Pinball FX – Godzilla vs. Kong Pinball Pack by developer and
publisher Zen Studios—Sony PlayStation 5
Review written by Nick
with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Zen Studios has released some more new tables for their
recently published Pinball FX, and this one featuring two of the greatest
monsters in history is a doozy. This pack includes three tables, one featuring
Godzilla, the second featuring King Kong and the third naturally shows these
two squaring off with one another.
Pinball FX – Godzilla vs. Kong Pinball Pack is admittedly a
bit of a mouthful (eyeful, given you’re reading this and not hearing it?), but
with three really solid tables included, it’s a solid offering with a really
fun theme. For me personally? This is just one of the cooler themes Zen Studios
could have picked, as I was a kid who grew up on these rubber suited monsters
in all of their clumsy glory, and have enjoyed the more recent CGI-filled
offerings as well.
I’ll start with the Kong table, as it is probably my least
favorite of the three, but still one I enjoyed quite a bit. As expected, the
backdrop for this one takes place on an island where massive creatures are the
norm. It’s a much more nature-themed area with a more open middle that entices
you to try and hit longer shots into specific locations. Hitting the right
combinations to cause a giant Kong in the upper-right corner of the table to
punch a flying worm-like creature is entertaining.
Visually, it’s probably the tamest of the three tables, with
a heavy emphasis on browns. It makes sense, given Kong’s darker coloring and
the natural feel of the environment at play, but despite the mountain range
across the top and the aforementioned Kong model, for me the table itself just
wasn’t as visually engaging as the other two. Additionally, there is a chase or
follow Kong objective that is just brutally hard given the short duration you
are afforded. It was one of the few objectives I couldn’t seem to complete out
of this pack.
Next up, we have the Godzilla table. Admittedly, I came in
thinking that the Kong vs Godzilla would be my favorite, simply because of the
theming, but the solo Godzilla table was the one I kept coming back to the most
often. With its neon visuals soaked in different shakes of blue and some slick,
eye-catching rails for the pinballs to move along after certain shots, there
was just something about the combination of graphics and pacing on this table
that complimented each other almost perfectly. Watching Godzilla go radioactive
breath on other titans as opposed to Kong’s punching and clubbing was also a
bit more exciting for me. Similar to the Kong table, the Godzilla one has some
open space in the middle to operate, but with even more to do it felt like in
the more intermediate areas.
And lastly, we have the titular Godzilla vs. Kong table.
Visually this one was interesting, but lacked the cohesion of the others. Lots
of blues along the right, some reddish-orange along the left, it almost
reminded me of some of the older Star Wars tables where you have light and dark
sides. It’s a flurry of oranges and yellows throughout, and similar to the
other tables, most of the scenery is located at the top of the table. This one
however, was the most congested of the tables, with more bumpers and obstacles
in the lower to middle regions and less wide-open space to try and hit long
shots on (except one right down the center that I had some frequent flyer miles
on).
All three tables are well-designed, with fun visuals and
sound that evoke the movies nicely. Zen Studios has been leveraging a wide
range of properties for their pinball tables of late, but this is probably one
of the most exciting themes for me personally, and I’m happy to say that the
tables lived up to my high expectations.
Score: 8.5 / 10
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