Some things are inevitable. Death. Taxes. And me hoping that a new PlayStation will herald the return of WipEout, the futuristic racing series that helped launch the Sony’s first game console in 1995, but has appeared only sporadically on subsequent systems. Well, now it’s finally the new one’s turn with WipEout Omega Collection (PlayStation 4), which presents 2008’s WipEout HD, that game’s 2009 expansion WipEout Fury, and 2012’s WipEout 2048.
Whenever the good people at Zen Studios make a virtual pinball table based on a movie, TV show, comic, or even another video game, they do their best to capture the spirit of the original inspiration. And that’s exactly what they’ve done with Star Wars Rogue One Pinball for Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita), Pinball FX 2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), Zen Pinball (iOS), and Zen Pinball HD (Android, Amazon)…for better or worse.
Earlier this year, Square Enix brought the turn-based, mobile stealth puzzle game Hitman GO to the PlayStation 4 and Vita. Now they’ve repeated that move with the turn-based, action puzzle game Lara Croft GO, which is out now for PlayStation 4, Vita, and PC after being available on iOS, Android, Amazon, and Windows Phones for a year. Except that lady Lara is packing a little something extra, as the PlayStation 4, Vita, PC, and Mac versions of Lara Croft GO are also getting an expansion called Lara Croft GO The Mirror Of Spirits, which won’t be available for iOS, Android, and Windows Phones until March.
To find out what Lara Croft GO The Mirror Of Spirits is all about, I sat down with Square Enix Montreal’s Antoine Routon, the Co-Creator of the original Lara Croft GO, as well as Design Director Bronson Zgeb and Studio Director Saleem Dabbous from Ko-Op, who designed this add-on.
One of the common traits shared by the games published by Bethesda Softworks is how they always immerse you in rich, detailed worlds, whether it’s the medieval fantasy realm of The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim, the ’50s-flavored post-apocalyptic wasteland of Fallout 4, or the Hell-adjacent space base of the new Doom.
So it’s interesting to see how the equally skilled folk at Zen Studios have not only translated these games into excellent pinball tables for Bethesda Pinball, a triple pack for Pinball FX 2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita), and Zen Pinball (iOS, Android, Amazon), but have done so in a way that makes them as fun for pinball fans who aren’t into Bethesda’s games as those who do.
Funko have announced that they’ll release a POP! vinyl toy of Sweet Tooth from the Twisted Metal video games this January.
Between the introduction of Ms. Marvel, the gender swapping of Thor, and Captain Marvel getting her own movie, it’s a good time to be a woman in Marvel Comics. But it’s also a good time to be a fan of those ladies and pinball thanks to Zen Studios, whose newest tables for Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Vita), Pinball FX 2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), and Zen Pinball (iOS, Android, Amazon) are the Marvel’s Women Of Power Two Pack, which feature the ladies of A-Force, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Gwen, as well as a host of bad gals.
Funko have announced that they’ll release POP! toys of characters from the Call Of Duty games this November.
Given how important graphics are to video games, it’s odd how infrequent the colors of those graphics are used as a mechanic. With the exception of puzzles games, colors are usually just used as visual clues; red means “this thing explodes,” and so on. But that’s not the case for the creative and adorable 2D, side-scrolling, puzzling platformer Hue (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Vita, PC via Steam), in which you change the world you’re in by changing its colors.
When thinking about movies that could inspire fun pinball tables, the Alien series is second only to Indiana Jones, and even then just because the former has that iconic scene with a giant ball.
But while we wait for Doctor Jones to get his butt in gear, we can enjoy the new Aliens Vs Pinball Pack for Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita), Pinball FX 2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), and Zen Pinball (iOS, Android, Amazon). Well, for the most part.