Once again, I'm slacking on my coverage of the latest table packs! So it's time to get that fixed. For thoughts on earlier tables in TPA, see Recommended TPA Tables for Beginners and Beyond, More Recommended TPA Tables for Beginners and Beyond (DLC Packs 5 - 7), Even More Recommended TPA Tables for Beginners and Beyond (DLC Packs 8 - 11) and Yet More Recommended TPA Tables for Beginners and Beyond (DLC Packs 12 - 14).
Difficulty is rated by pinballs, 1 being stupid easy and 5 being blood-on-the-cabinet tough.
Champion Pub (5 pinballs): Don't get me wrong, the Pub is a fun table, but it's quite a ballbreaker as well. Death shots galore, even made shots are sometimes punished (the left ramp to the boxer is somewhat ill-behaved). Hell, even the video mode can be tough for the novice. Probably one of the hardest tables in the game so far.
Whirlwind (4 pinballs): Plays a lot like FunHouse, which it should, considering Whirlwind is FH's immediate predecessor in the Gospel According to Lawlor. What distinguishes Whirlwind is speed - it's far faster than Rudyland - and the three spinning discs 'o' doom in the middle playfield. Still, Whirlwind strikes a good balance between the simplicity of 80s tables and the overwrought complexity of Lawlor's later tables, so give it a whirl. (OK, I'll stop with the bad puns.)
Flight 2000 (3 pinballs): TPA's first non-modern Stern, and a good one. Brought into TPA by being the winner of the Stern fan poll, Flight 2000 has a unique (and hard-to-reach) multiball start sequence meant to mimic the three-stage launch of a shuttle. Otherwise, it's your classic late-70s/early-80s table in play and looks. Great for winding down after facing off against a modern table.
Goin' Nuts! (0 pinballs): Yes, zero pinballs, for the simple reason that I do best on this table by mindlessly batting at any ball near a flipper. A great number of people are still wondering how this table ever got the nod to be immortalized in TPA; count me among the puzzled.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (2.5 pinballs): Despite its status as the third Kickstarter-ed table, T2 is a far cry from the twin flagships of Season 1, TZ and ST:TNG. But it's still a fun, if rather shallow table, and makes for a good introduction to the more flow-oriented tables in TPA.
Haunted House (3 pinballs): Basically, Black Hole with a third playfield and no multiball. They did do a reasonable job of making all three playfields relevant to scoring, and accurate shooting is rewarded here, but players looking for a lot of action and flashiness will want to go with one of the newer horror-themed tables.
Tee'd Off (3 pinballs): No Good Gofer's lesser-known older brother, Tee'd Off is one of the better Gottliebs. Scoring balance is kind of shaky - certain modes are worth far more than others - but on the whole it's an enjoyable medium-difficulty table. Gunther's (the gopher) callouts do get repetitive after a while, especially if you've been repeatedly bricking a shot.
Difficulty is rated by pinballs, 1 being stupid easy and 5 being blood-on-the-cabinet tough.
Champion Pub (5 pinballs): Don't get me wrong, the Pub is a fun table, but it's quite a ballbreaker as well. Death shots galore, even made shots are sometimes punished (the left ramp to the boxer is somewhat ill-behaved). Hell, even the video mode can be tough for the novice. Probably one of the hardest tables in the game so far.
Whirlwind (4 pinballs): Plays a lot like FunHouse, which it should, considering Whirlwind is FH's immediate predecessor in the Gospel According to Lawlor. What distinguishes Whirlwind is speed - it's far faster than Rudyland - and the three spinning discs 'o' doom in the middle playfield. Still, Whirlwind strikes a good balance between the simplicity of 80s tables and the overwrought complexity of Lawlor's later tables, so give it a whirl. (OK, I'll stop with the bad puns.)
Flight 2000 (3 pinballs): TPA's first non-modern Stern, and a good one. Brought into TPA by being the winner of the Stern fan poll, Flight 2000 has a unique (and hard-to-reach) multiball start sequence meant to mimic the three-stage launch of a shuttle. Otherwise, it's your classic late-70s/early-80s table in play and looks. Great for winding down after facing off against a modern table.
Goin' Nuts! (0 pinballs): Yes, zero pinballs, for the simple reason that I do best on this table by mindlessly batting at any ball near a flipper. A great number of people are still wondering how this table ever got the nod to be immortalized in TPA; count me among the puzzled.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (2.5 pinballs): Despite its status as the third Kickstarter-ed table, T2 is a far cry from the twin flagships of Season 1, TZ and ST:TNG. But it's still a fun, if rather shallow table, and makes for a good introduction to the more flow-oriented tables in TPA.
Haunted House (3 pinballs): Basically, Black Hole with a third playfield and no multiball. They did do a reasonable job of making all three playfields relevant to scoring, and accurate shooting is rewarded here, but players looking for a lot of action and flashiness will want to go with one of the newer horror-themed tables.
Tee'd Off (3 pinballs): No Good Gofer's lesser-known older brother, Tee'd Off is one of the better Gottliebs. Scoring balance is kind of shaky - certain modes are worth far more than others - but on the whole it's an enjoyable medium-difficulty table. Gunther's (the gopher) callouts do get repetitive after a while, especially if you've been repeatedly bricking a shot.