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Zen Studios’ Pinball FX offers an unparalleled pinball experience for novices and experts alike. It combines the arcade thrills of traditional pinball with enhanced gameplay and exciting, innovative features not found in any other pinball game. With the power of the Xbox 360 behind it, Pinball FX defines next-gen pinball physics and boasts high-resolution graphical detail. Unique to this game, players can operate the flippers via their arm movements with the Xbox 360 Live Vision Camera, or can engage in head-to-head online multiplayer bouts (with live chat, also via the Vision Camera.)

Genre: Pinball

Publisher: Zen Studios

Developer: Zen Studios

Online Play:

Local Play: 2 Versus

September 21, 2009 –
Budapest, Hungary – Are you ready to save the WORLD? ZEN Studios, a videogame developer and digital publisher known for its innovative arcade, strategy and action games, announced today they are releasing Earth Defense, yet another add-on table for their wildly popular Pinball FX game on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The table launches today and will coincide with a 50% price drop for Pinball FX as it is Microsoft’s “Deal of the Week” – the full version of Pinball FX will be available for 400 Microsoft Points this entire week.

“We’re very proud of not only Pinball FX, but also the fact that we have given our fans and gamers around the world loads of exciting downloadable content for hours of fun,” said Zsolt Kigyossy, Managing Director for Zen Studios. “Earth Defense follows in the footsteps of Buccaneer, Nightmare Mansion and Street Fighter II Turbo in keeping the spirit of Pinball FX alive and strong.”

In Earth Defense, hordes of hostile aliens are attacking the planet, and it’s up to you to lead the united forces of Earth against the gigantic Flip-Bot and its minions. The fate of the world is in your hands! As a young and handsome captain of the Earth Defense Special Forces, it will be your mission to overcome the panic and rid Pinball City of the alien invaders, using multiple ball modes, drop targets, spiral flytowers, bonus multipliers and much more.

Pinball FX combines the arcade thrills of traditional pinball with enhanced game play, unparalleled graphical detail and exciting, innovative features not found in any other pinball game. For more information about Earth Defense or Pinball FX, please visit www.pinballfx.com. For more information about ZEN Studios, please visit www.zenstudios.com.

ABOUT ZEN STUDIOS:

ZEN Studios is a videogame developer and digital publisher based in Budapest, Hungary. Founded in 2000, the studio is known for its innovative arcade and action titles. ZEN is one of the only developers in Central Europe that is a fully licensed to develop and publish games for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS and Wii home video game system from Nintendo. ZEN Studios has worked with some of the largest intellectual properties in the videogame industry, including Capcom’s Street Fighter and Marvel Comics’ The Punisher. ZEN’s seminal Pinball FX franchise on Xbox LIVE Arcade is one of the most popular titles on the platform and the recently released ZEN Pinball is the first pinball title on the PlayStation Network. For more information about ZEN Studios, please visit www.zenstudios.com.

April 27, 2007 –
According to The Who, Tommy was a Pinball Wizard. He probably would have enjoyed Pinball FX on Xbox Live Arcade. Tommy was also deaf, blind and mute. That may be the requirements for finding satisfaction in Zen Studios’ overpriced offering. At 800 Microsoft Points (US$10), pinball enthusiasts get three mediocre boards, a couple-hundred Achievement Points, and little else.

As my college test scores can attribute, I spent a lot of my early adult life playing pinball games. I had a fondness for old pinball cabinets that were a tad cheesy and had perhaps a little less flash than the new wave of machines that were creeping into the last few arcades in America. So when I saw Pinball FX for the first time, I felt a little tingle in my flipper fingers. Turns out I was just moments from a stroke.

For the most part the physics in Pinball FX hold up, but there are a few issues that harm the overall experience. The ball is far too fast, unrealistically so. It’s difficult to use a soft touch in Pinball FX. The flippers are also too strong. I’ve yet to pull one of the most basic pinball moves in the repertoire: The flipper pass. Because the ball is eager to launch into the stratosphere at the slightest touch and the flippers kick strongly, it’s virtually impossible to make a transfer between flippers. And that’s an essential skill for anyone who wants to master a board. Fortunately, the ball has near-perfect interaction with the bumpers and other objects on the board. So while it suffers slightly from its speed, Pinball FX more or less gets it right.

The value of Pinball FX lies almost completely on the quality of its boards. After all, if the three boards aren’t up to snuff, no amount of physics of pinball addictiveness is going to hold anyone’s interest. The three boards (Speed Machine, Extreme, and Agents) are a mixture of good and bad. Speed Machine (a take-off on classic hotrod pinball cabinets) and Agents (a Bond riff) are enjoyable boards. The design could have been more imaginative for Speed Machine, but it’s certainly good enough to drop a few virtual quarters into.

The bad comes with Extreme, a spoof (I hope) on overly-enthusiastic urbanism in games. The in-your-face board comes complete with offensive sound bites and ridiculous “street” art. Even if you can stomach the obnoxiousness of this board, the design itself isn’t very good. The center of the board is wasted and it’s far too easy to enter a repeated loop.

If only Zen Studios had invested in some better art and a more appealing presentation package, Pinball FX might have come closer to being worth $10. The art, particularly in Agents, is bad. It doesn’t help that the music is easily forgettable. A great game, even a good game, should immerse the gamer in the experience. How about some ambient sound so I feel like I’m in an arcade? Why not create an online virtual experience where gamers are playing in the same arcade?

Speaking of online play, there’s a decent four-player online component in Pinball FX. Each gamer plays on the same board, attempting to be first to reach whatever point goal has been set. Losing a ball down the gutter costs a percentage penalty of your points earned. This creates a frantic pace, where everyone is pressured to score quickly while avoiding eating it in the gutter. It’s a better experience than playing alone. However, Zen Studios could have done a better job placing the icons for other gamers so that the competition is easier to follow in the heat of the moment.

Closing Comments
As a brief distraction, Pinball FX isn’t a bad choice (particularly if you have Microsoft Points to burn). I’d be far more enthusiastic if Zen Studios had licensed a few classic boards or at least offered a couple extras beyond the three included in the initial download. While the ball physics aren’t perfect and the Extreme board isn’t worth playing more than a few times, there’s enough here to at least merit a download of the free demo. If you’re a pinball nut (or perhaps it’s better if you’re not), Pinball FX might tickle your fancy. There’s just not enough here to merit the cost.

IGN Ratings for Pinball FX (X360)

Rating Description

out of 10
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5.0
Presentation
Only three boards and a very basic menu framework. The presentation is the weak link.

6.5
Graphics
The art isn’t very good, but the cabinets look nice.

6.0
Sound
The pinball sound effects are accurate, but the music is more worthy of an elevator than a videogame.

6.5
Gameplay
The fun of pinball is captured, but the physics are sometimes suspect. Lack of analogue launcher is curious.

5.0
Lasting Appeal
It’s only three boards. Even if you love them all, the fun won’t last for very long.

6.0
Passable
OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

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