Let's see what we have here: 1) Setting from Sega's popular and creepy House of the Dead series and 2) classic table bumping pinball action 3) Developed by the guys that make great games but sucked at coming up with a name for themselves. The end result is Pinball of the Dead, the latest "of the Dead" game from Sega... and hopefully not the last.

I have been a fan of the House of the Dead series since the original game. I even liked the Zombie Revenge game that most critics panned. So, since I have always enjoyed a good pinball game growing up in the arcades, and even thought the arcade scene is dead, I figured this was a fine combination of ingredients for me to consume in a little tasty pocket sized packet. Well, the wait paid off and I am currently enjoyed what I consider to be the finest portable pinball game I have played in a long while.

My experience with portable pinball is actually pretty vast considering the niche field that it is. I played Pinball Jam to death on the Atari Lynx, Pokemon Pinball on the GBC, Kirby Pinball on the GB as well as a sampling of Pinball Dreams on the classic GB and even the newer Muppets Pinball Mayhem on the GBA. So there actually is a little competition out there for this genre, even on the GBA, surprisingly enough to some people I'm sure. Pinball of the Dead stacks up quite nicely to the rest of the group.

Pinball of the Dead plays more like a modern pinball machine. There is a skill shot in the beginning before you launch your ball into play, unlockable events for monstrous scores as well as a slew of bonuses and table gimmicks to keep you entertained for hours. However, it drifts away from traditional pinball in some major ways. First of all, I've never played a pinball game where you get to smear the undead across the play field over and over again. Also, there are boss battles in Pinball of the Dead that transport you to different sub tables where you deftly manipulate the flippers, placing your shots so that you target a moving boss. These features are unique to video pinball, obviously, but they do not overshadow the basic action in any way shape or form.

Pinball is repetitive by nature. After a certain amount of playing, you will most of what there is to see. The real draw of pinball is mastering the boards and maxing out your scores. Not everyone out there can deal with that idea in gaming today. Pinball of the Dead does an adequate job of giving the gamer a lot to do. There are three boards to play, all of which feature completely different designs as well as plenty of objectives to accomplish for major point totals. Gameplay is dead on, featuring blisteringly fast action (which is adjustable if you wish to slow it down a bit) and very tight control, offering a perfect setup for those who want absolute control over board bumping. You can even choose the color of the blood spatter of the undead brain suckers, blue being an interesting choice, but the standard red and classic zombie green are well represented.

Graphically, Pinball of the Dead makes excellent use of the GBA hardware to produce easily recognizable elements from the various "of the Dead" games. You will notice many of your favorite baddies like Steve! The bosses are taken straight from the series and include 6 in total: Judgement, Hierophant, Towers, Strength, Magician and the mighty Emperor. The game may be a little dark for some due to the darker theme of the graphic set. It is a darker game by design and it might not show up well in the dimly lit caves that many people insist on playing their GBAs in. Some of the elements look simply amazing like the giant zombie that bursts through the middle of the playing field on the third "Cemetery" board. Everything moves fluidly, even while the boards are filled with wandering zombies.

The sound is pretty decent as well. Initially I was a little upset since I was hoping to hear the infamous announcer say 'Pinball of the DEAD' when I turned on the game and didn't hear a thing. The voice does show up during the game, however, along with a ton of other recognizable sound clips from the series such as badly voiced quotes from the heros and the high pitched freaky voice of the Judgement boss. The music, as with most portable music, is there. I wasn't offended by it and I choose to leave it on since it does fit with the series, but others may choose to leave it off due to the repetitive nature of the music.

There are some unlockable secrets in the game that are dependent upon how many brain suckers you smear with the silver ball, which the cart conveniently keeps track for you. You can play any table in Normal mode, or attempt to conquer the game slaughtering the bosses in each table in one sitting through challenge mode. The cart is battery backed so that you can save a game at any point and continue at a later time as well as providing passwords to preserve scores and bonuses if you so choose.

I can see a lot of people scoffing at this title due to the seemingly ridiculous use of the "of the Dead" moniker, but it works surprisingly well. This isn't even the first evil themed pinball game since many people fondly remember Devil's Crush on the Turbo Graphics/Express. I may have a soft spot for anything that features "of the Dead" in the title, but this is definitely a warranted title. Now, as I sit back and enjoy another round of zombie pinball mashing, I ponder the future of the series. Tennis of the Dead? Racing of the Dead? A possible expansion of the Fishing of the Dead VMU game from Zombie Revenge? Ahhh... just like our supply of the brain sucking undead, the possibilies are endless.