Video Pinball

[retrosportsgamer]

^ Thanks ejamer. I gave the non-HD thing pause too as I'm a big fan of Pinball fx 2 (especially the marvel tables), so that will *take* getting used to.

[ksloth]

Anyone have any experience with Zen Pinball 3D for the 3DS? I believe it is $6.99 in the 3ds shop.

Zen pinball on the 3DS is really good. Online and local leaderboards, very nice use of 3D, four cool tables. I have a lot of fun with this one and can certainly recommend it.

[ejamer]

^ Thanks ejamer. I gave the non-HD thing pause too as I'm a big fan of Pinball fx 2 (especially the marvel tables), so that will *take* getting used to.

The trade off of graphics-for-portability has been worthwhile (for me), as the convenience of always having some solid tables ready to play is great. But there is no getting around the fact that these tables were initially designed for bigger screens and still look best there.

It does make me stop and wonder if a Vita release would be preferable. The only reason I'm not sure is because having the second screen for the digital display works really well on 3DS and the single Vita screen might feel crowded with that information covering portions of the tables. (Well, that and the fact that I have no idea if/when a Vita release might happen.)

[Johnodog]

I think Flipnic is one of the most interesting pinball titles I have played in years. I love the way the game incorporates the best of what mechanical pinball can do with the graphical flourishes of video pinball. The way the play field shifts through seasons is cool and the challenge is there. I also agree with those who mention revenge of gator. A great pinball game considering it only has one board and is an early game boy game. Sweet nostalgia.

[c0wb0y]

I went to the Texas Pinball Festival this weekend. In attendance were developers from Farsight - the same people responsible for making the Williams and Gottlieb Hall of Fame collections.
They had a booth set up with a 360, PS3, iPad, and the PSP Vita. I played Bride of Pinbot on the 360, and it was EXCELLENT. (For reference, I also played a BoP in real life about an hour later. It is hard to go wrong with that table.)
The PSP Vita will utilize the haptic sensor on the back to allow you to nudge tables. I didn't even know it had a touch sensor on the back -how cool!
I probably talked their ears off over several visits on Friday and Saturday. They were great guys, with a real passion for pinball and making high quality pinball simulations. They even humored me and signed my 360 version of the Williams Collection.
The best news I heard is that the 360 version could release as early as this week. Failing that, we shouls see it is available by April 4th. I cannot wait.

I also got to see a proof of concept pinball table created by P3. It combines pinball with arcade games in a slightly different fashion. The center of the table has a large display combined with some optic sensors built into the sides of the pin. I played a version of Asteroids called "Roc." The sensor was spot-on for detecting when I nailed the asteroids.
To see an article and some videos, see this link: http://pinballhead.com/p3-takes-pinball ... n-further/

Some fun things are happening with pinball lately.

[c0wb0y]

I grabbed the Pinball Arcade on the 360 today. The game comes with 4 tables at release for 800 points. I'm really enjoying the Ripley's table. Black Hole (which was on the Gottlieb collection) is a big improvement over the original. Nudging used to result in an automatic tilt on the original Gottlieb releases to PS2 and other systems. Very nice!

[retrosportsgamer]

I think I'm missing something but why are there balls released after your last ball and your flippers are frozen? I've seen this in both Pinball FX2 and the new Pinball Arcade for PSN.

[c0wb0y]

That happens on multiball games when the game is over and you have locked one or more balls during your last game. It is not something they really have to do on video pin games. The Pinball Arcade does it because they are trying to simulate real life tables.

[retrosportsgamer]

That happens on multiball games when the game is over and you have locked one or more balls during your last game. It is not something they really have to do on video pin games. The Pinball Arcade does it because they are trying to simulate real life tables.

Thanks - makes perfect sense

[dsheinem]

so Pinball Arcade is really, really good. I've probably spent 6 hours or more with it since yesterday morning, and attacking scores on your friends list is awesome. It feels so perfect with the Vita's shoulder buttons

More of you need to start playing!