Mel Kirk, the Vice President of Publishing over at Zen Studios, the folks that brought you Pinball FX 2 on the Xbox One recently mentioned that the Xbox One’s eSRAM caused no issues when they were developing their game. Since the developer has already worked on PS4, PC and Xbox One, we asked about his thoughts on the Xbox One’s API and whether it holds itself well against the ones present on PC and PS4.

Mel was not able to reveal anything about the API but he stated that working on the Xbox One has no issues. “Due to confidentiality restrictions, I am not able to answer this question in detail, but I will say that working with Xbox One is easy for an experienced dev team, there are no challenges out of the ordinary, and the code is solid,” he said to GamingBolt.

And whether the team faced any issues due to the Xbox One’s eSRAM? “No, we haven’t had any issues. Pinball FX2 is a big game with a lot of DLC content, and we have seen no issues.”

Despite Kirk’s team not running into any problems, many other developers have called out Microsoft on the issue, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell even went so far as to say they cheaped out on the ram.

And to be fair Pinball FX2 isn’t really a game, it’s more like a loading program but it’s free. If you’re new to Pinball FX, created by ZEN Studios, here’s how it works; you download the free program and then buy the pinball boards separately. You can play trial versions of any board before you buy which takes out the feeling of being stuck with a bad board. But I hardly doubt you’re going to feel like you got stiffed here. Most boards are real fun and cheap, and you can even buy bundled boards for a good deal as well.

For this review I was given the ZEN Classics pack. This pack included Shaman, El Dorado, Tesla and V12. Out of the group I found Shaman the most fun, but I certainly enjoyed every board. Tesla was a steampunk looking board, and looked the best, but I had higher scores on Shaman. V12 was a car themed board and it was also fun, but with so much going on at times I would lose sight of the ball.

The physics of Pinball FX2 is pretty solid. There was never a time where I questioned the bounce or hit of a ball, nor called foul. With the high quality detail on the board, and with the nice reflections, even on the mirrored ball itself, at times you could almost be fooled into thinking you’re playing a real pinball. But if you really have an issue, there’s no worries, you can actually go through the machine and tweak the boards, mechanics, tilts, and just about anything.

One of the coolest features to Pinball FX2 is the scoring. You can obviously score on each board, but thanks to Pinball FX2’s lobby system, all your scores get added up, tournament style. These combined scores create your rank which you can compare with your friends or other people online.

Another neat feature is the multiplayer modes. There are two ways to play, either take turns or split screen. I tried the split screen, and then set the goal of first to 10 million with a 10 percent penalty, which is the default settings. I can honestly say my wife and I had a great time. Having your board halved makes it more difficult to keep track of the ball and even action, but considering how pinball is typically a one player at a time game, the half screen issue is very minuet.

There are a few minor issues with Pinball FX2’s setup. The main issue for me came with visibility. There’s nothing wrong with the level of detail in the game, it’s just hard to see everything on the board at the angle the camera is set at. I couldn’t find a way to move the camera more, and I know for some people it would be cool if you go top down on the board and turn your tv vertical. By default however the camera is set at an angle which makes it hard to see any play in the back field. When the ball does go out of view or in the back field a pop up window will appear on the top right of your screen to show you what’s going on. Add this screen to the window on the top left that shows your score and multipliers and it becomes a little overwhelming.

The only other issue I can see to Pinball FX2 is, what I would consider, its main competitor, Future Pinball. I looked into Future Pinball a few years ago and was thoroughly impressed. It’s a free program to your PC with free boards created by users. Many of these boards are replicas of original boards. The best feature I saw was that you could take two monitors and make one the play field and the other a backboard. I’ve even seen some people make huge cabinets with giant flat screen tvs, and then they add in a Wiimote for tilt. The draw backs to Future Pinball is that your customer service is other users and if you really want to get the full feel of the program you have to have enough money for 2 tvs, and carpentry skills to make a cabinet. In comparison Pinball FX2 is cheaper and easier to run.

