Last week Cowboy Rodeo released an iPhone version of Digital Illusions' classic 1992 Amiga pinball game Pinball Dreams [link] through the App Store.  We took a close look at the game and found it to be a superb conversion of an excellent pinball simulator and likely the best pinball experience to be found on the iPhone.  Our readers have voiced extremely positive opinions of the game in both our review comments and our forums.

When Pinball Dreams was released the developer indicated that if sales were solid, both of Digital Illusions' sequels, Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Illusions, would be ported to the iPhone as well.

Tap To Play recently got word from Cowboy Rodeo that an iPhone coversion of Pinball Fantasies is already in the works and is set to arrive sometime in the Spring.  We contacted the developer and confirmed that indeed the game's release is certain.

Pinball Fantasies generally received even higher marks from critics than Pinball Dreams when it was originally released for the Amiga.

Stones 'N Bones from Amiga version

Pinball Fantasies features four tables, each with one or more high scoring rounds that are started by achieving certain targets.  Each table is vertically taller and generally more complex than those in Pinball Dreams.  Level details as described by the game's Wikipedia entry:

• Party Land – a table oriented around an amusement park, where the letters of either PARTY or CRAZY must be lit to start a high-scoring event. This is the easiest table due to several high scoring targets such as the Arcade and the Loop Ramp. This is the table included in the shareware release
• Speed Devils – focused on car racing, and the player must overtake cars to take the lead. This is more difficult due to much fewer high-scoring targets
• Billion Dollar Gameshow – a gameshow-style table where the player attempts to win prizes by achieving certain combinations of ramps. This is the most difficult, as if the player loses the ball before winning the jackpot the prizes are lost
• Stones 'N Bones – based on a haunted house, where the player must go through different modes of play (by hitting targets spelling out "Stone" and "Bone"), with the later modes scoring more points. This is generally considered the highest-scoring table. It is similar in theme to Nightmare in Pinball Dreams.

See a gameplay video of the Amiga AGA Party Land level.  (Note that the iPhone has a much "taller" screen than the Amiga, and will require less vertical scrolling to track the ball.)

Stay tuned for a full review of this retro classic when it hits the App Store.