Here’s something I thought I’d never get hooked on again: pinball. I haven’t touched a pinball table in years and while I technically still haven’t, it’s nice being back behind the flippers. Where better to attempt my majestic return to pinball kinghood* than with the new Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles tables for Pinball FX 2?
As its name would suggest, Zen Studios’ latest Marvel-themed outing ties in with the recent blockbuster film The Avengers by bringing you four brand new lovingly-crafted Avengers-themed pinball tables. Only a couple of these tables are centred on the Avengers as a group, borrowing heavily on film likenesses. The other three tables put a pinball twist on some popular comic book moments for the Avengers, Thor and Hulk.
Each of the tables throw some crazy idea or other at you: the Avengers table lets you choose between six different balls and each one can accumulate score in different ways – for example, getting to grips with Hulk balls can see you rack up some serious points when you repeatedly hit bumpers and targets. As well as this, the table itself is split into six separate areas – one for each spherical Avenger – and taking the path that corresponds with your current ball gets you massive boosts to your score. It’s such a devilishly simple idea that adds a sense of, dare I say, strategy to your average game of pinball. I’d be very interested in seeing how this idea is fleshed out in future pinball tables.
It’s almost a shame that the other tables don’t make use of this method of choosing which ball you want to use but the Infinity Gauntlet table (starring a familiar face for those who’ve watched The Avengers past the end credits) more than makes up for it. Activating each of the different gems of the gauntlet changes the game up a little each time; trying to fend off three balls while the flipper controls have been inverted catches you completely off guard and is a truckload of fun to play. The Thor-themed “Fear Itself” table presents yet another clever twist in the form of choosing an “opponent” from several, with each applying a different effect to the ball. They’re both damned fun tables to play – it almost feels ironic now to say that the World War Hulk table had the least impact.
My eyes lit up when I saw that something World War Hulk-related was included with this Marvel Pinball pack – despite not being a massive comic book fan, this was one series I’d read and enjoyed very much. Suffice to say it was a bit of a let down to discover that it’s probably the most standard of the four tables on offer. While it’s only marginally less fun than the other tables, the lack of innovation in comparison makes it feel much less deserving of your attention.
What Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles ultimately offers you however is some of the best damned pinball you’ve probably ever played. The inarguably moreish gameplay split across four gorgeous pinball tables should speak for itself – I’m willing to bet you’ll have a hard time stopping yourself from trying to constantly top your friends’ scores. Will pinball ever get old? Not as long as Zen Studios keeps this up.
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