Recent reviews by ShelLuser

So, the Aliens table is an absolute favorite of mine; the moment I started a trial for the first time I knew that I was going to enjoy this, and well: I am! See, here's the thing: a lot of the pinball tables I enjoy the most provide many audible effects: solid music, strong dialogs and of course lots of cool sound effects.

The Aliens table otoh... provides a lot of silence. Not total silence, just no obvious music (at first) and no extensive (electronic) sounds.. just the noise of the ball, the bumpers and flippers. And this provides exactly the right eerie mood I think. The first time I (accidentally) started the first scene and suddenly see the movement detector come to life? It wasn't scary, but definitely surprising and I think also fully in line with the movie.

I mean... you do realize that one of the most tense scenes in the movie is us staring at some electronic counters going down, without showing all that many special effects?

And I can't help but grin at the scene where you have to drive the car through the tunnel. No, I'm not playing an action game, I'm enjoying pinball!

Aliens vs. Predator
I know not everyone enjoyed this movie, but I honestly never thought it to be that bad. Silly here and there, sure, but still entertaining. Well, I can say the same about the pinball machine. It has a nice creepy atmosphere but without overdoing it. And well, some of the mini games were quite entertaining (like "opening up" the pyramid). Nothing super special, but it definitely catches my nostalgia.

Both tables have nice (sometimes hidden) ramps, solid bumpers and very cool sound effects.

Like I said: I did a trial run on Aliens, and even before the time had ran out I knew I'd enjoy this. And I am.

The thing I don't always enjoy about some table collections is the fact that it's often one good table and some ... well, nice other ones but not as good as "that" special one. This pack is different, way different!

No good Gophers
This table is plain out hilarious, the dialogs are just super funny (and annoying sometimes). The take is simple: you're playing golf (or... try to) and there are these two gophers causing trouble. And they're just... SO funny... say you lose the ball, you might be hearing: "Hole in one!!! oh, wrong hole...", stuff like that. Locking a ball is now disguised as one of the gophers actually stealing it: "I got the ball!". Good music, funny dialogs, cool effects. Nice long ramps, 3rd flipper, movement effects, solid bumpers!

Tales of the Arabian nights
Banish the genie and save the beautifull princess! This tabe has everything... cool ramps, solid sound effects, awesome dialogs. And while it also has a bumper... it has something even better: an actual lamp which you can spin around and thus power up your 'attacks'. The game is simple: you need to shoot the ball into the righ holes (and ramps) and by doing so you start certain "tales", and each tale needs you to do something. Shooting the golden symbols (several targets on the table), hurling fireballs (= shooting at the genie) and there's even a bazar where you can get stuff, like a camel ;)

These two tables are absolute classics! And it only gets better!

Cirqus Voltaire
This one... is a very special table because it features a rather "new" mechanic: magnetism. You're in the circus but there's the evil ringmaster trying to make your life miserable. Shoot his area and his head will pop up, then you can 'attack' him... Apart from this mechanic there's of course also ball locking (for multiball), some solid bumpers and, well, the "balloons" at the left side of the table are also a very nice touch.

Honestly? I think this pack is a true must-have for pinball fans, all these tables are total classics.

First... all tables can be roughly summed up with: lame lanes. Just dumping a bunch of lanes on a table doesn't automatically make it a good pinball game.

But second.. the mechanics are overal just... bad. Locking a ball with magnetics right in the middle of the table and then sending it down exactly between the flippers... that's not challenging: that's just cheap and horribly bad table design.

And those same bad designs are noticeable with all of these tables. It just seems... lazy. As if they hope that with all the Star Wars music and quotes you will look past what is actually happening here: a bad game.

These are some of the worst tables I've played; and in my opinion the only thing these machines have going for themselves are the cheap nostalgic tricks, and even that doesn't always add up. Strip the whole Star Wars angle away and you're left with tables which are just.. nasty.

See, all tables have one thing in common: cheap lanes. Some tables are just that: 2 bend lanes which provide 4 entrances/exits yet which don't really "do" anything; basically the table heavily relies on CGI mechanics which - in my opinion anyway - doesn't really have much to do with pinball at all.

