''High Speed'' is a

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

simulation video game Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...

developed by Rare for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

, and published by

Tradewest Tradewest was an American video game company based in Corsicana, Texas that produced numerous games in the 1980s and early 1990s. The company was the publisher of the '' Battletoads'' and '' Double Dragon'' series in North America and the PAL regi ...

in 1991. ''High Speed'' employs the

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...

that Rare previously developed for ''

Pin*Bot ''Pin-Bot'' (styled ''PIN•BOT'') is a pinball machine released by Williams in October 1986. It was designed by Python Anghelo and Barry Oursler. Rules The main objective of ''Pin-Bot'' is to advance through the planets of the Solar System, ...

'' (1990). Rare adapted the game from the

pinball machine Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

'' High Speed'', which was designed by Steve Ritchie and released by

Williams Electronics WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams ...

in 1986. The following year, Williams Electronics was renamed

WMS Industries WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Willia ...

prior to its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

. In 1995, Williams Entertainment, a division of WMS Industries, published a sequel, '' The Getaway'', for the

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

, based on Ritchie's pinball machine '' The Getaway: High Speed II''.

Gameplay

Similar to ''

'', the NES version of ''High Speed'' plays identical to the pinball machine of the same name, but with a few new elements added in, such as collecting

safes A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body an ...

and

helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

that allow the player to play bonus levels, where lots more points can be scored. The player can also collect money bags of the same name, and has to avoid enemies that will destroy the ball or the flippers, such as

bombs A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanic ...

and

tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumble ...

s. The object of the main game (as in the pinball machine) is to activate the police chase mode by hitting the nine stoplight targets, changing the main stoplight on the ramp from green to yellow, and then to red. Once the light is red, shooting the ball up the ramp starts the police chase mode. Shooting the ball up the ramp again escapes the police and starts multi-ball (where three balls are in play), and shooting one of the balls up the ramp a third time wins the hideout jackpot (beginning at 250,000 points and growing until it is collected).

References

* * 1991 video games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo Entertainment System-only games Pinball video games Rare (company) games Tradewest games Video games scored by David Wise Video games developed in the United Kingdom {{Pinball-videogame-stub