With nearly every Sonic game having a pinball level of sorts, it makes you wonder whether Sonic Team was trying to introduce American audiences to the cultural concept of 'casual gambling' that is widely evident in Japan.

Sonic Pinball Party is Sonic Team's take on the pinball genre. The last attempt was in 1993 with Sonic Spinball, a game that was entirely developed in the US. A desperate attempt to get a Sonic title out for the Christmas season (while Sonic 3 was still being coded), it fell flat on its face with coding bugs, references to the Archie comic series and last-minute removal of the classic Sonic theme.

But with that a fading memory in the franchise, SPP attempts to make the famous, yet annoying, connection between the hedgehog and the silver ball. And with Sonic Team behind it, what could go wrong?

Well, the clichéd Sonic plot is present - Eggman steals the animals which are visiting Casinopolis (a reference to the level in Sonic Adventure) and we have the 'Egg Cup Tournament' to try and save them all. From here-on in, it's basically you reaching an allotted score to climb up the ranks, defeating other characters from Sonic Team games.

I hate to say it, but it’s the first sign of a franchise being milked. While previous games in the past don’t show it, this game is oozing of 'rehash' - the levels are based on regions from Sonic Advance and other Sonic Team titles. Rather than 'you' being the ball (as in Spinball), it is more of a pinball simulator (complete with mediocre physics). The control scheme is difficult to grasp – it utilises both sides of the controller, but I was frantically hitting buttons trying to get the flippers to move (switch the flippers to shoulder buttons and tilt buttons vice versa) and there’s also the tutorial section which I found to be of no help – nearly everyone has played pinball once in their life. It’s not that hard to play. But it takes a special someone to be good at it.

Graphics are typical of the series - bright and cheerful, but tiring to look at as you try and score 10,000,000 points (or more if needs be). There are also heavy sprinklings of dot-matrix text to keep to the ‘authenticity’ of the genre, which could break your concentration at a moments notice and you will need it in this game. If you get sick of looking at balls, then are other various gambling games hosted by Cream the Rabbit (isn't she too young to be doing that job?) with roulette, bingo and slot machine all vying for your hard earned rings.

The music (or the Sonic tunes at least) and voice samples are now considered 'annoying', as is it usually suited for short bursts rather than marathon sessions. I recommend muting it for once and humming Casino Night to yourself.

Perhaps one redeeming feature of this game is the variety - Sonic Team has pulled from their extensive back catalogue to bring together a motley crew of players to compete against. From Samba De Amigo to the first appearance of NiGHTS since 1996, it's a welcome sight to play on these themed tables rather than your usual Sonic fare. The unique-ness of these tables are pulled from the games that they herald from – NiGHTs sees you collecting spheres to face off against the Nightmaren bosses whereas Samba De Amigo requires you to activate a bonus game which involves rhythm.

Again, Chao Garden is back, only with compatibility with Sonic Adventure DX. There has been more emphasis on the rings this time round, with the player having to earn rings via the game or mini games to support their Chao.

As far as multiplayer features go, there’s a party mode for 4 players. Working around the metallic ball, we have air hockey, ladder climb (similar to the special stage in Sonic and Knuckles) and hot potato. It would have been nice to play against the computer in these modes.

In all, while Sonic Pinball Party is a well thought out and developed game, it can only really be enjoyed by two audiences – Sonic fans and pinball fans. To play through a casino-themed level in a platformer is one thing – to just play Sonic-themed pinball is an entirely different playing field all together.

If you can’t live without the latest Sonic game and aren’t biased about pinball, then it’s worth the purchase. If you don’t like the pinball, then rent it for the mini-games (provided you got enough GBA owning mates) or just avoid it – it’s a good use of the franchise, but pinball might prove too annoying for some. MH