Sure, the music is nice, the sound effects fun and you'll be bombarded with a ton of quotes which... doesn't even sound genuine at all; very fake. Not to mention sometimes plain out wrong... why does the cantina sound play while you're being bombarded with "asteroid quotes" (from 'Empire'?) while you're playing the Solo table?

And once again: it's ramp galore.

If you want a quick nostalgic thrill... maybe this can be fun, but these aren't the pinball games you're looking for.

Errrr, sorry about that ;) I'm gonna be honest.. this is a copy/paste of my review of the FX3 version, but more about that later.

In my opinion there's only 1 reason to consider purchasing this pack, and that's the Williams classic Funhouse!

That table has everything... skill shot, flippers, bumpers, fun music, solid sound effects and plenty of ramps to use and discover. And then there's Rudy: the talking head on the table. Oh dear, where do I even begin....

Rudy constantly talks about stuff that's going on and it's sometimes just way too funny (and silly!). First, simple things like the moment when you enable "hot dog" mode Rudy will tell you to get yourself a hotdog, and if you hit the bump he'll go "yum yum!". Or... if you don't manage to get a hotdog shot in he'll mention how he's still hungry. Still like that. If you manage to hit him with a ball he'll yell "ow!!" and yes... you can sometimes even manage to have him swallow a ball (eew!).

At first Rudy is all buddy buddy with you, but when you manage to move the clock to 11:30 then he'll become annoyed, because it's getting late and he doesn't like that... "I thought we were pals", and now he'll even start calling you out if you manage to hit him with a ball: "that was no accident!" (lol).

Push the clock even further (by shooting the ramp, of course) and Rudy will fall asleep. NOW... try to shoot the ball in his mouth and enjoy pure multiball chaos! And beware of the ramp... my gf sometimes still looses if in giggles by the way Rudy yells at you: "You don't know what's down there!".

This table... is a total classic, if you're into pinball then this should be part of your collection.

So... I own both versions and both are well worth it. And both have their pro's and con's... FX3 has the Zen classic tables and I also enjoy how I can play "against" my Steam friends. While FX provides better ("fuller") sound and of course also some specific tables that are only available on FX.

My take? Play FX3 for its specials, and FX for the tables dedicated to here. Thanks to the "Legacy pack" bundles you could grab the tables you already owe on FX3 with a 50% discount (give or take) because you already have one of the products in the bundle.

But honestly? I wouldn't do that for all your tables. The differences between FX3 and FX aren't all that many and ... yah, I'd only "upgrade" those tables you really like but not all of 'm.

Errrr, sorry about that ;)

In my opinion there's only 1 reason to consider purchasing this pack, and that's the Williams classic Funhouse!

That table has everything... skill shot, flippers, bumpers, fun music, solid sound effects and plenty of ramps to use and discover. And then there's Rudy: the talking head on the table. Oh dear, where do I even begin....

Rudy constantly talks about stuff that's going on and it's sometimes just way too funny (and silly!). First, simple things like the moment when you enable "hot dog" mode Rudy will tell you to get yourself a hotdog, and if you hit the bump he'll go "yum yum!". Or... if you don't manage to get a hotdog shot in he'll mention how he's still hungry. Still like that. If you manage to hit him with a ball he'll yell "ow!!" and yes... you can sometimes even manage to have him swallow a ball (eew!).

At first Rudy is all buddy buddy with you, but when you manage to move the clock to 11:30 then he'll become annoyed, because it's getting late and he doesn't like that... "I thought we were pals", and now he'll even start calling you out if you manage to hit him with a ball: "that was no accident!" (lol).

Push the clock even further (by shooting the ramp, of course) and Rudy will fall asleep. NOW... try to shoot the ball in his mouth and enjoy pure multiball chaos! And beware of the ramp... my gf sometimes still looses if in giggles by the way Rudy yells at you: "You don't know what's down there!".

This table... is a total classic, if you're into pinball then this should be part of your collection.

I'm gonna be honest... as much as I enjoy this game, I can't help point your attention to the existence of a previous version called Pinball FX3. I'm not claiming that one game is better (or worse) than the other, it doesn't work this way, but... FX3 does have some machines I don't want to part with.