Pinball FX2 brings back the essence of old school gaming through pinball. If you’re looking to start your collection, the ZEN Classics pack is a quick shot to some fun and unique boards. The trial versions of every board make it easy to pick and choose the right boards for your library. I would have never thought I would have had as much fun with multiplayer as I did when I tried out the split screen options. The pros to Pinball FX2 easily outweigh the cons here and if you’re a person who enjoys the small games on your console, you’ll easily find a board worth playing.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Zen Studios today announced that Pinball FX2 has released as part of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, and is now available as a free download for all users.

Zen Studios plans to bring its library of pinball content to Pinball FX2 on the Windows 8 platform, and plans to evolve the pinball platform with new features and the innovative social connectivity.

Check out this new trailer from Pinball FX.

Pinball FX owners will be stoked to discover that each of these tables have received graphical updates and a new list of Achievements to unlock. In addition to every classic Pinball FX table, Pinball FX 2 will feature four all-new tables available for purchase. Every new table built for Pinball FX 2 will include new Achievements, operator mode and stats tracking.

Zen Studios have announced that Sorcerer’s Lair will be available for download on October 12, 2011 for Pinball FX2 on Xbox LIVE.

Story, theme and design come together in a beautiful blend of fantasy pinball magic in one of the most visually striking tables ever created by Zen Studios. Sorcerer’s Lair features a gothic world of mystery, ghosts and ginormous spiders! Avoid pesky traps, defeat an army of undead skeletons, explore six cellar missions and restore peace to those who reside within the walls of the ancient Citadel as you fight to escape the grasps of the evil Sorcerer.

The Sploding Table

Pinball FX 2 seems to just keep pumping out more and more pinball tables adding Achievements/Trophies, that I really don’t see any end to this.  Of course this is great news for people who love to play pinball, or at least an arcade pinball game.  All the tables that are released for the game are priced at a low price, unless you are purchasing a package of tables.  For example they have a whole bunch of different Marvel themed tables, like Wolverine and the Fantastic Four.  Even Captain America which we have reviewed right here on the site.  With the latest tables that have been released I would say that they definitely keep it interesting, but the newest table release which is the Ms. Splosion Man table, I would they are starting to keep things up to date now as well.

The first title in the franchise was Splosion Man, which was a super hit on the Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace.  What do you do when Splosion Man is in trouble, you call upon Ms. Splosion the second title in the franchise.  The game was the same price and played the same way making a good game, but lacked new features that either make sequels great or horrible.  Regardless this is a review for the Ms. Splosion Man pinball table and not the game, which is one great table.  With all the other tables you used seeing the faces, themes and abilities of some of the characters the previous tables have.  With the Ms. Splosion Man table, it is new, fresh and unique to any other table you can get.  Of course anyone used to the Splosion Man games will be used to explosions and there a lot of them that occur on the table.  Some triggered and sometimes pretty much a pretty much random Splode will occur from the Ms Splosion in the back right corner near you to elsewhere on the table.

The new table is actually a lot of fun and nice change of pace from the other tables.  This one seems faster for some reason, as if there is more going on as Ms. Splosion makes random comments that range from being slightly funny to not making any sense at all.  Ms. Splosion Man developers Twisted Pixel worked along side Zen Studios to really bring the table to life and bring elements from the game to the table to make it one of the best yet.  You will see characters that appear in the arcade game like Scientists and Rollerbots, all while Ms. Splosion stands in her corner occasionally doing a dance or saying classic remark.

