Zen Pinball - Favorite Table?

[Jay]

I do like Sorcerer's Lair, but right now my favorite is Epic Quest. The combination of pinball with RPG works surprisingly well. Another favorite table that's no longer available is Roller Coaster.

 

[Richard B]

Tired of playing the same 4 tables over and over again, I decided to give Zen another shot. The Marvel Pack and Excalibur are pretty good tables. I appreciate them more now after extensive time with TPA. The Avengers table also looks really interesting. AFM playfield + Marvel's Avengers = Awesome! Their physics are (intentionally) wrong, and they have twice the camera angles, but none are as useful as TPAs.
So, favorite table? Spider-Man, though they all have some excellent ideas. I especially love the day/night dynamic for Blade. It's an interesting idea that I haven't seen done on a real machine.

 

[xNiCeGuYx]

Epic Quest is my favorite.

 

[Jay]

Epic Quest is my favorite.

"This defeat is only temporary!"

 

[dtown8532]

Not counting Spider-Man in the Marvel pack, I'd say Excalibur would be my fave.

 

[mmmagnetic]

I´m suprised to see all this Excalibur love... I somehow assumed everybody would love the Marvel tables more or something Zen Pinball is actually my first time I really got into pinball, I got it on my 3DS when I first got it, sort of in a "why the hell not" way. Fiddled around with it a bit, and after a while I became really interested in the mechanics of this specific table. It really is the first time I went from "shooting a silver all around a blinking table with tons of stuff on it that randomly gives you points and hope for the best" to "okay, let´s see what I actually have to do here".

I also LOVE the DMD animations and the sounds (the head that gets knocked off by a ball, or the awesome "The gods of old are gone forevaaa"-Game Over-announcement), and that it indeed feels like it could be an actual table, like the dragon that comes out from under the ramp - it looks just like a toy, not some sort of overanimated stuff like on the Marvel tables. I also really like medieval themes in pinball, like in MM or Black Knight, so Excalibur was right up my alley.

But yeah, especially the marvel tables can be really overdone, and the table design in general is all over the place. I wonder if they have different designers for the tables, some feel really good while others are just very disjointed.

I kinda enjoyed Wolverine, he had a nice little compact table which I enjoyed (with these nice slashing sound effects when you drain), and Epic Quest is really fun indeed, it love those wacky table design in general, with popping colors and lighthearted themes.

The physics though, man... if they were a little less heavy I would enjoy Zen a lot more. But as it is it´s a decent distraction from TPA, and it´s certainly better than most of the other "pinball" junk on iOS (I´ve tried Real Pinball HD today, with the free Western table, and boy, those weird flippers made me laugh - have those people even seen a pinball table in real life?).

I mean, I don´t mind fantasy pinball if it at least attempts to be somehow believable. I don´t like animated creatures battling on the playfield and other stuff, but a well designed table is a well designed table

 

[PiN WiZ]

I´m suprised to see all this Excalibur love... I somehow assumed everybody would love the Marvel tables more or something Zen Pinball is actually my first time I really got into pinball, I got it on my 3DS when I first got it, sort of in a "why the hell not" way. Fiddled around with it a bit, and after a while I became really interested in the mechanics of this specific table. It really is the first time I went from "shooting a silver all around a blinking table with tons of stuff on it that randomly gives you points and hope for the best" to "okay, let´s see what I actually have to do here".

I also LOVE the DMD animations and the sounds (the head that gets knocked off by a ball, or the awesome "The gods of old are gone forevaaa"-Game Over-announcement), and that it indeed feels like it could be an actual table, like the dragon that comes out from under the ramp - it looks just like a toy, not some sort of overanimated stuff like on the Marvel tables. I also really like medieval themes in pinball, like in MM or Black Knight, so Excalibur was right up my alley.

But yeah, especially the marvel tables can be really overdone, and the table design in general is all over the place. I wonder if they have different designers for the tables, some feel really good while others are just very disjointed.

I kinda enjoyed Wolverine, he had a nice little compact table which I enjoyed (with these nice slashing sound effects when you drain), and Epic Quest is really fun indeed, it love those wacky table design in general, with popping colors and lighthearted themes.

The physics though, man... if they were a little less heavy I would enjoy Zen a lot more. But as it is it´s a decent distraction from TPA, and it´s certainly better than most of the other "pinball" junk on iOS (I´ve tried Real Pinball HD today, with the free Western table, and boy, those weird flippers made me laugh - have those people even seen a pinball table in real life?).

I mean, I don´t mind fantasy pinball if it at least attempts to be somehow believable. I don´t like animated creatures battling on the playfield and other stuff, but a well designed table is a well designed table

You have to realize that the majority of the people on this forum prefer tables that play more like real world tables and Excalibur is a table that could have actually existed IRL.

