Advice for first video pinball game

[angryassdrummer]

I've never bought a video game pinball game before, but played a demo on xbla today and found it fun and reminded me of my childhood in arcades
I just want 1 game with several tables that will be fun for a new player like me but with depth too
I have iPad/iPhone, 360/xbla, ps3/psn & ds
Any advice or recommendation would be great thanks

 

[netizen]

Do you want a pinball game the strives for more realism, or one that pushes the boundaries and is more of a video pinball simulator?

Generally the top 2 applications for either two categories tend to be The Pinball Arcade for the former and Zen Pinball for the latter. Both meet your requirements of having multiple tables and they are both accessible for the beginner and have challenge for the more advanced player; even though the last point could be debated by some.

Both applications are available on iOS, xbox, ps3, and more platforms.

Likely there will be plenty of other options offered up as well.

 

[Advalle]

The nice thing about the 'Pinball Arcade' is that you can try out the tables before you purchase. With 'Zen' you can't even take a look at the playfield before you buy. This resulted in me buying 3 tables from Zen that I ended up hating. Take that into consideration. Also, any other pinball brand games are subpar in one way or the other.

Just my opinion

 

[karl]

These are the best on IOS in my view.

1. The pinball Arcade(best by a mile)
2. Revenge of the Rob-o-bot(only 1 table but it is a great one)
3. Crystal Caliburn II(only one table)
4. Pinball dreams and pinball fantasies(2 games by the same company. Classic video pinball from the early 90')
5. Zen pinball (many would put this on first or second place. Maybe it is just me but I am just not getting the pinball vibe I get from the others.)

Good luck and above all, have a good time playing pinball in whatever form

PS! If you don't mind waiting a while, look out for Pro-pinball. Probably the the best video pinball game so far. Not available on IOS or xbox 360 yet(it was made for the pc and consoles ca 10 years ago) but you can download a light demo for IOS to wet your appetite ;-)

 

[Pop Sergeant]

... reminded me of my childhood in arcades ...

Welcome to the forums.

Zen and TPA are both great in their own styles, and fun and depth are there in both -- that part is certainly subjective and varies by table and your skills -- but the quoted part of your statement (above) is why I favor Pinball Arcade over Zen.

I much prefer the nostalgia of playing a re-creation of the tables from my youth and the sense of anticipation (and yes, frustration) while finally having the time (lots, it's mobile) and quarters (none!) to best those darn things!

If that is what you're chasing ... in my opinion, you can't do better than TPA for selection and realistic game play.

I think right now, I'd recommend the IPad (iOS) or Android versions on a tablet, especially if you have the ability to HD out to a LCD/TV which is what I do to get my big screen fix but I'm perfectly happy with a 10" tablet in portrait mode.

 

[jkonami]

The nice thing about the 'Pinball Arcade' is that you can try out the tables before you purchase. With 'Zen' you can't even take a look at the playfield before you buy. This resulted in me buying 3 tables from Zen that I ended up hating. Take that into consideration. Also, any other pinball brand games are subpar in one way or the other.

Just my opinion

I'm not a fan of Zen really but when I messed with it you could definitely play demos of every table, because thats what i did with several. The demos are just score limited I think, they stop when you reach a certain score.

 

[DrainoBraino]

Welcome!

First you should get TPA on your ipad. Download the initial table pack it comes with 4 tables. Then get Zen on your ps3. Have fun!

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

Don't forget about Pro Pinball as well!

 

[angryassdrummer]

Thanks for the advice guys.
How does Pinball FX 2 (xbla) stack up to Pinball Arcade?
Was very surprised to see tablets recommended, I assumed it would be preferred to use a controller with triggers
I'm happy to go whichever way is the most fun

 

[Jeff Strong]

I prefer The Pinball Arcade because it's much more realistic.

I'd get The Pinball Arcade demo on your PS3 and if it plays well for you (no lag) then I'd get it on PS3 because there are more tables than the 360 version.

 

[TripleT]

The Pinball Arcade. Case closed.

 

[Dont Troll Me]

I've never bought a video game pinball game before, but played a demo on xbla today and found it fun and reminded me of my childhood in arcades
I just want 1 game with several tables that will be fun for a new player like me but with depth too
I have iPad/iPhone, 360/xbla, ps3/psn & ds
Any advice or recommendation would be great thanks

you may want to consider PS3 version of TPA xbox has still not got any new dlc for some time now (10 tables behind)

Zen Pinball 2 is an excellent game as well you should grab that too and you can demo them as well, star wars tables are coming vary soon and they will be awesome both games are Equally great so don't be convinced by the zen haters, i have them all so far and i will keep piling them on both TPA & ZEN2

 

[ER777]

I prefer The Pinball Arcade because it's much more realistic.

I'd get The Pinball Arcade demo on your PS3 and if it plays well for you (no lag) then I'd get it on PS3 because there are more tables than the 360 version.