Eventually after being able to smash this little head on the table, Might Eternal emerges who is also in the arcade game.  There are so many exploding triggers and there are even traps.  You can even have three pinballs on the table at once.  After Might Eternal emerges, you must overcome many unique challenges, I have never seen in a pinball game before.  If you can manage to master the table, you can free Splosion Man away from the Might Eternal boss, but it is not easy, unless you are a pinball king I suppose.  Well who am I kidding if you are a fan the Pinball FX 2 and play the tables a lot, it really shouldn’t be all that hard.  All in all though it plays out like a mini arcade game within a pinball table, which is why this one is so great.  The other table have their strong points, but this one is unique to them all and any fan of Pinball FX 2 should most definitely get this table.  It will run you 240 Microsoft Points and if you had to choose a table to get, this one could very well be the most satisfying.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Now we all know that a simple Pinball Add-On is not that much content and some might say it’s not even worth reviewing.  Here at GamingBolt.com, we consider everything just so you can get some insight on it and know whether it’s worth that purchase.. no matter the price.  To start off another Marvel table has been added to the marketplace, which is hard to go wrong with in the first place and I am speaking of the Captain America table.  I am sure that this film being released had something to do with it coming out but it is no way disappointing.  The graphics even seem better while the table layout is more of a classic larger style, which was nice to see.  Just seeing Captain America himself standing in the back of the table, shield in hand, is awesome looking in itself, not to mention his character painted on the main part of the table as well. In the Captain America table you will see characters such as Bucky, the Red Skull  and Zemo’s castle as the older classic version from the Comic was chosen to be portrayed (I suppose the World War II version would be more accurate).  But the battles you get into, that is if you good at pinball look fabulous and I couldn’t stop playing it.  Any fan of Captain America, Marvel or just Pinball FX 2 should definitely pick this up for the cheap price of 240 Microsoft Points.

For the Fantastic Four table, they really packed in here, and don’t get me wrong it is great, but while you are playing it is hard to concentrate on so many characters.  They managed to get the Fantastic Four of course, being Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing which each have something to say or do related to the game.  For instance you might hit a bonus where Mr. Fantastic will stick out his arm and you will have to hit his hand with the pinball, which is the way all the Pinball FX tables play out.  This particular table was done quite well and also includes Dr. Doom and Galactus as well.  For the same price I would say it is worth it, but I will say that the Captain America one was done better.

It seems that the tables that are constantly being released for Pinball FX 2 (which is a free arcade I might add) are just getting better and better.  So the newest add-ons you person might just be the best ones.  However some people will never be torn apart from their classics.  The new table though sure do beat out Rocky and Bullwinkle if you ask me.  Each table also adds Achievements as well, and everyone likes those.  So if you are a Pinball fan and own an Xbox 360, you should not be reading this.. you should playing Pinball FX 2!  As for Marvel fans like myself I couldn’t stop playing it and being that there is a trial for each table I suggest you give it a shot.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Those who like Pinball and good bargains may want to take note.

From June 21 – 28, 2011 PSN users in North America who by Marvel Pinball will get ZEN Pinball for free. If you want those eight tasty tables for the meagre price of $9.99 you may want to act now.

The Mars table immediately starts as it means to go on by looking good. The theme is simple and instantly appealing, with the mechanical spaceships and robots all moving with a grace and fluidity that other developers would struggle to achieve. The sounds too are in keeping with the whole dynamic, and add to the sense of immersion. Or at least, immersion as far as a pinball table goes.

The table is laid out well, with the objectives and side missions you can activate being quite clearly labelled at the start of each game. The problem comes in that, despite this sign-posting, I still found many of the missions to be quite obscure in their origins. Activating the right ones felt more like luck and less like skill. I’m sure there are those who would counter saying that this is a part of the game but, whilst this holds true, it’s still not a part of the game I’m especially fond of.

It’s a bit more classic than some of the wackier game tables, but it’s enjoyable all the same

Despite these minor complaints, the table is still a lot of fun to play. Part of this is just the simplistic charm of Pinball FX2 itself, but you’ll keep trucking on to get that high score all the same. It’s simple and addictive gameplay at its best. The thing I would warn potential buyers about is the sparsely laid out nature of the table. There’s stuff to do for sure, but it seems rather classic in comparison to some of the more wacky designs of the other tables in Pinball FX2. It’s not a bad thing as such, but those who were fans of the Biolab and other such tables shouldn’t expect the same treatment here.

