..Midnight Magic.
1984/Atari
Review by Polas - 7/25/01
Forget the fact that the actual game in no way resembled the cartridge art, or that it really has very little to do with midnight and/or magic. This is one of the best damn single screen pinball games ever. Don't even try and bust out Video Pinball on me, because you spend 90% of that game watching your ball bounce from side to side over the flippers. Plus, it has that annoying Super Breakout scoring system (don't take that as a knock on Super Breakout, however). In any case, Midnight Magic is one hell of an addicting game. Before I get into its many perks, let's take a look at its many amazing features:
1) MAGIC BLOCKS - Should be your primary target. Whack them for points, whack the one pointed to by the arrow for more. They have the power to bring forth incredible music medleys and color changes.
2) THE DIRTY EAR - Well, does it look like anything other than a dirty purple ear to you? Of course not. Not too much interest here aside from moving the arrow and colors around, but if you can get the ball to touch that little square next to it after breaking all the magic blocks, well, we'll get into that later. And yes, I realize that the ball is also square. It's 1984, you picky bastard.
3) MAGNET - Your ball is drawn to it, which can be helpful in lining up shots at the magic blocks. However, the only reason it's mentioned here is for the amusing "wonk!" sound it makes when you hit it. Well, it actually sounds nothing like "wonk", but you try coming closer.
4) SPINAROONI - Too much Wrestling. Anyway, another good idea is to keep this thing spinning as much as possible while playing. To do so, make your square ball go through it. Not only does the game intensify tenfold by making "blipblipblipblipblip" noises at you at a frantic rate, but points are rapidly amassed.
5) SCORE - As with almost every Atari game, score is everything. To determine your score, observe the six big numbers in the middle of your screen. Now, read them from left to right. Voila! That's your score! NOTE: As you progress through the game, your score may change. Another left-to-right viewing of the aforementioned numbers will be neccesary.
6) FLIPPERS - Made to move by pressing left or right on the joystick, or down to move both at the same time. If you don't know what these are for, you have no business even being here. I'm not kidding. Get the hell out of here, now.
7) BLACK PIT OF DEATH - The game makes a depressed little "bloop" noise when you miss the ball and fall into nothingness in order to make you feel worse about yourself. Therefore, please stay out of the black pit of death.
OK, now that you know how to move about this wacky pinball world, let's get into the heart of this game: the most excellent musical medleys. After you start up, you're treated to that song ... you know the one, the one they play before every horse race. Damned if I know what it's called. When you lose all 5 of your balls (keep quiet), you get "shave and a haircut, two bits". BUT, most importantly, when you break all 5 magic blocks with one ball, everything changes color and the game plays the fucking CAN-CAN. Your first sexual encounter, getting the winning hit in a little league game, winning the lotto; none of that can compare to seeing the purple pinball layout turn blue for the first time while grooving to the Can-Can. And best of all? You can keep doing it!!And every time you do, all point values double!! AND the colors keep changing!! OK, look at this diagram before I bust a nut.
Yep, there you go. Actually, the diagram was nothing more than a poor excuse for me to show off my unparalleled Midnight Magic abilities. Sucker. An added bonus is that if you go through the whole Can-Can/color change, then get the ball to touch that little square by the ear, you get an extra ball. However, there are several downsides to this. One, you can only do it once per Can-Can. But even worse, the whole screen starts flashing all sorts of colors at you, the ball included, while you're still playing. I don't think they really wanted you to have that extra ball. Luckily, you get to hear the "charge!" medley when you get the extra ball, which of course makes it all worth it.
Midnight Magic is one of the most addictive Atari games I've ever played, and I've played quite a few. Between the quirky music, progressive levels, and simple yet engrossing gameplay, this one's a keeper. Just make sure you're not prone to seizures before acquiring an extra ball.