This is very good advice. I think the both have some form of free demo on both the PS3 and probably do on iOS (I know TPA lets you demo every table on Android and Zen gives you one free table) so they best way to decide would be to try for yourself. Chances are that you'll pick TPA though if you're looking to relive arcade memories from your youth, it does have a more realistic pinball feel than Zen - although Zen is very fun in its own way.

 

[Pinballfan69]

The debate of Zen vs TPA will linger forever and most of it will be a matter of opinion. Even so TPA does do recreations of tables from the past and that's a big plus.


I prefer Zen mostly for it's originality although I feel the ball has too much weight. TPA on the other hand is a bit too bouncy and floaty for my liking so playing both back to back can get frustrating. It's getting better.

Star wars pinball for Zen is coming up on Tuesday and these tables aside from the license these tables look so much fun.

That said if you are a pinball fan, play both if you can. I do.

Both Zen and TPA have demos that end when you score a certain amount of points. On mobile platforms they have a 'table of the month' option where you can play a table for free without the point limit.

Zen on mobile has Sorcerers Lair for free.

 

[Bowflex]

The good thing that you can do, especially on iOS is to download a trial version of both. Just keep in mind of you get pinball arcade as a purchase, delete the free version and buy the paid version of the app. Trust me.

 

[angryassdrummer]

Are the Star Wars table for zen pinball only?

 

[Kolchak357]

Are the Star Wars table for zen pinball only?

Yes

 

[DrainoBraino]

Was very surprised to see tablets recommended, I assumed it would be preferred to use a controller with triggers
I'm happy to go whichever way is the most fun

All ways are fun. I think TPA is best on ipad because of the pick up and play portability. The ps3 version suffers with a few issues, which you can read all about in the ps3 forum, I would not recommend it. That's why I recommend Zen for Ps3, it's awesome.

I personally don't have an ipad, but my friends do, and I love playing TPA on it. I play mostly on android phone, it doesn't run so great and is choppy at times.

 

[Tabe]

Until this weekend, my recommendation on PS3 would have been Pinball Arcade by a mile. Now...not so sure.

This weekend, I spent a lot of time playing 3 of the newest Zen Pinball tables - Sorceror's Lair, Paranormal, and Plants vs Zombies. Of the three, IMHO, Sorceror's Lair is the best and it is really, REALLY good. It doesn't do anything that couldn't be replicated on a real table (w/some modifications), has a great theme, and plays really well. As with all Zen tables, it looks fantastic. Also, like all Zen tables, you can take an awful lot of shots that don't score very much and, once you've played it a bit, your balls can last a really long time as it actually becomes difficult to drain.

Then I went back to play Pinball Arcade for a bit and found myself greatly frustrated. First off, the drop in graphical quality from Zen to TPA was really, really shocking. Yeah, I already knew that TPA wasn't as good but the difference was a lot more than I realized. Then I started playing Twilight Zone and found myself late on shots over and over and over and over as I attempted to readjust to the flipper lag. I was constantly missing shots with the upper right flipper, one after the other. Then a ball went through my flipper. Then another came off my flipper at a completely unrealistic angle and was drained. And so on. After 30-45 minutes, I was nothing but frustrated and ended my play session.

To sum up:

Zen
- outstanding graphics
- responsive flippers
- good UI
- nice touches like sounds when the ball rolls and seeing spin on the ball
- physics are questionable - the ball is way too easy to catch and control
- very easy - see the comment on physics. Also, everything is tuned to keep the ball in play. While this removes the challenge entirely for elite players, for everybody else it can make the game very enjoyable
- great social connectivity and tie-ins with your friends

Pinball Arcade
- Real tables
- More realistic physics
- Challenging and unforgiving on a lot of the tables
- Major flaws in flipper interactions - balls passing through flippers, incorrect angles with the ball off the flippers, flipper lag
- Bugs, bugs, bugs
- Mediocre presentation/UI

If you are a casual player with no strong ties to a particular real table that you want to play, I would probably recommend Zen. Start with Sorcerer's Lair and have a good time. IMHO, the significantly better presentation and snappier flippers are both so positive that they outweigh the negatives of Zen. However, if you've got a real table you want to play (for me, it was Funhouse), then go with Pinball Arcade. Either choice is just fine.

Tabe

 

[Mark W**a]

There's no comparison then. Zen Pinball/Pinball FX, 2nd best digital pinball game, isn't realistic, doesn't feel like the real thing, tables have shoddy production values and are mostly pretty ho hum from my experience.

Anyways I feel that the first 10 tables are best on 360, then you can get the remaining 12 on your PlayStation and the two newest for iPad/Phone.

I feel that iPad/Phone is a great way to sample what comes next, and keeps you tied over until the eventual console releases, which take more time to come out.