Pinball FX 2

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Any pinball freaks playing this? For those who aren't familiar with Zen Studios, they're the ones behind the original Pinball FX on 360 (mediocre) and Zen Pinball on PS3 (pretty great). FX 2 is their 360-only sequel, with four new tables and substantial graphics and physics updates. They've also applied the changes retroactively to the original and DLC tables so that they look and play much better (free, if you already own the tables).

But the best thing of all is the friends list scoring system, which is very similar to Trials HD. It keeps track of your best score in relation to your friends and pops up alerts when you close in on or surpass their efforts. It's really well done, and it makes the game all the more addictive as your competitive streak emerges.

Zen's simulations still come in second to the amazing Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection by Farsight Studios (and both are topped by the revered Cunning Developments PC series from days of yore, Pro Pinball). But if you enjoy the silver ball at all, give the demo a try. If you decide to pony up, feel free to friend me (gamertag is the same as my name)!

[/shill]

I picked it up, along with the table pack. I only played it for a few minutes, though. I'll dig into it soon.

I gave the new PFX2 engine a try with my old PFX1 tables. It's certainly just as pretty and well-built as the first; the later DLC tables, anyway -- the original 4 felt a bit too small and cramped. The new PFX2 tables are a lot of fun, and the inclusion of some dot-matrix mini games in them really added to the variety of play.

The periodic toasts advising you of how many more points you need before you beat your friend's score (as in Trials and Shadow Complex) are pure digital crack and have kept me retrying tables much more than I otherwise would have (curse you MaxShrek!). I haven't seen how Tournaments work, but I'm very intrigued.

I turned my 360 on today and saw an (automated, I believe) message from PXAbstraction, stating that he had crushed my pitiful score on Speed Machine (a table I don't particularly like, hence my low score), and challenged me to beat it. I laughed, shouted "IT'S ON!" and proceeded to fire up a couple of rounds until I demolished his high score (and MaxShrek's, for that matter!).

Totally worth the free download of the new PFX2 engine and the 800MSP for the new tables!

P.S. Frinvite sent to both of you.

Pasha and Biolab are getting a good amount of play from me.

Bought this and every new table. Put a bunch of time into them all and really enjoying it. Zen Studios still doesn't know how to do pinball physics right though. It still feels like you're batting around a hollow ping pong ball rather than a solid ball bearing but they're still a ton of fun when you get used to it.

I agree that the ball still doesn't have the heft to it that it does in something like the Williams Collection, but I think Zen has made real progress in its physics model. Tables like Rome and Secrets of the Deep have a much better feel than Zen's earlier efforts, maybe even better than Zen Pinball's offerings (which were a step in the right direction). Maybe they've reached golf ball status instead of ping pong ball?

One thing that I found made the experience feel more solid was to turn off the ball's "speed line" animation. I'm sure it has absolutely no impact on the gameplay, but it makes the whole affair less cartoony and more realistic. That is, as realistic as you can get with burning barges and moving statuary on the field.

I picked this up yesterday to try the new engine with my old tables and it did NOT disappoint. I'll happily pick up the new table pack the next time I log on. Max, I might have to make a serious run at your scoes this time around (and that will take some practice).

I broke down and grabbed this, too. I agree that it's not as good as the William's Collection stuff as far as ball physics go, but it very competent. I love the new tables, even though I never played the first FX. They all look great and are a lot of fun. Surprisingly, I really like them because they can do stuff a real machine can't and the fact that they aren't trying to replicate existing tables gives the developer a lot of freedom to do fun stuff (I love the waterways in Rome). The multiplayer and score tracking is like crack, love it. I bought the Excalibur table, which is quite good, and am think about getting Earth Defense. I'm enjoying my King ranking...for now. If you like pinball and aren't slavishly devoted to replicating classic tables, I think this is totally worth $10.

spedman wrote:

Surprisingly, I really like them because they can do stuff a real machine can't and the fact that they aren't trying to replicate existing tables gives the developer a lot of freedom to do fun stuff (I love the waterways in Rome).

I agree. I think they've done a good job with these newest 4 tables starting to bridge between "realistic" and "cartoony" -- certainly nowhere close to as cartoony as others like Pokemon Pinball or Metroid Prime Pinball, and in fact I think they should make at least 1 table that goes close to that level.

