ZEN Studios, the team behind Zen Pinball and Pinball FX 1& 2, has set up shop in the house of Stan Lee with Marvel Pinball. This game was released last year on PS3 as a stand alone title and on Xbox 360 as a part of Pinball FX2.
It features four Marvel Super Hero Themed tables: Iron Man, Spider-Man, Blade, and Wolverine.
Each table captures the essence of the starring hero. Villains, weapons, and side kicks each appear with corresponding actions. Each table puts you in the middle of the action with amazing sound effects and music.
Spider-Man
Spider-Man’s table recaptures what it means to be the friendly neighborhood super hero. There are many twisting ramps. The middle table screen in the right hand corner, shows the web head swinging over New York. The Green Goblin has his own ramp and a bomb ball pinball battle. Mysterio likes to scramble your controls. Doc Ock is the center piece villain of the table, that you can only battle on the the top level.
Blade
On Blade’s table, you will battle Deacon Frost and his minions and even Dracula. You can hunt bounties and gain cash to buy weapon upgrades to take down the baddies. There is an extremely fun day and night cycle on the board. So, you know in plenty of time to rack up your weapons and points because when Frost shows up he’ll block the entrance to the store. You’ll then have to battle him on the top level.
Iron Man
Mr. Stark’s table features our hero fending off the Mandarin and Whiplash from Stark Tower. Pepper Pots gives launch commands, and you can even target your enemies with event triggered lasers and missiles. Iron Man even gets his one-liners and jokes in when your racking up points for extra effect. It is one of the harder tables to play.
Wolverine
*Shawn Wilson wrote the following:*
I just had to get my 2 cents in on this by reviewing my favorite table. Wolverine’s table is the best of the bunch. Although it’s smaller in terms of play field, it’s the most action packed and fun. The large Sentinel in the play field is well animated and spits out alerts and battle programs while playing. The Sentinel head shaped bumpers are a nice treat as well. You can battle Sabretooth in the middle of the field after having the spinner rotate 365 days. This is a hard feature to complete, but not as hard as the Weapon X adamantium tank. Having to lock 2 balls into two separate orbits after activating the mission is a tough feat and one I still can’t complete today.
Overall, Marvel Pinball is one the most entertaining games you can purchase on PSN and XBLA. I highly recommend this game to any pinball or Marvel fan. If you’re both, it’s a no-brainer purchase. A new Marvel themed table based on Fantastic Four is available now. Keep a look out for a separate review coming soon!
If you enjoy Marvel Pinball, be sure to check out ZEN Studios other tables on Zen Pinball (PSN) and Pinball FX2 (XBLA).