Video games have, as of late, been making huge bounds in technology - each generation of violent rampage-inducing graphics standing tall on the shoulders of the previous. Pinball "technology" however, has been rather stagnant. Only so many variations you can have on a theme. The forward-thinkers at Midway, on the other hand, have managed to breath new life into the aging giant: a video monitor, placed above the table, reflects down on the glass with strange and impressive results. The end product is called Pinball 2000. At the moment there are just two of these new-fangled contraptions on the market - Mars Revenge and Star Wars: Episode One.

Below are the Station Management's impressions of the E1 table:

The Good:

• Smoooth graphics and animations - many exclusive to this machine
• Free-and-easy with the multiballs
• Nice variety of "mini-games"
• The whole Pinball 2000 concept is just plain slick

The Bad:

• Not housed in a full-sized table (faster play means shorter games)
• No continues (at least on the machine I played)
• Very difficult to keep track of ball and watch monitor at same time

The Ugly:

• At 6k to buy one of these puppies, most arcades are forced to charge between $.75 and $1.00 per game.
• No Lando

The game ranks up there with the likes of Indiana Jones and Addams Family Pinball (the Ma-mushka!). If you aren't a disciple of pinball this isn't gonna change your stance, but those who are down with the silver ball can relish in the dawning of a New Age. I've no doubt there will be purists who will see the digital addition as poisoning the well - these hombres will have to come to terms with the fact that Pinball 2000 is the future, ready or not.

The Mars Revenge pin is damn good too, incidentally.