Great pinball simulation gets better with some imaginative tables based on Marvel's iconic characters.
"Marvel Pinball" is actually a package of four tables that works with the free-to-download "Pinball FX 2" software. Included in the package are "Wolverine," "Spider-Man," "Iron Man" and "Blade". While each of these characters has had a hit movie (or movies) in recent years, don't expect to see Hugh Jackman's visage on the "Wolverine" table or Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark on "Iron Man". Instead, Zen Studios has kept mainly to the comic book incarnations, both for art design and for the tables' storylines. The extensive voice-work in the game, again, is less about the movies and more about how the characters are expected to sound.
Controls are identical to the rest of the "Pinball FX 2" line. Balls are launched either by pulling back the right stick and releasing (much like a plunger on a real table) or by pressing and holding the A button, while flippers are manipulated with either the bumpers or the triggers. The camera can be set in multiple locations using the X button, and the table can be nudged or bumped by pushing the left stick in the desired direction, but too much bumping can tilt the machine, ending that turn.
Each table is unique, yet offers many common mechanics, both with each other and with other "Pinball FX 2" tables. Each has "skill shots" that score big points if made just as the ball is launched. Each has a number of "missions", mini-games that require repeated hits on targets, ramps and orbits (loops) to complete. Each has three achievements worth a total of 50 points per table: one easy 5-pointer, a mid-range 15-pointer and a tough-to-obtain 30-pointer. Beyond that, the tables go their own directions.
"Wolverine" focuses mainly on target-shooting and features run-ins with Sabretooth and the robotic Sentinels. "Spider-Man" has some crazy return ramps all over the table, and, if dealing with the Green Goblin and Doc Ock aren't hectic enough, Mysterio will sometimes mess with your mind and invert the flipper controls. "Iron Man" is ramp-heavy and has lots of missions to complete, both as businessman and inventor Tony Stark and as Iron Man, battling Mandarin and Whiplash. "Blade" has a similar split personality, with both day and night modes, not to mention legions of vampires just waiting to be eliminated.
The production values on each table are superb. The table art is well-drawn and looks great in high-definition. The mechanisms on the table are very realistic and look like they could be part of a real-life machine ... to a point. When animated characters leap across the table (say, Sabretooth challenging Wolverine) or the ball simply vanishes (either because it was hit by a character or because it became stuck), the realism can get lost. The audio is exceptional, with great original music and the aforementioned voice acting.
Like other "Pinball FX 2" tables, the various info screens in "Marvel Pinball" can be adjusted in size and location using in-game options. Tables can be played in single-player or multiplayer modes, with multiplayer including hot-seat local competitive play, split-screen races between two players or races over Xbox Live with up to four players. In the race modes, players have an unlimited number of turns to try and reach a preset scoring goal first; penalties can be added that reduce a player's score by a percentage whenever a ball is lost.
Zen has promised additional tables in the Marvel line, and as of this review time it has delivered, with tables based on "Fantastic Four" and "Captain America" that can be added on for just a couple hundred Microsoft points each. These tables are as good as their predecessors, and set the bar rather high for the future.