Long before first-person shooters, Wii and arcade games, there was a little coin-eating game called pinball. For those of us who fancied ourselves as the next pinball wizard a new documentary about its decline in popularity (and sales) is an interesting look at a lost segment of gaming.

IGN reviews TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball which chronicles America’s largest manufacturer of pinball games — Williams — and its last ditch attempt to save the company with “Pinball 2000.” As the tale unfolds, TILT makes a mention of the role the Star Wars franchise played during the last moments of pinball.

Insider interviews with some of Williams’ designers give insight into the design process and technology behind “Pinball 2000″ as well as the classic models of the past several decades. The most interesting part comes during the final section, discussing Williams’ deal with Lucasfilm to distribute Star Wars: Episode 1 themed Pinball 2000 cabinets and how executive and creative interfere affected the quality of the final product and quite possibly the fate of the company in general.

Read the full review here:
TILT: The Battle to Save Pinball DVD Review (IGN.com)