Balls of Steel (video game)

1997 video game

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Balls of Steel" video game – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

1997 video game

Balls of Steel

Developer(s)| Wildfire Studios
Publisher(s)| 3D Realms
Platform(s)| Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
Release|

* NA: December 12, 1997[1]

Genre(s)| Pinball

Balls of Steel is a pinball computer game developed by Wildfire Studios and released on December 12, 1997.[2] It is the only game to be published under the Pinball Wizards label, a division of Apogee Software (today known as 3D Realms).

When the game was originally released, it was possible to upload high scores to the WorldScores server, for a global ranking. This feature was later discontinued.

## Tables

[edit]

Balls of Steel features five original pinball tables:

* Darkside: Set on a remote space station under attack by alien creatures.
* Barbarian: A classic medieval fantasy quest with a huge dragon on the table.
* Firestorm: Set in a crime-ridden US city, a mad bomber is on the loose.
* Mutation: Set in an underground science lab where a bio-hazardous accident has occurred and a large, slimy monster has taken over the lab.
* Duke Nukem: A special table featuring the Apogee video game character Duke Nukem.

Another table, Devil's Island, was dropped from the game when Wildfire was given the opportunity by Apogee to include a Duke Nukem table. Devil's Island was later released as a standalone game.[3]

## Duke Nukem tie-in

[edit]

The game includes a table based on the Apogee/3D Realms video game Duke Nukem 3D including graphics from that game and original voice-overs by Nukem actor Jon St. John. Pinball missions include fighting monsters like octabrains and pig-cops, and using powerups such as jetpacks and the Holoduke, from the Duke Nukem 3D video game.

Graphics of a pinball game named Balls of Steel appear in Duke Nukem 3D itself, in the first level, "Hollywood Holocaust", when Duke encounters the table. Balls of Steel reappears in Duke Nukem Forever.

## Development

[edit]

Balls of Steel was in development since 1995.[4] The game was showcased at E3 1997.[5]

## Reception

[edit]

Balls of Steel was a finalist for Computer Games Strategy Plus's 1998 "Classic Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Centipede. The editors wrote that Balls of Steel "demonstrated that you can do the Bally table on the PC, and do it well."[6]

## Legacy

[edit]

A remake for modern computers was developed in 2024 by Big Boat Interactive and published by Atari, Inc.[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Balls of Steel". 3D Realms. December 12, 1997.
2. ^ "Balls of Steel". 3D Realms. December 12, 1997.
3. ^ "3D Realms Site: Balls of Steel Table Info".
4. ^ Clarke, Stuat (March 14, 1998). "Great balls of fire". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 201. Retrieved May 8, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ Lee, Helen (June 12, 1997). "GT Interactive's E3 Lineup". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 2, 1999. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
6. ^ Staff (February 11, 1999). "The Best of 1998". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on 2005-02-03. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
7. ^ "Balls of Steel - Official Atari Pinball Video Game".

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Balls of Steel on MobyGames

* v
* t
* e

3D Realms (list of games)

As Apogee Software|

* Arctic Adventure
* Bio Menace
* Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold
* Blake Stone: Planet Strike
* Boppin'
* Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy
* Commander Keen in Invasion of the Vorticons
* Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure
* Crystal Caves
* Dark Ages
* Duke Nukem
* Duke Nukem II
* Kroz series
* Major Stryker
* Math Rescue
* Monster Bash
* Monuments of Mars
* Mystic Towers
* Paganitzu
* Pharaoh's Tomb
* Raptor: Call of the Shadows
* Realms of Chaos
* Rise of the Triad
* ScubaVenture
* Secret Agent
* Stargunner
* Wacky Wheels
* Wolfenstein 3D
* Word Rescue
* Xenophage: Alien Bloodsport
* List of minor video games

As 3D Realms|

* Terminal Velocity
* Duke Nukem 3D
* Shadow Warrior
* Balls of Steel
* Max Payne
* Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
* Prey
* Duke Nukem Forever
* Bombshell
* Ion Fury
* Wrath: Aeon of Ruin
* Kingpin: Reloaded
* Graven
* Core Decay
* Phantom Fury
* Tempest Rising

People|

* Scott Miller
* George Broussard
* Todd Replogle

Technology|

* Build engine

Related|

* Apogee Entertainment
* Embracer Group
* Saber Interactive

* v
* t
* e

Duke Nukem

Title character

Main series|

* Duke Nukem
* Duke Nukem II
* Duke Nukem 3D
* Duke Nukem Forever

Spin-offs|

* Duke Nukem: Time to Kill
* Duke Nukem: Zero Hour
* Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes
* Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project

Portable games|

* Duke Nukem Advance
* Duke Nukem Mobile
* Duke Nukem: Critical Mass

Production|

* List of media
* Development of Duke Nukem Forever

Related games|

* Death Rally
* Balls of Steel
* Vivisector: Beast Within
* Duke Nukem 3D: Reloaded
* Bombshell
* Ion Fury
* Bulletstorm
* Duke Smoochem 3D

* Category

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template