By now, you guys all know that a lot of the robots here at BSR! are huge pinball fanatics. We’ve previously reviewed Zen Studios Mars table for Pinball FX2 on the Xbox, and we had generally positive things to say about it. Today, the guys at Zen released the newest addition to Marvel Pinball… Fantastic Four! Will it hold up to the criticisms of HyperZord and Shaz-Bot? Well, you’ll just have to read on, won’t you?
Shaz-Bot: I got my first taste of the FF table when we spotlighted the trailer last month. I mentioned then that I thought that Marvel’s First Family should have been honored with a table from the beginning, but from what I’ve played so far, I can forgive the extra time, because it has resulted it a highly polished and enjoyable experience.
HyperZord: When I first started playing Pinball FX 2 I was surprised at how bad at pinball I was. All of my scores were nearly 30 times lower then Shaz-Bot and I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. But then about 3 weeks ago I looked up some pointers online and started to really explore each of the different tables and within about a half hour at each table I started to figure out how to play and suddenly I became really good at the game. So if you think you’re not very good at pinball this game is still for you because it just takes a little bit of patience before the fun comes rolling out.
Shaz-Bot: For starters, let me tell everyone something, this table is not for beginners.If you go in, flippers blazing, you shouldn’t expect to get far. It behooves you to read the table rules so you can get a general idea of how to play the table properly. Trust me, you’ll have a much more pleasant time if you do.
When reviewing a licensed game like this, not only do you have to review how good the game is, but how well the license is represented. It’s was obvious with the previous Marvel tables that Zen Studios knows their stuff when it comes to Marvel lore, but FF takes the cake. Each member of the foursome has comic-accurate dialog and mannerisms. Ben and Johnny even bicker at each other!
HyperZord: I actually disagree with Shaz-Bot about the beginning, I sorta went in flippers blazing trying to figure out things as I went along and within about half an hour I hit 42 Million. It’s a nice morale booster since there are some really good quick shots to make you a bunch of points. I’m less into Fantastic Four lore then Shaz-Bot so I’m glad he covered it, but I will say all of the Marvel tables have had more of an appeal to me simply because I do know the characters and so The Fantastic Four are a nice fit.
Shaz-Bot: There is so much to do on this table, it’s amazing! Each member of the FF has their own ramp and a goal tied into each of them. You can get the Thing to toss your ball around and eventually earn a multiball that is anywhere from 2-4 balls based on your skill. With the Human Torch, you can literally set the ball on fire and eventully trigger his own multiball. Mr. Fantastic has the ability to activate the Negative Zone ball saver, and the Invisible Woman has out lane savers as well as a skillshot that can be controller by you or the computer once you spell INVISIBLE. The coolest hidden bit is when you take on the role of H.E.R.B.I.E. and have to defend the Baxter Building from a Skrull invasion using a mini-playfield that actually emerges from the building.
HyperZord: I had no idea who H.E.R.B.I.E. was when I pulled off that mini game the first time so I was a little confused but it got me to look up more about the Fantastic Four and look up things I didn’t know about. One of the things which did improve my game was getting better at multi-balls and this game actually has three multi-balls, the two Shaz-Bot mentioned and one involving Doctor Doom as well. But the cool thing is that you can use the multi-balls to further and stack other mutli-balls, what I mean is when doing one you can trigger another while playing it. It’s really cool.
Shaz-Bot: I think the game really starts to shine when you activate the game modes. One you shoot a ball into the Baxter Building and then the mission hole you have a choice of 5 missions. One for each member of the FF and one with Dr. Doom. With the Thing, you have to fend off an army of Doombots. I probably enjoy this mode the most, just for the delightful *ting* the Doombots make when you hit them with the ball. The Torch’s mode is very fun as well, you have to continually hit the orbits/spinners to increase his Nova Flame to 1 million degrees. If you manage this, the screen is illuminated (due the Torch burning so brightly) for 20 seconds. During that time, everything you do has a 40X multipler, so you can really rack up the points. Dr. Doom and the Invisible Woman’s missions are similar due to the fact that Doom is attacking the Baxter Building in both of them. With Sue, you must hit the appropriatte ramps to add forcefields to fend off Doom’s attack. With Doom’s mode, you have to use his own power against him before the Baxter Building is utterly destroyed! Mr. Fantastic’s mode has you helping him build components in his lab by hitting his extended hands with the pinball. If you can manage to conquer all of these modes, there is a hidden 6th mission where you have to stop Galactus, and yes, the Ultimate Nullifier is involved.
HyperZord: I’m not nearly as far as Shaz-Bot as the only mission I’ve successfully completed has been The Thing’s which can get you a quick 12 million really fast. I actually did get Human Torches’ up to his super nova and right before I could get any more points I lost the ball.
Shaz-Bot: As much as I love playing this game, there are two things I have a problem with. Thankfully, they don’t affect the actual gameplay at all. I am not fond of the music used for the table. It seems much too epic and grandiose for the FF. I know that may sound off, seeing as this is a group that tackles 7 dimensions before breakfast, it just didn’t gel with me. The other thing I wasn’t terribly fond of was the table art itself. Don’t get my wrong, the 3D models of the FF and Doom are great, I love the attention to detail like the ends of the rails looking like Kirby’s “flying bathtubs”, but the actual art on the playfield looks off to me. Reed is too young, the Torch is has hard to distinguish features, the Thing is OK, but Sue has such an elongated torso that you’d think she temporarily gained Mr. Fantastic’s stretching power! Also, the Mole Man is present on the playfield art, but doesn’t seem to be represented in the gameplay at all.
HyperZord: My biggest problem is the same problem I have with most of the tables where the third achievement is basically impossible to get. You have to have the perfect game to get it and achievements are the bane of my game playing because I want to earn them so bad.
Shaz-Bot: To close, despite the (admittedly small) issues I have with it, Marvel Pinball: Fantastic Four has almost overtaken Spider-Man as my favorite Zen table of all time, and it is definitely worth your time and money, whether you like pinall, Marvel, the Fantastic Four or all three!
HyperZord: So far I’d actually put it in third place behind Secrets of the Deep and Pasha but still among how many tables they have to get third so quickly is a big accomplishment.
Marvel Pinball: Fantastic Four retails for 240 Microsoft Points and when it appears on the PSN, it’ll be $2.99. Codes were given to the staff by the developer for review purposes.
Stay tuned for an upcoming contest for your own XBOX code.