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Shoot GOG ramp to activate pinball classics
A new pinball download is lighting up the boards over at GOG.com. You might not recognize all the games collected in the Pinball Gold Pack, but considering the sheer amount of content, it's hard to argue with the math. The Pinball Gold Pack crams in five games -- Pinball Dreams, Pinball Dreams 2, Pinball Fantasies, Pinball Mania, and Pinball Illusions -- adding up to a total of twenty tables for only ten bucks. If that's not enticing enough, you could always grab them for the historical perspective. Specifically, the games were developed by Digital Illusions (A.K.A. DICE) -- the studio behind the Battlefield series and Mirror's Edge -- all the way back in the grungy, flannel-covered decade known as the 1990s. Crank up the Nirvana while playing and you'll pretty much get the whole experience.
'Marvel Pinball' leaked by Australian Ratings Board
The development studio behind both the Pinball FX series on XBLA and Zen Pinball on PSN has just popped up on the Australian Ratings Board website under a listing for "Marvel Pinball," a "multiplatform" game. The ESRB has yet to detail it, but we get the feeling Marvel Pinball just might be a pinball game with Marvel branding and characters -- our detective work knows no bounds, we know. Given past additions to its pinball games, Zen Studios could be planning the title as an expansion to its forthcoming Pinball FX 2. Regardless, the listing existing at all means we should be hearing more about Marvel Pinball sooner than later.
Pinball HD for the iPad: It doesn't get much better than this
Gameprom has taken their three popular iPhone/iPod touch pinball games, The Deep, Jungle Style Pinball and Wild West Pinball (US$.99 each), and rolled them into one amazing iPad app: Pinball HD selling at $2.99. The iPad app is much more than just a simple port with better graphics, it adds so many features and so much additional value over the iPhone apps that I consider the price to be a huge bargain. I haven't played every pinball game out for the iPad at this point, but with some minor technical quibbles, I really can't see pinball on the iPad getting much better than this. At least not for now.
Multiball Pinball: Not your Dad's pinball, and maybe not yours either
Multiball Pinball (US$2.99 for devices using iPhone OS 2.2 or better), is billed by Matmi, publisher of three other pinball games, as their most extreme pinball yet. If extreme, means busy, chaotic and possibly headache inducing, I'd agree with them. Let's try a test. Look at the graphic on the right for a few seconds and try to figure out what's going on. This is a one table pinball game with no close-ups or camera movements to direct your eyes such as found in Wild West Pinball, a cheaper, and more nicely designed app. You can see that the screen is very busy, and seems to use every pinball component possible. But being the most feature laden pinball game out there is not necessarily a good thing. There are four flippers controlled by tapping on the left or right side of the screen, but one flipper is often obscured by overlay text, like the one under the big X BALL display. The app does come with a few pages of instructions, in type a bit too small to easily read, and any direction is quite useful, but what isn't welcome is the total chaos of gameplay. As I played, I found the right flippers have a hard time bouncing a ball to the top of the table since the path is obscured by objects. There is always a lot going on, like ramps, cannons and smoke, but their design leaves a lot to be desired. It's not very clear when a ball enters a ramp, exactly where it will come out. When a smoke effect appears, it often obscures your view of the ball. %Gallery-90919%
iPad apps: defining experiences from the first wave
There are now over 1,348 approved apps for the iPad. That's on top of the 150,000 iPad-compatible iPhone programs already available in the App Store. When Apple's tablet PC launches, just hours from now, it will have a software library greater than that of any handheld in history -- not counting the occasional UMPC. That said, the vast majority of even those 1,348 iPad apps are not original. They were designed for the iPhone, a device with a comparatively pokey processor and a tiny screen, and most have just been tweaked slightly, upped in price and given an "HD" suffix -- as if that somehow justified the increased cost. Besides, we've seen the amazing potential programs have on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and webOS when given access to a touchscreen, always-on data connection, GPS, cloud storage and WiFi -- but where are the apps that truly define iPad? What will take advantage of its extra headroom, new UI paradigms and multitouch real estate? Caught between netbook and smartphone, what does the iPad do that the iPhone cannot? After spending hours digging through the web and new iPad section of the App Store, we believe we have a number of reasonably compelling answers. Update: Now includes Wormhole Remote, TweetDeck, SkyGrid, Touchgrind HD, GoToMeeting, SplitBrowser, iDisplay, Geometry Wars and Drawing Pad.
