed to say "Super Android")

[1] Designed by Terry Cumming.
[2] A tribute to Epic's earlier game Jill of the Jungle.
[3] Designed by Joe Hitchens.
[4] This and the following table were designed and illustrated by Pixel of Future Crew.

Another table, "African Safari", was included in the "Full Edition" (the CD-ROM version), in addition to the tables from the three packs above.

Maps Epic Pinball

Releases

In 1993, the first registered game included only the first two pinball packs. The following year, xLand Games distributed that very version under the title "Fliper".

In 1994, the "Crash & Burn" and "Deep Sea" tables were released as individual games by B&N Software and its child company Strange Ranger.

In 1995, all three packs plus the exclusive "African Safari" were released on CD.

In the mid to late 1990s, individual tables were given away as free floppy diskettes to customers of Blockbuster Video upon renting 2 or more items. The promotion lasted only for a few months.

In 2011, the game was partially re-made by Fuse Powered Inc. for Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad platforms. The game, re-titled as "Retro Pinball", features updated versions of the Super Android, Crash and Burn and Pangaea tables.

Dosbox, Epic Pinball & Jazz Jackrabbit released on Linux - Video ...

src: images-2.gog.com

Reception

Computer Gaming World in 1994 stated that Epic Pinball was superior to the development team's commercial Silverball and "overall quality is very high". The magazine concluded that the $45 registration fee was a good value for eight boards, as "Very few commercial alternatives offer as much without causing your wallet to Tilt!"