I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the hottest pinball player in the world, but with Zen tables I’m usually able to progress a fair amount and see a good spread of what a game has to offer. Add on a number of bumpers that consistently fling the ball towards the dead-end left side pit, and progress on any of the many, many quests available is painfully slow. The table seems designed to sink the ball as quickly as possible, with a huge flat square positioned just at the top middle of the table that seems perfectly shaped and spaced to kill all momentum and drop the ball down the center every time you touch it. Despite all the interesting possibilities of dragon-slaying, battling trolls, finding loot, and learning new Dovahkiin powers, it’s rare to actually accomplish these goals. This is compounded by the fact that the Skyrim table just doesn’t seem that well made. It’s fun at first, but quickly becomes tedious. Fallout is particularly plagued with constant stop-and-go action as frequent (intentional or not) trips to different traps pester the player with menus and options to tab through to get back to the game. While novel and interesting, the RPG trappings have a way of breaking up the flow of the game. Unfortunately, these same unique elements are also what holds these tables back in some ways. Both games let the player choose different companions, factions, and generally recreate the Bethesda-RPG experience in a bizarre little microcosm of bumpers and ramps. Sinking three balls isn’t the end, as you can opt to continue as the same character in further playthroughs, amassing gear and weapons until you resemble a respectable Orc. ![]() Skyrim also allows allows you to equip your character, changing the animated player avatar on the side of the table from a jerkin-wearing nobody to a fully developed character after long (long) sessions of play. Trapping the ball in certain pits will trigger shops (displayed in a classically clunky LCD screen) to purchase Rad-X, Stimpacks, and gear (provided you have the caps), just like the full game. ![]() The big animated characters are fun, but to me, it’s the little details that truly sing, the parts you can buy-into and believe would really make it to a licensed pinball game in some alternate timeline where arcades never went out of style.įallout leans hard into the idea. Like when a miraculous “FUS RO DAH” saves a sinking ball in Skyrim, or when a bumper hit triggers the iconic bang of the Doom shotgun. The Doom table is dominated by a sneering Cyberdemon, the Lone Wanderer ducks and dodges at the bottom of the Fallout table, while the Skyrim table has lousy fire spewing with dragons, just like the real deal.Īs always, it’s in the little touches where the tables find their charm. All three tables are gorgeously rendered, featuring a kind of semi-realistic style that blends the traditional pinball design and trappings with some outlandish table hazards and animated figures that stalk the sides and top edges of the tables. Pinball pack released earlier this year, you should already know what to expect. If you’ve played any of Zen Pinball 2‘s novelty tables before, such as the Aliens vs. ![]() It makes for a weird and interesting experience you might not immediately expect from the worlds of Bethesda. Each table takes the very familiar experience of playing one of these three major titles and abstracts it out to flippers, silver balls, and tilt warnings. It’s pinball, but played on tables based on the eclectic settings of Fallout 4, Skyrim, and Doom. The Bethesda Pinball pack for Zen Pinball 2 strikes the same chord. It’s easy to think of Bethesda as an Elder Scrolls and Fallout factory and forget the other weird and interesting titles under the studio’s belt. Seeing plastic miniatures of Dog Meat and the Lone Survivor mixing with the DoomGuy, Corvo, and the weird murder-dude with a safe for his head from the Evil Within made me appreciate the variety of Bethesda’s library in a way I typically gloss over. I don’t know why, but they kind of captivated me for a little while. I was in a game store when I came across a box of Bethesda blind-bag toys the other day.
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