[quote=Fyedaddy]I picked this up yesterday to try the new engine with my old tables and it did NOT disappoint. I'll happily pick up the new table pack the next time I log on. Max, I might have to make a serious run at your scoes this time around (and that will take some practice).[/quote

I was ranked #1 on a few tables for awhile on the overall boards, but that was full of reviewers, not retailers. I've dropped on many tables, but the worst score drop was #1 to something like 1,200. The least was #1 to #16. Since I was on the top of several lists I did realize something, the amount of friend requests I got when that happened ranged somewhere between 40 and 50. Not to mention the messages with people looking for "Got any 48 hour trial cards on you?"

Crazy.

whoaw, how'd that happen?

spedman wrote:

Surprisingly, I really like them because they can do stuff a real machine can't and the fact that they aren't trying to replicate existing tables gives the developer a lot of freedom to do fun stuff (I love the waterways in Rome).

Though I would absolutely love to get commercial versions of classic, "holy grail" licensed properties like the Addams Family and Twilight Zone machines from the folks at Farsight, I'm very glad there are also developers like Zen who are designing new tables. Zen and Stern are really the last lights in the darkness for the future of pinball.

I put some serious time into the game yesterday and this morning, or at least enough to give one or two spins on all the tables. The guys at Zen really get it. As a couple of you have already said, the mix between real table feel and things you can't do on a real table is really cool. Also, I love the idea that they are treating the game as a platform, and will continue to release more tables into the existing game. Plus, I have faith that they're only going to get the physics better as they iterate on it.

One minor complaint: I hate how they stop the game and block your view whenever you unlock an achievement. I lost a couple balls because of it, and it was a minor annoyance. Of course, you only have to worry about that once, so it's not a huge deal.

Finally, how do the tournaments work? It would be awesome if we could set up a tournament, and everyone can play when they get a chance and post their high score. We could do them weekly or monthly, and that'd keep me interested in the game over the long haul.

Justin Fletcher wrote:

I agree that the ball still doesn't have the heft to it that it does in something like the Williams Collection, but I think Zen has made real progress in its physics model. Tables like Rome and Secrets of the Deep have a much better feel than Zen's earlier efforts, maybe even better than Zen Pinball's offerings (which were a step in the right direction). Maybe they've reached golf ball status instead of ping pong ball?

That's a pretty apt description, I think. It's not all the way there, but the weight has been improved enough that players can attempt some real pinball maneuvers like passes now, which really wasn't the case before.

I haven't tried the newer tables yet, but I'm already enjoying how the updates play out on the original Pinball FX tables. Speed Machine and Agents, which were the two halfway-decent tables from the old PFX1 set, still play pretty well; the Agents table, in particular, seems to play much more smoothly with the weightier physics.

The noticeable change for me, though, is that Extreme actually seems to be playable now. Before, the ping-pong physics and the shorter lower playfield added up to a lot of hollow, maddening ricochets. Now, with a little extra snap on the ball, you can actually hit tricks fairly reliably and the multi-ball doesn't seem so impossible. It's still probably my least favorite of the three PFX1 tables, but I don't feel the need to actively avoid it anymore.

Ultimately, I'm really enjoying PFX2, and I haven't even made it into the new "Core" set of tables yet.

Picked it up and absolutely no one else on my friends list is playing it. Feel free to friend me up.

TheCounselor wrote:

I put some serious time into the game yesterday and this morning, or at least enough to give one or two spins on all the tables. The guys at Zen really get it. As a couple of you have already said, the mix between real table feel and things you can't do on a real table is really cool. Also, I love the idea that they are treating the game as a platform, and will continue to release more tables into the existing game. Plus, I have faith that they're only going to get the physics better as they iterate on it.

One minor complaint: I hate how they stop the game and block your view whenever you unlock an achievement. I lost a couple balls because of it, and it was a minor annoyance. Of course, you only have to worry about that once, so it's not a huge deal.

Finally, how do the tournaments work? It would be awesome if we could set up a tournament, and everyone can play when they get a chance and post their high score. We could do them weekly or monthly, and that'd keep me interested in the game over the long haul.

