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Balls of Steel is a pinball computer game developed by Wildfire Studios and published by Pinball Wizards (a division of Apogee Software, better known as 3D Realms), released on December 12, 1997. It is the only title to be released under the Pinball Wizards label.
The game's original box art showed a female hand holding a large pair of pinballs[1], above the phrase, "Come play with our balls."[citation needed]
The game includes, most notably, a Duke Nukem pinball table, including graphics from the game and original voice-overs by Nukem actor Jon St. John. Also lauded are the game's realistic physics and highly interactive and imaginative tables.
The name Balls of Steel first appears in the 3D Realms game Duke Nukem 3D, in the first level, "Hollywood Holocaust," when Duke encounters a pinball table named as such. It was later made into the full pinball game.
When the game was released, it was possible to upload high scores to the WorldScores server, for a global ranking. This feature has since been discontinued.
Tables
Balls of Steel features five original pinball tables:
- Darkside. Set on a remote space station under attack by alien creatures, missions include fighting bugs which appear on the table, and a "super-cannon" mode in which players can shoot at eggs with a cannon that pops up out of the table.
- Barbarian. A classic medieval fantasy quest with a huge dragon on the table. Missions include collecting the four elements, collecting the five gemstones, and fighting the citadel guards with magnetic axes.
- Firestorm. Set in a crime-ridden US city, a mad bomber is on the loose. Missions revolve around defusing bombs and rescuing people from various locations around the city.
- Mutation. Set in an underground science lab where a bio-hazardous accident has occurred and a large, slimy monster has taken over the lab. Missions involve subduing the beast and containing toxins.
- Duke Nukem. A special table based on the game Duke Nukem 3D, featuring Duke Nukem actor Jon St. John. Missions include fighting monsters from the game such as octabrains and pig-cops and using powerups such as jetpack and Holoduke.
A sixth table, Devil's Island, was dropped from the game when Wildfire was given the opportunity by Pinball Wizards/Apogee to include a Duke Nukem table. This table was later released as a standalone game.[2]
