Zen Pinball 2 for PS3 and PS Vita

[Jim O'Brien]

Sept. 4 (NA) and Sept. 6 (EU)

http://blog.zenstudios.com/?p=1891

 

[djwille]

I must say that the 3D effects of zen pinball 2 are the best in game history.
Wow what beautifull in 3D.....

 

[laughing_lunatic]

Just importing tables now... 3D glasses charging up....

I must say that the 3D effects of zen pinball 2 are the best in game history.
Wow what beautifull in 3D.....

From a half hour play, I would have to agree. It looks stunning in 3D. It adds so much to the gameplay IMO, so much more immersive. Hahaha, when I got my first medal and it game flying out the screen and revolved about an inch from my nose, I actually said "whoa !" and leaned back. They've implemented it perfectly... and to see those zombies lumbering toward you on the PvZ table, in 3D is extremely cool.

Good job, Zen.

Off to buy all the tables.

 

[J2fold]

I still Like pinball Arcade a bit more then Zen but..

Zen Pinball really stepped up their A game with their Zen pinball 2. The 3D Pinball looked cool as well.

 

[spoonman]

Oh man.. I forgot about 3D! I just ordered a PlayStation 24" 3D LED display.
I can't wait to play all of these tables in 3D. I hope some day Farsight will consider adding 3D support as well.

Oh and on the PlayStation Display, Don't worry I ordered a Square Trade 4 year warranty too, I know those things have a 40% defect rate (or so I'm told).

 

[Jeff Strong]

I'll have to give it a whirl. Hopefully at least the physics are better than PFX 2 on 360...

EDIT: the physics seem exactly like PFX 2 (too easy, slow, not bouncy enough, etc.), so it's not for me...I'd be willing to overlook the flipper gap if the physics were more challenging, but you can trap/catch almost any ball just by holding up the flipper....yawn.

 

[bavelb]

I'll have to give it a whirl. Hopefully at least the physics are better than PFX 2 on 360...

EDIT: the physics seem exactly like PFX 2 (too easy, slow, not bouncy enough, etc.), so it's not for me...I'd be willing to overlook the flipper gap if the physics were more challenging, but you can trap/catch almost any ball just by holding up the flipper....yawn.

Thanks, I was waiting for the "improved physics" review. It's exactly as I was expecting then, as I assumed that the physics would be exactly like PFX2 and the Marvel tables.

Personally I'm thankful for that as I own all my Zen tables on 360 and wouldnt need much convincing to buy them again if the physics were far superior. My wallet is grateful. The "casual" physics don't bother me too much now that I know what I'm going in to when booting up their game. Plus it's a bit easier on the kid (especially when I adjust the table settings to beginner) as well.

 

[shutyertrap]

Granted, I've barely touched Zen since TPA came out, but I so far haven't really noticed a difference in physics. I booted up Wolverine and one thing I did notice was I could hit that center ramp shot much more often now.

Thankful for Zen 2 though, cause I lost the ability to play my Marvel tables I purchased when I let my Plus membership go and didn't realize I'd gotten the core Marvel game for free during that. Now I can at least play my dlc, though eventually I'll get the core games again.

 

[bavelb]

Granted, I've barely touched Zen since TPA came out, but I so far haven't really noticed a difference in physics. I booted up Wolverine and one thing I did notice was I could hit that center ramp shot much more often now.

I think the difference will be mainly in the genuine Zen Pinball 1 tables. The Marvel tables, especially the latter ones, were most likely already created with the improved PFX2-like physics. I think I'll go on and buy a table or 2 today in Zen 2, for those cases where my 360 is taken by the kids (somehow they are totally into "Blue Dragon" all of a sudden).

 

[Pinballfan69]

I think the difference will be mainly in the genuine Zen Pinball 1 tables. The Marvel tables, especially the latter ones, were most likely already created with the improved PFX2-like physics. I think I'll go on and buy a table or 2 today in Zen 2, for those cases where my 360 is taken by the kids (somehow they are totally into "Blue Dragon" all of a sudden).

Well the core table pack feel much more alluring than ZP1 (Except V12 I don't like that table at all) It does give new perspective to those older tables and make them feel much newer. I booted up My all time Favorite table Fear Itself and it 'felt' Different. It looks sharper and the ball does feel different. I think I'm with most TPA fans now with the way the Physics are on the Zen table. I love the design and concepts behind Zen/Marvel but the ball has too much weight. It need to be more bouncy but not the same extreme as CV and MM.

 

[Victor the Winker]

Man Zen studios are really good a designing the menu, ui, logo, icon, etc. Still prefer Pinball Arcade but this game being on the vita will make me play it more. Thinking of getting a dlc table maybe Epic Quest. I only have Earth Defence and Excalibur.

 

[kane11]

Somebody can tell me hoe can i chenge display size in Zen Pinball 2 ???

 

[Kaoru]

After trying out a few tables on Zen Pinball 2 I can't say that I notice any big differences (let alone even improvements) in the physics. The ball still does feel either way to heavy or way to light depending on the situation... or just does plain odd things that I can't wrap my mind around. Like... when I shoot the ball off the tip of the right flipper... how on earth does it end up in the upper right corner of table, going there straight?

Nudging still remains entirely useless. By this point I sincerely think it's just there so that the controller has a reason to vibrate for a second.

Well, the new menu is neat, loading times have become significantly shorter, you can plunge the ball in with the right stick now... but that's pretty much it.

