Multiple actual and virtual Kiss

KISS (band)

Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...

-themed pinball

Pinball

Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...

games have been made over the past few decades, beginning with the Bally-made machine first conceived in January 1978.

Pinball machines

In 1978 the first Kiss arcade pinball machine was introduced by Bally, and stayed in circulation well into the 1980s. In 1978, Barry Imhoff declared, "there will be 20,000 Kiss machines." In September 2006 it was announced that a new coin-op machine was in the works from Kiss licensee ICUP.

Popularity

Trent Reznor

Trent Reznor

Michael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...

 [Nine Inch Nails] owns "a classic Kiss pinball machine."

Marc DeLeon [The Mentors & Adema] owns "a classic Kiss pinball machine."

Software

In 2001, a Kiss Pinball game developed by Wildfire Studios

Wildfire Studios

Wildfire Studios is a video game developer that was established in 1995. It is based in Brisbane, Australia.Wildfire has developed several pinball games for video game publishers, but their most recent games are released through RealNetworks.- Retail games :...

 and published by Global Star Software was released for the PlayStation.

Gameplay

Concerning gameplay, "most of the game revolves around hitting targets to start KISS shows, then hitting more targets to complete the shows....Nudging the ball, which is accomplished by hitting the D-pad, simply causes the ball to jerk an inch or two in the direction you pressed."

The game "features two tables, Last Stop Oblivion and Netherworld."

Reception

Jeff Gerstmann of GameSpot

GameSpot

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

declared, "KISS Pinball manages to mangle both the KISS license and the concept of video pinball to the point of being almost totally unrecognizable....KISS Pinball serves no useful purpose whatsoever. KISS fans will be disappointed by the distinct lack of KISS, and pinball fans will be disappointed by the distinct lack of pinball. Even at the low price of $9.99, this one is no bargain." Paul Davidson adds that the "Kiss Pinball package for home computers and gaming systems wasn't exactly a smash success."

External links

• IPDB entry for Kiss (Bally)
• IPDB entry for Kiss (Geiger-Automatenbau)
• Kiss at the Killer List of Videogames
  Killer List of Videogames
  The Killer List of Videogames is a web site featuring an online encyclopedia devoted to cataloging arcade games past and present. It is the video game department of the International Arcade Museum, and has been referred to as "the IMDb for players."....