Hyperball

Although it is housed in a Pinball cabinet, Hyperball doesn’t play like a pinball. The center of the playfield is empty, and all along the perimeter is a series of lettered targets. During the game, lightning bolts travel up the sides until they reach the top, then strike downwards to hit the player’s Energy Centers. His only defense is to shoot the bolt before it drops, using two gun-grips to aim the Hyper-Cannon, a turret that fired three-quarter-inch-diameter ball bearings. A “Z Bomb” button on the apron could be pressed to instantly destroy all enemies on the playfield. The turret could fire 250 balls a minute, and the game’s fast nature required players to rapidly pull the triggers to keep the balls launching. Spelling words during the game would yield more points, and every fifth wave would be a bonus “Reflex Wave”, which involved shooting the lightning bolts in less than three seconds.