Pinball FX3 - Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure - XB1 Review

Pinball FX3 - Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure by developer and publisher Zen Studios—Microsoft Xbox One review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes 

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It’s been a while since we had a new Pinball FX3 table, and this latest release was certainly worth the wait. Pinball FX3 - Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure is a digital reimagining of the classic Williams pinball, with all of the bells and whistles you would expect from a Zen Studios offering.

That is the good news, and it’s ample. Visually, this table is a feast. The basic table design is a lot of browns and oranges at first glance, but there is no shortage of bright, colorful lighting on the table itself. Having been a fan of the actual table for many years now (I used to play it in my early college years), seeing it brought back to life in this fashion. Obviously it’s been a long time since I played it, but the sound design sure feels like what I remember, right down to the music and dialog recreated on this table.

While I love the overall presentation, I do appreciate that there is an option to turn off what I think of as the ‘Pinball FXtras’. These are the 3D effects on and around the table that don’t occur with a real pinball machine. I like them myself, but I know some purists prefer to turn those off, either because they find the animations distracting or just takes away from the nostalgia. That is probably especially true of a table such as this, which is based on a real-world pinball machine. If those extras don’t appeal? You can turn them off.

Thematically, this game is based on the original three movies. As such, there are quests sprinkled throughout that harken back to those movies. Like other tables, completing these objectives can lead to big points. Each table has its own scoring system, but this one certainly feels like it has more zeros than many of the others. That being said, it feels great when you complete one of those objectives and you see the points just rolling in. On my very first play I came pretty close to the default table high score and earned at least one extra ball and pulled down a multiball. I seemed to have had pretty good luck though, as I’ve only exceeded that score once since.

As for the table play itself? It’s a fast, fun table with lots of missions, plenty of narrow passages to shoot the ball through and more. This is a very vertical table with only two flippers, but the ball moves with plenty of speed and I seldom felt like there were lulls in the action.

So for as good as the table plays, there is a single point of contention that needs to be brought up. The table is fantastic – but it’s also a single table instead of the usual packs of three. Also, it’s more expensive than any of the standalone tables that can be bought. Maybe this was a licensing issue that caused Zen Studios to pay more, but they just feel this table’s worth it, but from a value standpoint, Pinball FX3 - Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure takes a bit of a hit compared to some of the prior packages released. To me, it’s worth it to get to relive this table, but your mileage my vary.

Summary

Pinball FX3 - Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure is a fantastic table that filled me with nostalgia as soon as I fired it up and heard the familiar music. The presentation is top-notch across the board, and it is a fast-paced, entertaining table. The value proposition might not be for everyone however, as it is a single table at a premium price.

Score: 7.5 / 10

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Pinball FX3 - Williams Pinball: Universal Monsters - PS4 Review

Pinball FX3 - Williams Pinball: Universal Monsters by developer and publisher Zen Studios—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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By now it is safe to say that Zen Studios knows how to deliver a fantastic pinball experience. The Pinball FX3 - Williams Pinball: Universal Monsters pack might frustrate those hoping for a third table, as is often the norm in these packs – but the two that are delivered are both incredibly well done and are among the best Zen Studios has released to date.

As seems to be the case with many of these throwback table packs, I have only played some of these tables in person in the past. I had played Creature From the Black Lagoon many moons ago, but never even heard of Monster Bash. The good news is, both of these titles are a lot of fun to play, and I can only assume that Monster Bash is a good representation of the original table, because Creature From the Black Lagoon is spot-on.

Like other Williams classics tables, there is a one-button push to flip from the classic visuals to a more modernized approach. It really jumped out at me how much more colorful Monster Bash was in the updated view, but beyond that the visual flourishes are really nice. It is fun to play a game or two in the classic view, but in the end the experience just looks better when you use the Zen Studio updated graphics. This is most evident in Creature From the Black Lagoon where the ‘creature’ visual in the table was a hologram and nothing more. A neat bit of visual flair for the time (which was 1992), but when you play the table now, the creature emerges from the water to look at you in full 3D before disappearing back into the murky watery depths. It certainly makes the entire experience a more cinematic one.

The Pinball FX3 framework is alive and well here also, providing experience earned, which can be used to unlock special multipliers, which helps to provide a bit of carrot-dangling progression to keep people interested in more than just the tables. Combine that with the leaderboards and multiplayer options, and these two tables feel right at home here.

