Nitro Ball

Holy hell is Nitro Ball a blast to play! (Known as Gun Ball in Japan) Data East took the balls-to-the-walls action of such titles like MERCS and Ikari Warriors and combined it with pinball, of all things. What's so incredible is that it works marvelously, and everything that makes both genres so much fun individually are seamlessly integrated. For instance, shooting foes can knock them into bumpers or special bonus targets, which earn you power ups and a ton of points. Each of the five stages has a cool theme, like zombies and space aliens, and mimics the length of a pinball field, with a big and nasty boss at the end. This is perhaps the only negative thing to be said about Nitro Ball: it's too short. The meager selection of play fields, while impressive and fun, are nowhere near enough, and you're left wanting more.