When I'm on next I'll check out the tournaments. If not, I'll throw something together in here somewhere, maybe the dead thread for the Plague, and simply make it a Pinball Plague.

So I finally tried Biolab. Whoa. What the hell's going on with that table? I played it for 20 minutes straight, and I still don't know what I was doing. Something about getting upgrades and making shots to those weirdly placed secondary flippers.

I can't tell if the layout is as byzantine as I think it is or if I just haven't spent enough time with it. But most tables have an elegance and, for lack of a better term, a narrative structure to the way they are laid out. Biolab just seems like a mess.

Just picked this up and bought the new tables. SO far it has been pretty enjoyable. My girlfriend want the Bullwinkle table so we got that too. However it just does not seem as polished as the 4 pack.

Add me up as a friend on XBL since nobody is playing this on my friend list.

I've set my Box to dl it once I get home. I LOVE the Williams Collection and I'm excited to see how this stacks up. Outside of the Core pack of tables and SSFII:Turbo, does anyone feel special love for any of the other standalone, non-PFX1 tables?

Also, Justin Fletcher, thanks for the info that I can turn off the speed line. I saw that in Giant Bomb's Quick Look and was hoping I could shut it off.

Camera angles are solid? Any options that replicate the "smart cam" from Williams?

I saw that this supports 2 player split screen which is pretty cool. Any recommendations on the best tables to pick up if I'm jumping in for the first time?

EvilDead wrote:

I saw that this supports 2 player split screen which is pretty cool. Any recommendations on the best tables to pick up if I'm jumping in for the first time?

Oh snap - I'm sold.

Williams Collection on the Wii is one of the wife's favourite games, and we've put a bunch of time into that multiplayer. Split screen is the killer app.

EvilDead wrote:

I saw that this supports 2 player split screen which is pretty cool. Any recommendations on the best tables to pick up if I'm jumping in for the first time?

After testing them all out, I ended up buying Earth Defense and Excalibur. I'd try them all out, but those were the ones I decided to spend money on, along with the FX2 four pack (those are all fun).

Mister Magnus wrote:

I've set my Box to dl it once I get home. I LOVE the Williams Collection and I'm excited to see how this stacks up. Outside of the Core pack of tables and SSFII:Turbo, does anyone feel special love for any of the other standalone, non-PFX1 tables?

As spedman says the FX1 DLC tables, Earth Defense and Excalibur, are pretty great. It pains me to say it, but Rocky and Bullwinkle is not a must buy. I think that table is a missed opportunity in a lot of ways.

Mister Magnus wrote:

Camera angles are solid? Any options that replicate the "smart cam" from Williams?

There are six view options, several of which are smart cam variants. However, I find the full table View 6 to be the best.

Justin Fletcher wrote:

I find the full table View 6 to be the best.

Absolutely agreed.

On the Rome table, is anyone else bothered by the game's pronunciation of "deus ex maSHEEna" whenever the outlane kickbacks activate? It seriously grates on my nerves every time.

YES.

[pout]"Balllll lost."[/pout]

The color palette on Rome is not that great: brown, red, gold, black.

Merphle, I see you are the pinball king on my friends list...for now.

Hmm, that gives me an idea... I could become pinball king on MY friends list simply by unfriending a couple of people.

I'm confused by my buying options for this game. There's a free version and then an 800 pt version. Is the free version just for playing Pinball FX 1 tables?

Also, if I haven't played the William's Collection, would I be better off just buying that? The Wii version is $15 on Amazon, which isn't that much more than this game.

The free version upgrades the graphics and adds achievements for PBFX1 and DLC tables. PBFX2 you can demo each table before buying, buy them individually, or buy them all at once. Considering they are original tables, buying all 4 tables is the way to go. Williams Collection is icing on a pinball cake and is awesome in its own right. I recommend PBFX2 and Williams.

The FX 2 tables are vastly superior to the FX tables (though Earth Defense and Excalibur hold their own), so you should definitely pony up for the new set. And Max is right: both FX 2 and the Williams Collection are must buys for pinball fans.

If you have a 360, definitely get the Xbox version of the Williams Collection. Not only does it come with glorious HD visuals, but it comes with three extra tables, including the superb Medieval Madness (this may be true of the PS3 version, too).

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