Category: Switch

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“Williams Pinball Volume 8” for “Pinball FX” Review

 

When the good people at Zen Studios make their original pinball tables for Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, PC), they always pair realistic physics with unrealistic mechanics by, say, having the ball move like it would in real life, but on a table that has Mechagodzilla firing laser beam warning shots or K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider doing donuts.

But when it comes to their versions of classic pinball tables originally made by the iconic pinball company Williams, they have typically been faithful to the originals, both mechanically and aesthetically.

The operative word there being “typically.” That’s because for the three tables Zen have remade for Williams Pinball Volume 8— Banzai Run, Black Knight 2000, and Earthshaker! — they’ve added some unrealistic (but optional) mechanics to these classics…and not everyone will be happy with the results.

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“Camp Bloodbrook” for “Pinball M” Review

 

To fans of video game pinball, the good people at Zen Studios are best known for creating original tables based on movies (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Princess Bride), TV shows (Battlestar Galactica, Twilight Zone), and other video games (Goat Simulator, System Shock), as well as accurate recreations of classic real pinball machines by Williams (Funhouse, Dr. Dude And His Excellent Ray).

But they’ve also, on occasion, put their considerable pinball design skills to use on original ideas, such as 2022’s Wrath Of The Elder Gods.

Which is where we find them again with Camp Bloodbrook, a new table for their horror-themed pinball simulation system, Pinball M (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC).

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“The Princess Bride Pinball” for “Pinball FX” Review

 

There are a lot of things that don’t seem like they would work well, but end up defying expectations. Like Cate Blanchette playing a comic book villain in Thor Ragnarok. Or the rock band Phish getting their own ice cream flavor. Or a video game in which you’re a complete jerk…and a goat.

And now you can add to that inexplicable list The Princess Bride Pinball, the latest movie-inspired virtual pinball table for the video game Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC).

By paying homage to that classic fantasy comedy in a way that makes it feel like it’s as old as the movie itself, this video game pinball machine works so well that it ranks as one of the best movie-inspired tables for Zen Studio’s pinball system.

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“Goat Simulator Pinball” for “Pinball FX” Review

 

There are video games that are weird, and there are video games that are weird.

And then there’s the video game Goat Simulator. Which is really, really weird.

Thankfully, it was also really fun. Well, assuming you like knocking into things and generally being a destructive jerk.

Well, now that weirdness is taking a different form courtesy of Goat Simulator Pinball table for Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC). Which — like the Pinball FX tables based on such video games as Doom, System Shock, and Borderlands — provide an entertaining mix of the titular game’s conceits and, well, pinball.

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“Monster Jam Showdown” SGF: Play Days 2024 Preview

 

This past weekend, at Summer Game Fest: Play Days in Los Angeles, the good people at Milestone S.r.L. and Plaion Games gave me an opportunity to play the monster truck game Monster Jam Showdown, which will be released August 29th for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.

What follows are my impressions of this vehicular game.

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“Fear The Spotlight” SGF: Play Days 2024 Preview

 

This past weekend, at this year’s Summer Game Fest: Play Days event in Los Angeles, the good people at Cozy Game Pals and Blumhouse Games gave me an opportunity to play their old school, third-person survival horror game Fear The Spotlight, which is coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox X|S, Xbox One, Switch, and PC later this year.

What follows are my impressions of this game.

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“Texas Chainsaw Massacre Pinball” for “Pinball M” Review

 

Though he’s best known for his quiet demeanor, meat carving skills, and appreciation for landscape architecture power tools, Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was also a big fan of pinball.

Okay, not really. Though had there been an old pinball machine in the corner of his house, especially in the first movie, no one would’ve batted an eyelash. It was the ’70s after all, and he’s clearly a hoarder.

Still, given how many of his fellow horror movie icons have gotten their own pinball tables (Freddy Kreuger, Chucky, Elvira), it’s fitting that Leatherface would now be similarly honored by the good people at Zen Studios, who’ve just released Texas Chainsaw Massacre Pinball for their virtual pinball platform Pinball M (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC).

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“System Shock Pinball” for “Pinball M” And “Pinball FX” Review

 

Released in 1994, the cyberpunk sci-fi first-person shooter System Shock has since become one of the most influential games of the last thirty years. Not only did it inspire numerous spiritual successors (BioShock, Thief) and other sci-fi shooters (Half-Life, Deus Ex), but also third-person games in the stealth action (Metal Gear Solid) and survival horror genres (Resident Evil).

And yet, it is considered more a cult curiosity than a known classic among many gamers, especially those who didn’t play it when it came out…or weren’t alive at the time.

Which makes it all the more curious, and a pleasant surprise, that System Shock is being honored by the good people at Zen Studios with the release of System Shock Pinball, an add-on for their games Pinball M and Pinball FX (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, Switch, PC).

Doubly so since the table is as ’90s as the original game.

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“Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown” Review

 

As a fan of acrobatic action games, I’ve been waiting 14 years for Ubisoft to make another Prince Of Persia in the vein of 2010’s The Forgotten Sands.

But as someone who goes back with this series to the days of old, when it was a side-scrolling hack & slash action game, I’ve also been waiting 21 years for Ubisoft to make a Prince Of Persia that brings me back to when I used to play the original and 1993’s Prince Of Persia 2: The Shadow And The Flame.

Well, twenty-five year old me can now rest easy, as Ubisoft have given us Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC), which is not only the best Prince Of Persia game since Sands, but the best side-scrolling one since Flame.

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