Pinball can have a strong influence on the weak-minded

[LeeVanCleef]

I've been sort of a half-hearted fan of Zen Pinball. While I would easily rate them as number two on the list of companies creating original video pinball games (after the once nigh-unbeatable Pro Pinball), I've always felt that there was something... lacking in their table designs. While their tables may have some pretty cool effects, they usually seem a little too repetitive, like having to hit the same ramps a couple dozen times to get anything fun to happen. So I've been very surprised by how much I've been enjoying the much-ballyhooed Empire Strikes Back table. It seems the design team went all-out to do something they haven't really achieved before... making the actual playing almost as addictive as a real table. As far as the Clone and Boba Fett tables, I'd rate them a step above the normal Zen Pinball releases, but not as good as the Empire table. Anyone else had a chance to play these yet?

 

[sleepy]

Not here, though I'm interested in anything approaching Pro Pinball.
On the other hand though, real life has me beat atm.

 

[LeeVanCleef]

Well, I would take "approaching" with a grain of salt. I think Nic recently pointed out that Pro Pinball hasn't aged all that gracefully, but it still gets points for design and playability. That's something I've found lacking in a lot of the Zen Pinball releases, despite the fact that the tables always look great. Kinda wish they'd try their hand at recreating real tables. They sure couldn't do worse than Pinball Arcade's bug-riddled (and sometimes ugly) half-assed attempts.

Come to think of it, I might rate Balls of Steel as a fitting #2 in original video pinball releases, but it's been a good ten years since I played those tables, and I might be remembering them as better than they really were.

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

i have ZP THD on my tablet with the starter haunted house-type table loaded. i thought it well-designed, but a little too dorky and kidsy for me to keep playing it or to persuade me to pay for their other tables.

ZP 3D looks nice but sounds like it won't work on my DSXL (?) ...looks like it needs the 3DS to work. well, that would be a "drat" from me, since i still have leftover buying pts at the nintendo e-shop. :/

william, what platform are you playing these tables on? looks like zen is supporting four or so?

...

anyway, did you try any of the post pro-pinball games (after they changed their name) on various devices? the greek-themed one that i bought at the nintendo e-store was really awesome. i recorded a short video here:
Pinball Pulse - The Ancients Beckon on Nintendo DSXL - YouTube


eheh, that was a poor game on my part, but didn't feel like filming a million times or so...

 

[LeeVanCleef]

i have ZP THD on my tablet with the starter haunted house-type table loaded. i thought it well-designed, but a little too dorky and kidsy for me to keep playing it or to persuade me to pay for their other tables.

ZP 3D looks nice but sounds like it won't work on my DSXL (?) ...looks like it needs the 3DS to work. well, that would be a "drat" from me, since i still have leftover buying pts at the nintendo e-shop. :/

william, what platform are you playing these tables on? looks like zen is supporting four or so?

...

anyway, did you try any of the post pro-pinball games (after they changed their name) on various devices? the greek-themed one that i bought at the nintendo e-store was really awesome. i recorded a short video here:
Pinball Pulse - The Ancients Beckon on Nintendo DSXL - YouTube


eheh, that was a poor game on my part, but didn't feel like filming a million times or so...

Well, who would have thought you sucked so bad at pinball? WOW! That table looks amazing! Especially considering it's on the little ol' DS! I didn't even know about these post-Pro Pinball tables until they started their Kickstarter campaign. I think I might have a Wii somewhere... I sure hope it's available for that, since I haven't had a Nintendo handheld since the Gameboy color... I'm gonna guess you can't play them on that!
The lion's share of my Zen games are on the PS3. I, like you, have that free table on the Ipad, and I've found it to be a favorite... although every one of your criticisms is very valid. If it's kids vs. ghouls, it better be Zombies Ate My Neighbors or it doesn't count! My problem with the tablet games is that it's so damn hard to tilt... in fact, I don't think I've figured out how to do it on Ipad Zen. And, despite enjoying the table, I'm sure your brief experience with it illuminates the basic flaw in most ZP tables... rampshotrampshotrampshotrampshotrampshotrampshotrampshotrampshot Oooh, something cool actually happened! And, while the Empire table is a lot of fun, you have to buy it in a package with the other two lesser tables. I guess you've gotta decide if $10 is worth it for one really fun table and two lesser creations. Do, or do not, Nic... there is no "try."

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

re: tilting / english,
i remember on the faralos one... i mean the farsight one on tablet... you tap the lower half for flippers and the upper half for adding english... then learn to hit them together in order to do your basic slapshots and stuff. then, after awhile, you can get good at kind of starting on the lower half then quickly zooming your finger up, triggering both events more or less at once. again, for slapshots.

big problem is that in landscape mode, it's too easy to accidentally hit the wrong area, and in portrait mode the two areas are a small wasteland distant. so long story short, yes, i totally forget or don't know how to do english on ZP for tablet. godammit.

one other thing i'm not real clear on are these controllers you plug in to your phone or tablet in order to have some kind of traditional gaming input device. seems like good sense on one hand, and on t'other, seems like it kind of pulls away from an interesting new area that deserves its own development and space... i.e., the large touch-screen platform.

i mean, have you tried stuff like bad piggies on ipad? screw traditional input! :D