When Star Wars Rebels started airing on Disney XD last October, there were two things that were rather obvious: One, that this wasn’t any more of a kids show than its predecessor, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, had been; and two, that Zen Studios would be making a Star Wars Rebels pinball table for Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita, Mac, WiiU), Pinball FX 2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), Zen Pinball (iOS), and Zen Pinball HD (Android, Amazon). And wouldn’t you know it…
Some things are just inevitable. It’s inevitable that I will die with a stack of unread books near me, it is inevitable that Rush will stop making new music at some point, and it is inevitable that humanity’s reign on Earth will come to an end at the hands on intelligent apes, zombies, or intelligent zombie apes, and that none of them will read or listen to Rush. But not all inevitabilities are so dire. Take this one: With Marvel releasing the movie Avengers Age Of Ultron on May 1st, it was inevitable that Zen Studios would make a Avengers Age Of Ultron table for Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita, Mac), Pinball FX 2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), Zen Pinball (iOS), Zen Pinball HD (Android, Amazon), and, at some point soon, Zen Pinball 2 on the WiiU.
You can now read an updated version of this story that includes all of the season 4 tables. Just click here.
Since its release in 2012, FarSight Studio’s Pinball Arcade (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, iOS, Android, PC, Mac) has consistently added new recreations of classic pinball tables from the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and even the ’00s.
With new tables being added every month, I’ve decided (FarSight permitting) that I will review the new ones when I can, starting with the first five they’ve put out for Season Four.
It’s been three long years since Zen Studios last onade an original table for Pinball FX2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, WiiU, Mac), or Zen Pinball games (iOS, Android, Amazon Fire). But after playing the new “Wild West Rampage” table — one of two in the just-released “Iron & Steel” pack — it’s clear they haven’t lost their touch.
While 2014 wasn’t a great year for video games — and no, I’m not just talking about that #gamergate crap — there were a bunch that I had a lot of fun playing.
Here now, in no particular order, are the best games I played in 2014.
Having already come to every console, computer, tablet, and smartphone you might own, FarSight Studios are finally bringing The Pinball Arcade to the Xbox One.
But while this is (along with the PlayStation 4 edition) the best looking version, it is otherwise the same game…for better or worse.
Over the years, some of Spider-Man’s adversaries have been accused of plagiarism by comic book fans who think, for instance, that Sandman is a bit too much like Batman’s bad guy Clayface or that The Green Goblin is a rip-off of The Joker. But one (of many) exceptions to this is Venom, since Batman never fought an alien symbiote who used to be his suit. Which makes it fitting that the new Venom pinball table — which Zen Studios have released for Pinball FX2 (Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC), Zen Pinball 2 (PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, WiiU, Mac), and Zen Pinball (iOS, Android, Amazon Fire) — is also pretty unique.
In 1999, when Sega built their South Park pinball table, it ended up being the last pinball table they would ever make. Let’s just hope that’s also not the fate of Zen Studios, who are bringing South Park Pinball — a two-fer with the tables South Park’s Super-Sweet Pinball and South Park: Butter’s Very Own Pinball Game — to Pinball FX2 for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PCs via Steam; Zen Pinball 2 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, WiiU, and Mac; and Zen Pinball for iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire.
With The Pinball Arcade, FarSight Studios have brought classic pinball tables from Williams, Bally, and Stern to the PlayStation 4, 3, and Vita, iOS and Android devices, PCs, and the even the Kindle Fire and Ouya. But how exactly do they recreate those classic pinball machines so exactly, and what does the future hold for this series (and does that include bringing this series to the Xbox One)? I spoke to art director Jason Juneau (who’s been at the company for six year, starting as an animator) and Lead Designer Bobby King (another six year vet who’s also the VP of Product Development), to find out.