As for the "Plants vs Zombie"-table... I only played the demo, but it felt somewhat flat. People who are big into ramps might love this, but I got slightly bored pretty quickly. Besides... a green ball? On a table with huge amounts of green on it? Seriously? Sigh... I have no idea who's responsible for graphic design over at Zen, but it must be someone who has no sense for colours whatsoever. Otherwise I can't explain all those graphical mishaps that plague most of the Zen tables.

 

[DarkAkatosh]

The only reason to nudge in Zen is to send it over to the opposite flipper.

 

[shutyertrap]

Sigh... I have no idea who's responsible for graphic design over at Zen, but it must be someone who has no sense for colours whatsoever. Otherwise I can't explain all those graphical mishaps that plague most of the Zen tables.

No doubt about that. I was playing the demo (I love that new feature by the way) of Ninja Gaiden, and I honestly could not tell what anything was. Zen puts too many images and colors on the field, and doesn't understand that shots should be clear and easy to identify. I think Iron Man, Sorcerer, and Wolverine are good examples of when they've gotten it right, but Tesla, El Dorado, and many others are just a mess to figure out. They need the instructions like TPA does.

I really do like the new interface though. Was wondering, why doesn't Fantastic Four appear? I haven't bought the table, but wanted to try the demo, and that's the only table that doesn't appear in the new menu. Anybody else notice that?

 

[ScotchYeti]

Ninja Gaiden is a good example, it can be hard to see anything but on the other hand the table smashes the ball at you in a way that is totally fun.

They had a couple of issues with Fantastic Four and need to fix them first before it can be released in ZP2.

Btw, it's good that the ball doesn't drain as much as on real pinball tables - it's all about having fun and not about getting your quarters by sending the ball SDTM. I am sure that casual gamers will prefer Zen pinball over TPA on any day.

 

[Kaoru]

They need the instructions like TPA does.

Actually, they have those now! With arrows and everything! So at least in that part they've been learning.

In the end though it changes nothing about it that the tables are just a cluttered oversaturated mess.

 

[Rafie]

Wow you guys are a tough crowd here at TPA forums. In risk of getting flamed for my opinion, I'll say that I do "enjoy" Zen more than I do TPA. The physics in Zen isn't bothersome at all. As of lately the physics in TPA is top notch. It wasn't always like that before with TPA because the ball was way too bouncy imo (Black Hole and especially RBION). However that seems to have changed and has gotten on par with the rest of the recent tables like Gorgar and such.

I enjoy both respective pinball franchise and I won't sit here and argue/debate whose actually better. To be honest no one can! It's open to interpretation of the public and everyone will have a different opinion about it. Plain and simple. ZP2 is a phenomenal! I enjoy TPA for the authenticity and nostalgic feel. Nobody has been perfect in making a pinball game here, but that doesn't mean they still aren't great. I'd say enjoy pinball no matter who makes it...unless its just downright terrible. lol Just know that I most certainly do love TPA. No doubt and I like how tough you all are. It makes better! Oh and lastly, just because I enjoy something more doesn't necessarily mean its better.

 

[laughing_lunatic]

Wow you guys are a tough crowd here at TPA forums. In risk of getting flamed for my opinion, I'll say that I do "enjoy" Zen more than I do TPA.

I'm with you, Rafie. Although I wouldn't say I enjoy ZP2 more than TPA, to me they're on an even setting and it's really a mood thing for me. If I'm wanting to get "serious" about my pinball, I'll load up TPA, but just for a sheer blast, I thoroughly enjoy ZP2 esp in 3D. It just makes me smile. Of course there are issues, I HATE that green ball and yes, sometimes the ball feels like it has the density of a dying star, but for what it is, I enjoy it tremendously.

And yeah, they can be a tough crowd here sometimes It's like going onto a racing sim forum and extolling the merits of the new Need For Speed game. Brows will furrow. Gnashing of teeth will happen.

At least it's a moderately civilised hate campaign though. Go onto an XBOX forum and say "XBOX sux...PS3 rulez" and see what happens

 

[shutyertrap]

Rafie, I do enjoy Zen also. I think their tables tell a great story and that drives me to want to complete everything. I really found their Marvel tables to be fun and much more like real pinball in terms of layout (not the animations!!) than the regular table offerings.

Ignore TPA for a minute though, and just concentrate on the tables. Williams and company know a thing or two about layout and design. when you see a table stripped bare, you realize how efficient they were with their graphics. They also understood about contrast and making things easily identifiable. Zen could learn a lot from them their. Also, the light show on real tables usually is there to help you identify shots. With all the extra animation going on with Zen, I find their light show to be minimal and not effective. I really have to look at the DMD display to understand what is being asked of me, where on a real table I can tend to figure it out intuitively.

That being said, once I figure out a Zen table, I'm hooked. I can't tell you how much Iron Man sunk it's teeth into me, and Moon Knight was completely impenetrable for the longest time, but now I love it. A lot of times it's also a matter of me figuring out which table angle I need so I can react in time for certain shots. With TPA, I'm almost always table angle 1, with exceptions to CV and FH (too low for me). With Zen, it changes table to table. And is there a cam lock ability like on TPA, cause sometimes I find the perfect angle but the time it takes to pan down from the top back to the flippers causes me to miss shots or lose the ball.

One last thing I like TPA for over Zen, but probably doesn't matter to everyone else. TPA displays properly on my TV, Zen doesn't. My tv doesn't do 720p, only 1080i. Zen not only downconverts to 480, it letterboxes the screen! So bad resolution and it's squished horizontally. I think when I finally do get a new TV (and I'll get 3D) I'll come to appreciate Zen more.

Still, I like 'em both. Just currently nostalgia is winning the war of my wallet!