Pinball FX is a solid, authentic and engaging simulation that rarely fails to enthral.
Let's start with the gameplay:
The physics are faultless. To say otherwise, as the official reviewer did, is simply inexplicable. The ball moves beautifully and fluidly around the table, reacting to the materials, the passive elements, and the active elements of the table with speed, spin and inertia that Sir Isaac himself would be proud of. The movement is so smooth and realistic that it never enters the mind that this is a computer game. As a player of the real tables, I would say it represents an average to easy table angle, say 6-6.5 degrees, faultlessly.
I have yet to experience the multiplayer element, but have been led to believe that more could have been done with it. To me, this is irrelevant. Pinball to me has always been, and always will be, a single player experience. The need to give every game a multiplayer mode is totally uncalled for, difficult and pointless for genres like this, and to mark this game down for not having great multiplayer is madness.
As far as the actual game goes, the three tables play very differently. All are true to the play mechanics of real-world pinball machines, with points awarded for combinations of lighting specific targets and hitting the right shots at the right times. But from the open plan, heavily mission based "Agents", to the frequent multi-balls of the split-table "Xtreme", and the maze of ramps that comprise "Speed Machine", each table has it's own very distinct style, personality and gameplay, and each will appeal to a different type of player.
Speed Machine, available in the demo, is a well balanced table, themes around car tuning, modification, and racing. It features a large array of mode and bonus enabling targets and ramps, with many of the modes and missions which can be triggered requiring accurate and quick-fire ramp shots to reach the high scores. It has a great learning curve, enabling all levels of player to enjoy it from the start, and frequent players to steadily increase their high score as the table grows more familiar.
The Xtreme table is a hip-hop and skateboarding themed table, distinctively split into the main, lower table and an upper table reached via a ramp, where the third flipper can be used to influence the balls route of exit. The small playing field of the lower table can be tricky for some, often requiring fast reactions, and more skill than usual to complete the combos required by some of the missions. The table really comes into it's own when multi-ball is activated, the unique layout making for frantic flipping to keep those balls in play.
The Agents table has a large, relatively open main area of play, with gameplay focusing more on targets than ramps. The play is heavily mission-based, with secret agent themed missions being easily and frequently activated. High scores are achieved here with more concentration and patience than the other tables, as the missions often involve hitting specific targets within a time limit.
Graphics:
The artwork and imagery of each table is as colourful, complex and well crafted as most pinball machines in real life. Beautifully rendered in HD where available, and viewable in any of 3 camera angles, the animation is never less than effortlessly smooth. The chrome of the ball appears to be rendered in real time, not that you'll have time to study it, while the slight milkiness of the chrome keeps it from disappearing too easily into the background. So well rendered is the ball (in HD anyway) that any spin exerted on the ball by the glancing blow of a bumper can quite easily be seen and taken into account by the expert pinballer. Actions accomplished on each table are often accompanied by a suitable amount of lights flashing, a nice, authentic, and oddly satisfying confirmation of a good play. Overall the artwork will make any pinball veteran feel at home, and the execution and attention to detail is more than can be expected from an Xbox Live Arcade game.
Sound:
Each table has it's own music, some more intrusive than others. The Xtreme table (perhaps due to the theme) is particularly loud, but quite catchy. It can barely be noticed on the other 3 tables, which leaves the sound effects to provide more audible feedback. The variety of samples on each table are very much the kind of thing that can be experienced on a real table, indicating a particular action has been accomplished or is now available. Each set of sound effects is well themed to the table, but can sometimes (especially on the Xtreme table) become a bit annoying after a while. More music might have been welcome, but there is always your own anyway, and I'm glad they spent more time and money on other aspects of the game as they are far more important to the genre.
Value:
When you consider that $5 (I'll use US dollars to make this clearer) can be spent on a real pinball machine in a matter of minutes, and without a second thought given to the cost, $10 for a great game, featuring 3 fairly diverse tables, which is yours to keep and play whenever you like, isn't much at all. I spend more than that on lunch every day. I wouldn't begrudge this game 1200 mp, so 800 is a bargain. More tables are promised in the near future, making this game an even more important addition to the XBLA. No word yet on pricing of those, but 300mp is surely a fair price. This has possibly been one of my best purchases on XBLA to date.