My thoughts on the last four tables

Espy

New member
Sep 9, 2013
2,098
1
So I've been stuck indoors with a broken foot for the past two weeks, and it's given me a good chance to catch up on video games. I bought the last four tables Zen released, and instead of breaking it all up into the different topics, I thought it would be more concise to post it all here. Sue me!

Castlestorm: This table is quite easy, but not so easy that it's impossible to lose. It's fun to play, and the theme and music remind me of How to Train Your Dragon - a win in my book. My only complaint is that the rollover lanes and bumpers are rarely accessible, which makes two of the modes nearly impossible to activate (and the kickbacks too, but balls tend to go there in multiball, so it's not that bad). I didn't realise those two modes were there until I read the instructions. Though it's a very minor point as they are basically just two random award modes, not necessary for progression. A tip - ignore the skill shots and always plunge the balls into the bumpers, as you're almost guaranteed to light both kickbacks as a result. High score around 400 million.

Wild West Rampage: Wow. I think this is possibly the hardest table Zen have made. It's the only table in the game where I think the difficulty is equivalent to a real machine. With all the other tables, I was able to activate everything important in the one game, but for this one, I focussed on winning one mode per game. It took me a long time to see everything. If it wasn't for the fact that you only needed to activate the modes, not win them, to see the wizard mode, I would never have got there. I eventually got to the wizard mode by STTNGing it (activating each mode and waiting for it to time out). Minor complaint is that it's not clear which modes are main missions and which are optional. Same goes for Castlestorm, actually. If you want a challenge, check this table out. High score 100 million. I noticed nobody in the scoreboards had broken a billion!

Avengers Age of Ultron: This is pretty much Zen by numbers. Nothing that special here. On Easy mode, I was able to get to the wizard mode within a few plays. But I was surprised how difficult it was on Normal mode. A few tricky shots, and that Iron Man vs Hulk mission is nearly impossible. That was, until I realised that the ball saver fires the balls right where they need to go, so you can take care of the first 10 shots by literally doing nothing! I eventually got the wizard mode on normal, and that got me #7 on the leaderboards. I dare think what hard mode will be like! High score around 300 million.

Star Wars Rebels: Fun table. Stackable multiballs galore, though the fact that you only need to activate each main mode makes the wizard mode a bit too easy to reach. I would prefer it if you had to complete them, but make that stupid Shadow-inspired mission (Mission 5) optional as that relies purely on luck. Otherwise, no complaints. I had fun with it. Nice bright and colourful theme. High score around 400 million.

I'm all warmed up to Zen again... bring on Portal!
 

Pinballfan69

New member
Mar 28, 2012
525
0
Nice summary Espy.

Castlestrom is fun and yes a bit on the easy side. It has it's charm much like Epic Quest which I hope they go back to...perhaps a sequel of sorts. The leveling up of your character is quite unique.

Wild West Rampage - I don't know if it's the hardest but it's up there as far as difficulty. The challenge in itself is rewarding to almost frustratingly so. It is my favorite of the the recent tables next to age of Ultron.

Age of Utron - Not many like this table. I've been only playing on hard mode and it's definitely challenging on that aspect. I love challenging tables. WWR, Fear Itself, Civil War. These tables make me come back to Zen more often.

SW Rebels - I felt it was way too easy. Love the stacked modes galore which is atypical of the designer 'Deep' who made tables like Fantastic Four, Infinity Gauntlet, SW 4,5,6 and others. Still a fun table and one that others new to the genre may enjoy.
 

ScotchYeti

Member
Apr 13, 2012
447
0
What's the deal with the difficulty levels? When did they add them and how do they change the tables? I haven't touched Zen in ages because of these *^#%* wizard modes. It takes forever to reach them (not that I did, I lack the patience and can't cope well with all these timed shots).
 

Captain B. Zarre

New member
Apr 16, 2013
2,253
0
My thoughts:

CastleStorm: I didn't like the Walking Dead table so I wasn't expecting to like this one. While the shots are fun I feel that you can just activate Shades over and over to collect the unbalanced Jackpot values. Nothing new or interesting but still a decent table.

Wild West Rampage: One of my favorite original tables so far. While the modes can get quite repetitive at times, they're still really fun to play through because of all the different shots that are possible to make. Godly flow, some of the best audio in any ZP2 table, amazing physics, and a great layout. Let me just say I think this table is a lot better than the Butters table.

Age of Ultron: I want to say I like this table but it honestly feels like a letdown. Ypok is one of my favorite digital pinball designers and after Deadpool I was expecting something even better than this table. Flow is decent, audio is decent, but the modes are really fun and theres a ton of them. It's not terrible, it's not perfect, it's just good.

Star Wars Rebels: Like the above table this table felt like a letdown because one of my favorite designers was working on it. While I enjoy the stackable modes and Multiballs I felt like at times the table was made a bit too easy. But anything for getting more people into the hobby, I guess.
 

MWink

New member
Jan 13, 2013
190
0
I guess I'll add my two cents:

Castlestorm: It's a bit on the easy side but I really love it. It looks and sounds great. I've managed to complete all the modes, except the dragon one. I feel the layout is good, but not quite great.

Wild West Rampage: This is another really good one. It's not easy but I don't find it as difficult as some make it out to be. The one thing I really don't like is the train mini-tables.

Avengers Age of Ultron: So far, I just don't like this table at all. Nothing stands out as great and I feel the layout is subpar. The Thor mode is easy to start and both shots it lights are quite hittable. The scoring is decent, so I just end up playing that mode. The other modes seem to take much more work to start and I don't seem to be as successful with them. On the plus side, this table introduces a few features I do like (initials saving, multiple difficulty levels, option to disable animations).

Star Wars Rebels: While I have no interest in the theme, I'm quite enjoying this table. I think it's got a good layout and modes (mostly). It is definitely an easy table. I almost started the wizard mode the first day. The one thing I really dislike is the mini-game, which is one of the main modes. (In general, I dislike most of Zen's mini-games/mini-tables, with a few exceptions.)
 

Jim O'Brien

New member
Feb 28, 2012
361
0
What's the deal with the difficulty levels? When did they add them and how do they change the tables? I haven't touched Zen in ages because of these *^#%* wizard modes. It takes forever to reach them (not that I did, I lack the patience and can't cope well with all these timed shots).

Age of Ultron is the only table with a difficulty level selection, all the others tables do not have that option.
 

steven120566

New member
Mar 7, 2015
261
0
I guess I'll add my two cents:

Castlestorm: It's a bit on the easy side but I really love it. It looks and sounds great. I've managed to complete all the modes, except the dragon one. I feel the layout is good, but not quite great.

Wild West Rampage: This is another really good one. It's not easy but I don't find it as difficult as some make it out to be. The one thing I really don't like is the train mini-tables.

Avengers Age of Ultron: So far, I just don't like this table at all. Nothing stands out as great and I feel the layout is subpar. The Thor mode is easy to start and both shots it lights are quite hittable. The scoring is decent, so I just end up playing that mode. The other modes seem to take much more work to start and I don't seem to be as successful with them. On the plus side, this table introduces a few features I do like (initials saving, multiple difficulty levels, option to disable animations).

Star Wars Rebels: While I have no interest in the theme, I'm quite enjoying this table. I think it's got a good layout and modes (mostly). It is definitely an easy table. I almost started the wizard mode the first day. The one thing I really dislike is the mini-game, which is one of the main modes. (In general, I dislike most of Zen's mini-games/mini-tables, with a few exceptions.)

LOL I love the train mini tables. WWR toughest table since V-12 or Shaman!
 

Members online

No members online now.

Members online

No members online now.
Top