If you’ve read any of our Pinball FX 2 coverage in the past, then it should be no surprise to you that we are huge fans of the platform/game. Zen Studios knows pinball and lately everything they’ve been touching has been gold. It goes without saying that the physics in this newest set of tables, Marvel Vengence & Virtue, are spot on blending the realism of a physics based table with the computer generated magic that only video pinball can offer. Each of the four tables in this pack is completely unique but do hold some similarities to other tables – should you be the type who plays pinball often.
Thor – Initially, this table was my least favorite of the bunch but I can’t quite place my finger on why I felt that way. Forcing myself to play it was something that I did, and I’m not very thankful I put in the extra time because this comes in as my #2 favorite table of the pack. With plenty of ramps (some featuring the option to trigger trap doors or other bonuses) and a great, simple way to double your scoring for 30 seconds at a time, this table can help out your Superscore. The biggest downfall, Thor’s constant praise of Asgard and the method in which the score multipliers are raised. It takes 10 specific shots to increase the multiplier, but at least it’s not as bad as it is on Ghost Rider.
Moon Knight – This particular table stood out to me as the most fun initially, but subsequent play drops it down a notch or two. It’s a very fast table thanks to the deceptively short playfield. A lot of the upper portion of the field is taken up with loops and ramps which initiate in the lower 1/3. It’s a very busy table, and due to the color scheme it seems the table blends into a large pale silver blur and can be a little tricky on the eyes especially once the ball altering multi-ball mode is initiated. I will say however, the voice work on this table is very good even when compared to the other three well voiced tables.
X-Men – Bar none, this is the best table in this pack, and possibly even out of the 10 Marvel tables. Ramps, orbits and challenges are all very well placed. The modes are a easy enough to activate with a lot of variety in each game. Voice work once again is very solid. Table is wide open with a lot of loops to be found. All in all an excellent pinball table.
Ghost Rider – This is a table that I somehow had very high expectations for, and they were a little dampened when I finally got to play the table. While it’s a fairly heavily populated table, there just doesn’t seem to be a lot to do. There’s a stunt track with its own flipper for some bonus modes, video modes and a very easy to engage multiball mode, but something just seems off. It might be the strange method of calculating the post ball bonus, as the bonuses seem quite meager, even when completing modes and thinking you have things figured out.
This new Marvel pack fits seamlessly into your current Pinball FX 2 game engine for those playing on the Xbox 360, and into the Marvel Pinball package on the PS3, making it your own choice as to where you want to play the new tables.
8 / 10 More great pinball from Zen Studios. If you’re not getting the feel of one table, move to a different for a short time then come back. You may just find some new appreciation for a previously disliked table.
Platform reviewed: Xbox 360