 

[Jim O'Brien]

Shaman can't wait until it ported over to Zen Pinball 2, should not be that much longer.

 

[mmmagnetic]

Man, I came back to Zen pinball on my 3DS after a month or so of practicing in TPA, and promptly doubled my highscore to 43 mil Probably still a relatively low score, but I finally nailed the search for the Holy Grail, and won two rounds of jousting in a row.

I really is a very well designed table, and after playing more real tables in TPA I suddenly start noticing a lot more indications and targets on the table, it´s like my ability to "read" the table has improved dramatically. Before I would just shoot wherever until something cool happened, but now I finally understand the more long-term goals.

Shaman looks quite interesting as well and also feels pretty "real". In general I like the tables on Zen 3DS (Excalibur, Shaman, Eldorado, Earth Defense) a lot more than the tables on iOS - with the exception of Epic Quest.

I´m really excited to see what Zen 2 brings and I hope they get it on the 3DS soon as well. As much as I enjoy playing pinball on that glorious iPad 3, the 3D adds a lot, even with that low resolution.

 

[Sir_LANs-a-lot]

Just a little heads up that the Avengers table is out this coming week...

Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles has been confirmed for a June 19th release for Marvel Pinball on PlayStation Network for PS3 in North America ($9.99), and June 20th for Pinball FX2 on Xbox LIVE Arcade (800 MSP) and Marvel Pinball on PlayStation Network for PS3 in Europe (€9.99).

Source: http://blog.zenstudios.com/?p=1539

 

[Richard B]

That upside down table looks annoying. Still, Zen does come up with some cool concepts - I especially like Mysterio's "nerve gas" that reverses the flipper orientation, so the left button controls the right flipper, and vice-versa (fortunately, a ball saver is on while during this mode). I also liked Blades day / night cycles, when the rules and objectives change depending on whether it is day or night. That would be an awesome feature for properties that feature alternate realities that are entered into (such as the Matrix, or Inception).

 

[Moon Jump]

Kinda pissed that Zen's next table on the iOS is Fantastic Four. I want some Spider-Man damn it! Hopefully they'll get a game from the new four pack that's coming out in a couple of weeks. World War Hulk and The Avengers table look like a lot of fun.

 

[Sir_LANs-a-lot]

Nice piece from Penny Arcade on going about creating a virtual pinball table:

http://penny-arcade.com/report/edit...l-table-behind-the-scenes-with-the-marvel-tab

ie. A Ton of work!

 

[Richard B]

Just a little heads up that the Avengers table is out this coming week...



Source: http://blog.zenstudios.com/?p=1539

Ain't seeing it on 360, a full day later. They lied?

 

[CycOd3liC]

Ain't seeing it on 360, a full day later. They lied?

It hit this morning on 360 in US.

 

[Captain Rumwood]

My favorite Zen Pinball tables: Excalibur, Paranormal, Mars and El Dorado.

Favorite Zen Pinball? Hmm for me it's Epic Quest. I like the design the charm (Max's quotes are funny) And the idea of progression. Other Favorites are MARS, Earth Defense, Sorcerer's Lair. If only I could play Rome and Buccaneer on the PS3 as those look really cool.

I hope that Zen Pinball add both Rome and Buccaneer for PS3. I've seen videos and both tables look pretty cool.

You have to realize that the majority of the people on this forum prefer tables that play more like real world tables and Excalibur is a table that could have actually existed IRL.

I agree. Even though I love most of their tables, sometimes the "action figures" interaction breaks up the gameplay and become a bit annoying after a while.

It hit this morning on 360 in US.

I just read the news. Gonna download the pack as soon as I get home.

 

[Richard B]

Wish they'd allow a trial. I hate buying stuff I can't try out first. Their other tables and packs have trials. What are they trying to hide?

 

[Sir_LANs-a-lot]

Wish they'd allow a trial. I hate buying stuff I can't try out first. Their other tables and packs have trials. What are they trying to hide?

Just checked on XBLA - There does appear to be a trial of Marvel: Avengers Chronicles

 

[Brandon Debes]

Can any of you who follow Zen Studios more closely tell me whether anything ever came of that possible Archer table collaboration thing? If released, that's one of the few things that could make me re-install Pinball FX 2 on my Xbox. But there was just that initial twitter activity several months back, and then I didn't hear anything else about it. Did I miss anything?

 

[Pinballfan69]

Wish they'd allow a trial. I hate buying stuff I can't try out first. Their other tables and packs have trials. What are they trying to hide?

I guess if you haven't already done so, Marvel Pinball may be the only option. Yet it has been 2 years and the tables have gotten better every time IMO.