Released via Sierra On-Line, Inc and created by Dynamix, Inc in 1996. I had a lot of fun playing this with friends when it was first released. We'd spend hours taking tunrs trying to beat each others scores.
When you compare the graphic to the latest pinball games such as Pinball FX and Zaccarina Pinball, it looks really dated. On a large monitor the graphic is very pixilated. I seem to remember playing it on a monit=or about 14 ;; in size at 800 x 600 resolution. cHowever, it's still one of my all time favorite pinball games . If you love pinball games, this one is a must have (the othe 3-D Ultra Piball games are also well worth having. All are not fee to download and all are Windows compatible.
You can download an ISO, a Win 3.x or a Mac version HERE, plus there's a link on the same page for the games manual. The ISO version will require a CD or DVD to install it to using a buner that can copy ISO files to disk. The ISO file is 293MB in size and is available in three languages English, French and German. The executable version is 437MB in size and is only available in English.
There is a download via Gamefabrique HERE, which indicates it's okay with the following operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP; however when I uploaded it to Virus Total it was flaggted by around 50% of the antimalware suites. You could try it using a sandbox program just in case. As for the My Abandonware version,
You can see some videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE
In 1995 Sierra began the current series with the highly-successful release of the original 3-D Ultra Pinball, and the graphics background was still based on an existing Sierra game -- Outpost -- but the graphics, sound, and gameplay were vastly improved. Finally, right before l Halloween1996 Sierra released Creep Night, making still further improvements to the game and including original table backgrounds not directly connected to any other Sierra product. There is no doubt that this last game represents the best pinball Sierra has ever produced, and indeed Creep Night is among the best computer pinball games available today.
The plot, which is almost incidental to the game, involves the centennial opening of a vortex to an underground world inhabited by ghosts, gremlins and gargoyles. Your mission is to send the creatures packing and conquer the challenges posed in three tables, depicting the castle courtyard, the mad scientist's laboratory and the dungeon catacombs. If you accomplish this, a bonus table appears and you face the Goblin King in what is aptly described as a "ghoulish grand finale."
Gameplay
As with most pinball games, the controls are quite intuitive for moving the flippers and plunger and for nudging the ball on the table. However, unlike most pinball games, Creep Night allows for joystick/gamepad support as well as keyboard support, and this indeed proves to be very handy. For example, using the Microsoft SideWinder Gamepad -- as I did -- makes the flipper action much more natural than with the keyboard. The play itself requires more awareness of everything going on, beyond simply tracking the ball, than do most computer pinball games. The only drawback in the gameplay is that, when a player triggers a complex animation, there is a small pause in the action even on very fast computers.
Graphics/Audio
The graphics in this game are excellent -- much more detailed, textured and vibrant than in most pinball games. The moving characters that serve as targets are consistently done in a whimsical cartoon format, adding to the overarching tone of fun rather than fright.
The audio in the game -- both the music and the sound effects -- is raucous, addictive and wacky. One can easily adjust the volume of the background tunes, noises and voices through a well-designed control panel. One could honestly say that without a sound card, the game would be relatively lifeless.
System Requirements
Windows: 486-33 CPU, 8 MB RAM, 2 MB hard disk space, 2X CD-ROM drive, Windows-compatible sound card with DAC, SVGA video card and monitor capable of displaying 256 colors in 640-by-480 pixel resolution, and Windows 95 or Windows 3.1 (separate drivers are included for each of these operating systems). The Game Fabrique version gives the following Specification. Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
Documentation
The included printed manual is about the sketchiest I have encountered, providing instructions only on how to install the game and how to get technical support. This deficiency, which is becoming all too typical in today's games, is more than compensated for by a superb online manual incorporated into the game. Instead of just creating a bunch of help screens filled with text, Sierra has gone to some length to make this manual a fun place to browse. The narrated guided tour is a particular delight.
Bottom Line
It should be clear at this point that playing this game is a real thrill, and even those who do not generally get hooked on pinball will love its playful sense of fun. However, for those traditional pinball aficionados who want to play only classic pinball -- the kind that resembles closely the real arcade machines -- this is not the best choice: LittleWing's Crystal Caliburn and Cinematronics' Full Tilt Pinball still set the standard in this regard, and have much more responsive ball movement and more realistic physics embedded than does Creep Night. Classic pinball, though, just does not provide the kind of boisterous intensity that Sierra has thankfully unleashed on the computer gaming community.
Edited Reference accessed HERE, Originally posted by Reggie, reposted by Whiterabbit 20th Jan 2022, with additional content up to the video links.