But having said that... this game then has better sound quality (IMO!). And if you play your cards right and check for "Zen bundles" you may even be able to get your old tables within this game with a major discount.

Oh, right... sorry: I can't tell you what free tables are provided out of the box, I honestly don't know. Picked up on this title quite some time ago and well, there are two main reasons, aka 2 machines, which I think are complete must-have's => Bride of Pinbot and the master classic Funhouse! (ha, ha, haaaa!). errr, sorry about that, dunno what got over me ;)

But yah, totally recommend this game because... duh, the base game is free!

If you're into pinball and really want to push the envelope a bit and experience a total classic then you're missing out big time without this total and absolute Williams classic.

Oh my word... the moment I saw this title it was an insta-buy for me. I'm just glad I discovered this during the Holliday season (I know I'm "a little" late) but trust me: if I had discovered this one outside of any sale period I would have nabbed it regardless; the table is that good.

This machine... pushed some boundaries and I loved every bit of it. You're standing before.. the machine, a feminine machine: the bride of Pinbot! With 2 red lights placed in rather, well... "specific" locations ;) Errr, anyway, so, your task is to activate the machine and get her operational. This is done by enabling her audio & visual circuitry ("shoot the ramp") and when done you activate the circuit by ... shooting the ramp again.

First the ball will fall into her mouth ("I can speak!") and once you got that sorted out you then need to enable her optics, and activate them by locking in 2 balls; this eventually engages multiball.

This machine is brutal!

It's sometimes easy to lose a ball and the machine isn't very forgiving about it. Sometimes you may get another but usually not. But at the same time I'm also talking about the somewhat, well, crude jokes that are being thrown around. "I can speak", says the bride which is immediately followed by Pinbot letting out an: "Oh. No!", lol!

Electronic CGI visuals can be disabled!

So... as much as I love "electronic pinball" aka: playing with a machine which adds a bit of CGI graphics to enhance the experience... I just can't get used to it on some of the classics, like this one. I don't want to see a rocket take off, I don't need to see a real image of the bride walking around... I don't want any of that.

Fortunately for me.. these effects can be disabled, leaving me to enjoy the machine just as I remembered playing it during my teens.

But this table... has everything.. skill shot, bumpers, flippers, ramps to shoot and some seriously good sounding sound effects.. the heart ramp never gets old for me, and that goes double if I enable my subwoofer... "bom, bom" indeed!

This machine... is an absolute classic, and you're missing out big time without it.

I've been enjoying the virtual 'electronic' tables of Zen Studios for a long time already, I discovered them all the way back on PS3; so when I finally hopped over to Steam and also discovered them here? Yah... I'm a fan.

I'm gonna be honest with you lot: I have no idea what tables are included with the free version, for the simple reason that it's been quite a while since I "purchased" this critter. So... in my opinion you'll be better off if you also grab some of their paid DLC; some of those tables are ... just totally awesome, my personal favorites being the Williams machines. Funhouse, No good gophers, Medieval madness or what to think of the Arabian Nights?

Still... if you truly want to get the "full Zen experience" as I envision this (!) then... I'd start with grabbing yourself the Zen Classics. Virtual electronic pinball at its finest in my opinion.

But yah.. I can highly recommend this title because... it's free (duh!).

I already played these machines roughly 10 or so years ago, all the way back to PS3 and honestly? => IMO (!) you never really played "electronic pinball" before if you never experienced the likes of Shaman and/or Tesla; not to mention El Dorado: those three are my absolute favorites here.

The (loud) music, the hardware noises, the sound effects.. blasting over my speakers while I try to steer the ball on ramps, through flippers, avoid (sorta) bumpers... magnetic effects, visual effects, awesome voice acting.. it's all here.

Extra balls, ball protection, multiball, locking of balls... Now, I do need to mention that with these tables Zen Studios heavily relies on "virtual realistic electronic mechanics", in other words: they happily rely on mechanics which can be easily pulled off on a computer v.s. an actual machine, however.. they do this without making the whole thing look too unrealistic.

...did I already mention the awesome sound effects?

I've been playing these for 10+ years already and I'm still not tired of them... take that as you will.