Release: 14th May, 2009
Dev/Pub: Zen Studios
Genre: Pinball
Rating: Everyone (ESRB)
Most of us gamers can remember the “good ol’ days” when we would waste countless quarters on pinball machines. Video games still can’t capture the rush you get while playing an actual pinball machine, trying to cheat by knocking the machine around. Sure you can bump with the controller, but it just isn’t the same. But that doesn’t mean that pinball on a console isn’t fun. Actually, Zen Pinball is the most fun I’ve had with a console pinball game in a long time!
For some reason or another, PlayStation Network had yet to acquire a pinball game before Zen Pinball, and fans of the genre aren’t going to be disappointed one bit. With tons of bonus features, realistic physics, and all around bad ass tables, Zen Pinball will give even the slightest fan hours of fun.
Four original tables (V12, Tesla, Shaman and El Dorado) look amazing in HD and have all sorts of secrets hiding behind score barriers. Each of the four tables comes with its own set of rules that you’ll have to look over if you want to master the table. Secrets litter every corner of the playing field and hidden goodies that activate the inner workings of the tables can be enabled through well placed shots. Not to mention the fact that the inner workings are yours for the tinkering.
While your average gamer probably won’t get much of a kick out of tinkering with machine settings, big time pinball fans most definitely will. Tweaking factory settings and difficulty levels will add life to the game for serious players. While leaderboards and a friend focused environment will keep others around. High scores, one minute runs, and score speed are tracked for all four tables, ensuring that you’ll give your friends tons of competition on the leaderboards. While the high score is a no-brainer, the one minute score is for your first minute of gameplay, and the score speed is the average points per second you acquire throughout play.
Local multiplayer is fun, but leaves much to be desired. Although, I’m not quite sure why you even have multiplayer in a pinball game, Hot Seat requires you to pass one PS3 controller among those playing (Wii- like). While you have to share your controller at home, you don’t have to online. That’s right, Zen Pinball allows up to four people to battle simultaneously as they race to reach a scoring objective. Tournaments are also a big part of the experience on PSN, with a ticker going across the screen that shows live trophies being unlocked online.
Zen Pinbal is visually amazing, I don’t think anyone could have guessed that a pinball game could look so good. Each level is carefully detailed with themes that fit their names and awesome sound effects to match. For pinball fans and casual gamers alike, this is a nice trip down memory lane with plenty of new twists, definitely worth your time and money.
Popularity: unranked [?]
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