Tilt! Preview photos of The Pinball for iPad and Mac OS X
With just one week left until iPad Saturday, we're starting to see some amazing software coming out. One of the more intriguing games that we've seen is The Pinball for iPad from Gameprom. Pinball fanatics will likely find this app to be a vast improvement over the games found on the iPhone platform, with a larger playing field, increased game detail, and more realistic game play. The Pinball for iPad combines three of Gameprom's iPhone pinball games -- Jungle Style Pinball, The Deep Pinball and Wild West Pinball -- into one tasty looking app. Some of the features of The Pinball include: Different camera modes: stable picture of the "whole table" and agile camera, which follows the ball in the game with automatic zoom in significant places Realistic physics Camera tilt Anaglyptographic (3D) stereo effect Local and global high scores 3-ball multiball mode Ability to shake the pinball table, with an acceleration indicator so you don't "tilt" In what we're hoping is the start of a sweeping trend, Gameprom is also planning on releasing The Pinball for Mac OS X. While there's not a lot of info about the game, the developers provided a number of screenshots to whet your appetite. Check out the gallery for a look at The Pinball. %Gallery-89147%
Ben Heck completes the Bill Paxton Pinball machine, reasserts supremacy
Just in case you thought Ben Heck was being caught up by his acolytes, our favorite superhero modder has come back today with the completed Bill Paxton Pinball machine. You might remember the rough version of this glorious homage to one of the world's most mediocre actors from that time we visited Ben at his home / lair. It has now been fully fleshed out, painted, spit-shined, tested, and slapped with a badge of completion. You want to see it in action? We've got video of that. You want to see how it was built? We've got video of that too. You'll find the moving pictures after the break, but don't neglect the source as it also contains photo galleries and a walkthrough of the design process.
ZEN Pinball's Ninja Gaiden table trailer slices and dices
Wondering what the official Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 table for ZEN Pinball looks like in motion? Wonder no more -- the video above will show you all of the Hayabusa-style bumper action you'll be able to find, complete with ramps, flashing lights, ninja spirits and... burning pagodas? Boy, those ZEN folks aren't really pinball traditionalists, are they? But it does look fun. The table will bring new gameplay modes and missions along with it to the PlayStation Store on Thursday, January 14, for $2.49 (€1.99). Of course, it's DLC for the original ZEN Pinball game, so you've got to have that, too. Wait, we just rewatched it -- did Ryu just slice the ball in half? That's pretty awesome!
NintendoWare Weekly: Pinball, Gravitronix, Final Fight 2
Usually, we can't fit all of the titles available for download across Nintendo platforms into the headline, but this week's NintendoWare Weekly post is an exception. Those anxious to get their hands on some digital wares will only find three games available this week -- so in the interest of keeping this train a-chuggin' along, let's get to the details.
Ninja Gaiden crosses over into ZEN Pinball
We're not sure how the ZEN Pinball team does it, but they've managed to create another crossover DLC table for the popular PSN pinball game. The follow-up to the Street Fighter table pays tribute to Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden series. The official details will be revealed on the PlayStation.Blog soon, but we're pretty sure it'll be similar to the last DLC offering. [Thanks, HeavyToka!]
Earth Defense Table DLC available for Pinball FX
To take advantage of its limited-time reduced price, Zen Studios has released new DLC for Pinball FX. The "Earth Defense Table" (not pictured) runs gamers 240 ($3 US) and throws pinball fans in the middle of an alien invasion. Thankfully, these aliens have poor navigation skills and did not realize attacking Earth from within a virtual steel box would be considered a poor strategic decision.Shortcut: Add the Earth Defense Table (240) to your Xbox Queue[Via Aeropause]
Interview: ZEN Studios' Zsolt Kigyossy
Today's announcement of ZEN Pinball's collaboration with Capcom was certainly a bizarre, unexpected one. We chatted with ZEN Studios' managing director Zsolt Kigyossy on the surprising success of ZEN Pinball, the studio's future plans with PlayStation Network, and how the Street Fighter deal came about in the first place. ZEN Pinball debuted as the top-selling PSN game in May. Was the team surprised by that achievement? Not too surprised! We've been working on perfecting our ball-and-table physics for six years now, so I guess our team's passion really shines through in the game. Although, with so many new games coming out each month we couldn't simply rely on quality to make our title stand out, and for that reason we owe much of our success to the huge support that we received from both Sony Europe and America. Not only that, our studio owes a big thanks to the PSN community for supporting our titles and helping drive ZEN Pinball to the number one spot. We couldn't have achieved this success without our dedicated fans.
ZEN Pinball: Street Fighter II coming to PSN soon
It may not get the media attention of PSN titles like Flower or the PixelJunk games, but ZEN Pinball is one of the most successful PSN games around. To capitalize on its success, ZEN Studios is planning a number of DLC tables for the game. First up is ZEN Pinball: Street Fighter II, a PS3 interpretation of the Street Fighter II table from Pinball FX on XBLA. "Here at ZEN Studios, we are long time Street Fighter fans and have a great relationship with Capcom, so the idea came naturally," ZEN Studios' managing director Zsolt Kigyossy told us in an exclusive interview. The price hasn't been revealed yet, but the team is aiming to release the table later this month.