Both of these tables provide that old school pinball challenge, which can certainly take a little getting used to if you are not familiar with classic tables like this where the ball just sometimes does some inexplicably annoying things (mostly – going right down the middle of the table and out of play). Still, once you get used to the tables, it is easy to put in a twenty or thirty minute session – especially in Monster Bash where it really rewards accuracy. My first two times playing that table were over with rather quickly, but once I got the feel of the table, I was able to string together some fairly long sessions of play.

In general, I will say that the gameplay on these two tables took me just a bit longer to get the hang of than the last handful of Williams pinball packs. I have gone back and forth from this one to some of the other tables, and I cannot quite put my finger on it. There is something about the flipper / ball interaction that is just a bit different. Timing is just a bit different, or impact is a little softer, something along those lines that I am struggling to articulate. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, just something I noticed while playing early on – but after I focused on one of these two tables for a bit, it all came easily enough and I adjusted.

Both of these tables are a good deal of fun, and easy to recommend to fans of the Pinball FX3 series. The visuals are fantastic, and the two tables while both Halloween themed may seem similar, they play quite differently from one another. Of course, having a third table in the pack would have been nice, but the two we got were high quality and easy to spend several hours with.

Score: 8 / 10

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Pinball FX3: Williams Pinball - Volume 5 - PS4 Review

Pinball FX3: Williams Pinball - Volume 5 by developer and publisher Zen Studios—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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Zen Studios once again collaborates with Williams Pinball to bring us a three pack of tables that do an effective job of replicating an old school pinball experience. The three tables differ in nostalgic value to me, but this is a really strong package.

For me personally, this pack is all about Tales of the Arabian Nights, which released back in 1996. This was one of my favorite tables at our local arcade when I was in college, and I dropped more than a few quarters into it. Obviously it has been some time since I played it, but just the way it looks and sounds as you stroll up to the virtual machine had me grinning from ear to ear. I thought there would be some considerable rust, or maybe I just had a bout of good fortune right off of the bat, but my first game lasted about twenty minutes and it was rather like that adage about just riding a bicycle. It was all familiar and came right back to me. With a focus on hitting the genie as well as spinning a lamp around, there is a lot to see and do on this table, and the pacing is excellent without a lot of cheap ball losses.

A year later, Cirqus Voltaire came out – but it was probably a couple of years until I encountered that table in real life. As the name would imply, we have a circus themed table here, with a Ringmaster as the centerpiece. There are a few different mini-objectives to be found and unlocked on this table, and the speed and pacing is good all of the way around.

Generally with these FX packs, there are one or two really good tables that serve as the primary hooks, and one that feels like a bit of a letdown by comparison. Both Arabian Nights and Cirqus Voltaire are so good that they could have headlined a pack on their own, which leaves us with No Good Gofers, which has a rather slapstick design that is the opposite of my tall table preferences. I’ve mentioned in the past that I tend to enjoy long tables with a lot of room to operate, but the odd ramps at the top here make No Good Gofers feel too compact for my liking. Add to it that I had never played this one in an arcade previously, and I have no nostalgic connection to No Good Gophers either. It’s bright, colorful and has a sort of zany golfing / Caddyshack vibe going on that will no doubt appeal to some, just not me.

Like these other throwback table packages, one of the cooler features to be had here is the ability to view the tables as they were originally constructed or with some modernized video game embellishments courtesy of the Zen Studio developers. Of the three tables, I definitely enjoyed the throwback look of Arabian Nights the most, but in the end I almost always wind up playing these in their visually enhanced modes. It is a meshing of nostalgia and modern day visual flair that simply works really well.

Zen Studios knocked it out of the park with the Arabian Nights and Cirqus Voltaire tables, both of which were ones I enjoyed in my younger years and still find challenging and entertaining today. Being able to play classic tables like this in digital form is an absolute joy and they fit beautifully withing the Pinball FX3 framework. I am sure there are players who will enjoy the slightly cramped, high speed offering that No Good Gofers provides, but for me at least it was the least entertaining of the tables in the pack.

 

Score: 8.25 / 10

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Pinball FX3: Carnivals & Legends - Switch Review

Simply put, Pinball FX3 is a fantastic fit for the Nintendo Switch, and its new set of tables (which are free if you hurry up and download them) are a welcome addition to the family. Pinball FX3: Carnivals & Legends provides two tables, one of which is good and the other which is great and both of which should be played immediately if you are a fan of Zen Studios' creative brand of video game pinball.

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Pinball FX3 - PS4 Review

There are several reasons to be excited about the release of Pinball FX3, from improved visuals to retooled online options and a bevy of new modes. Having long been a fan of the Zen Pinball / Pinball FX games, I am pretty excited to see that Pinball FX3 is a considerable leap forward for the series.

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