Marvel Pinball (XBLA) Review

After having raised the bar with Pinball FX2, Zen Studios has brought us more great tables featuring our favorite Marvel universe characters. As you should know by now, Pinball FX2 is simply a new user interface and tables can be easily added to that interface which allows you to quickly build a solid library of pinball greatness. Are these superhero tables worth adding to your collection? Affirmative.

The four tables included feature Spider-Man, Iron Man, Blade, and my personal favorite, Wolverine. For 800 :MSPoints: you can own the set of four tables, each of which feature a unique playing field, and voiceovers for the various characters on the tables.  Animations and physics are equal to the rest of the tables that are available in Pinball FX2, and you’re sure to enjoy some of the twisting ramps you’ll find in Marvel Pinball.

HERE’S WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT IT….

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TABLE DESIGN…OOH PRETTY!

The Marvel universe allows for some really interesting designs, and the tables in the Marvel pack are extremely well made and very interactive. Spider-Man and Wolverine heavily focus on ramps, and in addition to the ramps that typical run up and around the top of the table, you’ll have the chance to fly through some ramps that bring your ball under your flippers and back out onto the playing field. You’ll battle against Mysterio, Goblin, Sentinels and more across the set of tables.

WAIT…WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!

The Spider-Man table has a particularly interesting twist that I found challenging but quite fun. If you happen to activate Mysterio, the table switches to a dark tone of colors, and immediately your flipper controls are reversed. Left trigger will control the right, and vice versa. From what I can figure out, it switches back to normal after you successfully fly through a specific ramp. It’s a short-lived effect, but an interesting method of twisting the gameplay a little. The Blade table also features a similar Glow-in-the-Dark style which makes it a little tougher to see the ball flying through, so you’ve got to keep a close eye on everything that’s happening. Once you get used to these alternate views on the tables, it becomes easier to play them.

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PHYSICS FUN

Part of the fun with any pinball game is the physics and while it’s not always realistic, it makes for a fun game. The Spider-Man and Wolverine tables have some lengthy ramps that allow you to slingshot the ball from top to bottom at high-speed, and a well-timed flipper hit can launch the ball immediately off the ramp and into hidden areas of the table. There’s a ton of stuff to learn on the tables and quite often you’ll need to use a combination of moves to get the ball to the right spot.

AND THE NOT SO GREAT….

HMM. AN EMPTY PARAGRAPH?

The fact is, there’s not really anything wrong or upsetting with Marvel Pinball. I could say that Iron Man is the weakest table and I don’t enjoy it as much as the remaining three, but the truth is the more I play it, the more fun it becomes. The color scheme does take some getting used to, but even so I feel like there’s not much to uncover in the table, and everything is straight out in the open to activate.

LET’S WRAP UP

Marvel Pinball sets you up with these ‘fantastic four tables’ for only 800 :MSPoints: or $9.99 and if you’re a pinball enthusiast, you’ll love the pack. I don’t consider myself a hardcore player, in fact I’m not even very good, but due to the score and statistic tracking system in Pinball FX2, I find myself playing countless hours of this game and I get better with each passing day. Do yourself a favor, buy the tables, and step into the shoes of your favorite hero and show him what you can do.

Thanks to Mel for providing a token to review the Xbox 360 version of Marvel Pinball.