Review: Zen Pinball

Posted by Tom in Frontpage, Gaming, Gaming Reviews, PS3 | 2 comments

Before I tell you what Zen Pinball is, I’m going to explain to you what makes a good pinball game.

1) Either perfect physics or whacked out of your mind physics – If you’re going to do pinball, do it right or do it crazy. Any in between will only result in lack luster game play.
2) Tables that are not necessarily realistic, but fit within the level of realism that the physics allow for – If you have a 100% realistic physics model, your tables better feel like real tables. If your physics are crazy, your tables should take advantage of that level of crazy.
3) Variety – In a good pinball collection, every table should demand different skills from the player because every table should feel like a completely different game.

So does Zen Pinball succeed on any of these concepts? Yes. In fact, it achieves all of them.

Zen Pinball is awesome. No matter what table you’re playing, you’re bound to have a good time. My personal favorite is El Dorado. Every table is filled with stuff to do and you’ll have a blast learning how to master each table.

The physics are spot on. The game takes into account everything from speed to spin. This attention to physics creates a game where there is a higher level of randomness than in most other pinball games. While this may sound like a bad thing, mastering the physics becomes a game in itself and it’s a perfect way to learn how to step up to a real pinball machine.

As for realism, the tables don’t necessarily follow my rule; however, since it is video game pinball, the designers kept that in mind and designed tables that were impractical to do in real life; however, still possible on some levels. So no real video game table would have a spinning blade, but that’s okay. Confined to the world of video games, it works and is great fun.

As for the multiplayer features, I haven’t tried that yet, but thanks to online leader boards, you’ll have fun score chasing with everyone on your friends list. The game also includes weekly high scores so if you’re good enough, you’re bound to enter the top of the leader boards at some time. Maybe not THE top but close enough to satisfy your ego.

I love Zen Pinball. It does it for me.

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