ZEN Studios teases new PS3 project with familiar logo
ZEN Studios,which has already created two PSN exclusives, ZEN Pinball and The Punisher: No Mercy, is teasing its new PS3 project. Looking at this logo, it should be pretty clear as to what the team is up to. While you can make your guesses today, the official announcement won't be made until tomorrow. It's really not that hard, guys.
ZEN Pinball is top downloaded PSN game in May
Looks like our glowing preview of ZEN Pinball paid off for Zen Studios. The first (and only) pinball game on the PlayStation Network met an incredible debut, taking the top spot in May. Perhaps the free demo, which showcased the game's solid physics engine and graphics, convinced gamers to go for the full version? According to GamerBytes, Zen Studios' Pinball FX did "similarly well" on Xbox Live Arcade. That game went on to sell 250,000 units over time -- perhaps ZEN Pinball can meet an equally favorable fate? In addition to ZEN, the rest of the top 5 included many PSN mainstays: ZEN Pinball Worms Mortal Kombat II Wheel of Fortune Flower For the rest of the top 10, and more analysis of PSN sales, check out GamerBytes.
Hands-On: Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection
Sadly, we don't have a hands-on for Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, and that's a real travesty. It was one of the best games released for the Wii last year, and if you're a Wii owner and a fan of pinball (admittedly, that's probably a niche market), then you need to go out and pick it up somewhere. It's a great pinball simulator, features faithful recreations of some of the best pinball tables ever manufactured, and even includes tilt via the Wii Remote.The Gottlieb Collection, which brings eleven new tables to the Wii, will finally appear in North America this year. This set includes the history for each table, along with a scanned copy of the flyers that manufacturers used to send out to get arcades interested in new machines, a feature lacking in The Williams Collection. They've tossed in two arcade staple bonus games as well, and the only thing missing is a slot for your quarters and the soda-sticky floors. Read on for more info, including a list of the tables in the game.%Gallery-65572%
Trophies: ZEN Pinball
Four pinball tables, four Trophies to earn in each. Are you ready for some ZEN Pinball? View Trophy List | Visit Trophy Portal
ZEN Pinball bounces onto PSN next week for $10
ZEN Pinball will be available on the PlayStation Store on May 14th for $9.99. Our hands-on with the demo revealed a solid foundation for the game, with realistic (if not a bit fast) physics. ZEN Pinball doesn't offer too many frills: don't expect any boss fights, or hedgehog-inspired platforming segments. Instead, you'll get a rather faithful digital recreation of an arcade cabinet, LED display and all. As expected, ZEN offers online leaderboards, multiple tables and Trophies. However, we're most intrigued by the video chat-enabled online multiplayer mode. You can check it out next week on the US PlayStation Store. %Gallery-50183%
Joystiq hands-on: ZEN Pinball
The PlayStation Network features all sorts of innovative genre-defining games -- but where is the traditional pinball game? ZEN Pinball is looking to fill in this suspicious void, and does so with style. Pinball is a rather straightforward genre to replicate. So long as the ball physics are accurate, pinball fans can generally be satiated -- but what we've played of ZEN Pinball has left us impressed. The core gameplay is exactly what you'd expect from a pinball game: busy tables with a classic emulated LED display on the top left corner. Each table features its own tricks to scoring free balls, multipliers and more. From what we've played of the first playable table, ZEN is attempting to represent the game as realistically as possible -- don't expect a Sonic Spinball-esque adventure here. The ball feels weighty, and to our surprise, seems incredibly fast. The pinball rolls around with great speed, but for those that find the default difficulty a bit tricky, there are a few options that can be tweaked. Players can adjust the angle of the table, or even slow down the speed of the ball. However, don't expect to unlock Trophies if you decide to turn on any of these modifiers -- you have to play with the default settings in order to earn any achievements. %Gallery-50183%
PSN scores a new exclusive: ZEN Pinball
The PlayStation Network has a lot of games, but it's missing one key genre: a pinball game. ZEN Studios plans on rectifying this with a PSN-exclusive game this Spring. ZEN Pinball will offer standard pinball play, with a twist. There will be in-game missions, head-to-head online multiplayer and even worldwide tournaments. ZEN Pinball will offer four tables -- V12, Tesla, Shaman and El Dorado. Players will be able to play multiplayer not only online, but locally as well. Looks like ZEN is offering all the features a pinball fan could possibly want. %Gallery-50183%