My only major gripe with the table is its pricing. Admittedly, this is more the fault of Pinball FX2’s overall pricing strategy and nothing do with the table itself. Regardless of this, 240 MS points just seems a little steep for one table. Maybe it’s just because I’m not really the type to get sucked into constantly trying to obtain the highest scores, but I just can’t imagine a single table occupying enough time to justify the point of entry; as meagre as it is. If you love your pinball and have no qualms about the price then consider the Mars table worthy of your time.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Secrets of the Deep

The following tables or table packages are available for purchase:

The Classic Collection
– The Core Collection – 800 MSP
– The Nightmare Mansion Table – 200 MSP
– The Rocky & Bullwinkle Table – 200 MSP
– The Excalibur Table – 200 MSP
– The Street Fighter II Tribute Table – 200 MSP
– The Earth Defense Table – 240 MSP
– Marvel Pinball – 800 MSP

All of these options as I mentioned before vary from how many tables to price.  For instance the Core Collection gives you a whole bunch of tables you can play on where as the Nightmare Mansion is simply one table but for much less cost, but still adding achievements.  If you were fortunate enough to purchase tables from the original Pinball FX, they do carry over to this game with out you having to purchase them again.

The game is heavily based on score and beating your friends score.  You will enjoy this game much more if you have friends playing the game, in fact the game becomes much less competitive and you lose a lot of what the game has to offer if you don’t have any friends that play the game.  So the more friends you have playing Pinball FX 2, the more fun you will have as seeing who can score the highest on certain tables and with so many to choose from you could easily have the high score on one table with your friends while other tables your friends hold the high score on the leaderboards.  There is of course a worldwide leaderboard as well as a table specific leaderboard but the friends leaderboard is the most fun as while your playing the game, messages may pop up saying ‘keep going to beat [this friends] high score’ on the table or ‘you have just beat [this friends] high score’.  There is even someone (a friend) that is crowned champion of the tables, which just entices you more to conquer the tables.

Your Collection of tables that you own.

The game also introduces “The Wizard Score”, which can act as a multiplier, based on things such as how many tables you’ve bought and how many of your friends own the game. This doesn’t effect your score to much and is much less a part of the competitive side of the game even though someone will be noticed for having the highest “Wizard Score”.  When it comes to multiplayer you can use your Xbox Live Vision camera and video chat with opponents while you compete with them in online multiplayer games which may not be for everyone, but adds an excellent aspect of craziness when it comes to competing. Up to four people can play multiplayer simultaneously, with the goal being either to score the most points within a specific time limit or to be the first player to reach a set score. I think it would be nice if more games integrated this into games that are competitive online.

Pinball FX 2 doesn’t just limit itself to online multiplayer as you can play locally as well with 2 player simultaneous split-screen for 4 player multiplayer where each person takes it turn by turn.  There are many different views you have your choice of using while playing each table, whether it is zoomed in or out, to other angles that are sure to suit your preference well.  You can also change the controls although there is not much to them as the bumper/triggers are you left/right flipper controls while the d-pad/left analog stick nudges the table for your default settings.  Speaking of nudging the table, you should be warned as nudging it too much will get you a penalty while sometimes you might need that extra nudge.  This definitely adds to the realism of the game.

Spiderman Table

Speaking on the subject of realism of the game, quite frankly looks like the developers have got the physics of real pinball down to a ‘T’ when it comes to the realism in the game.  Now this is great news for veteran pinball machine players or hardcore gamers that find that fine line between luck and skill.  However for the more casual players it leaves them only with the competition between their hopefully casually playing friends.  Now there are so many different things and surprises that pop up in the game upon doing certain things.  Being that this is a video game I feel like those surprises and bonuses that pop up should be easier for players to hit.  As cool as some of them are like hitting a certain point on the pinball machine so many time will bring up a mini game for a chance to score some extra points, I feel that this aspect should be seen more in the game and less of a rarity to the casual players.  These mini games vary across different tables and you are not well informed on how to get the most out of them.  I found myself clueless as to what button I should be pressing or what the hell I was suppose to be doing.  So there is an area of the game that I think deserves more attention as well as being able to be informed better on it, on each table.

In many peoples opinion including my own, the most recently released pack for the game is the Marvel Pack giving you a Wolverine, Spiderman, Blade and  Ironman table is one of the coolest tables up for sale.  I mean it is pretty damn cool when you net the same ball into Sabertooth’s nest 3 times on the Wolverine Table and then get to actually battle him.  As cool as it is, after working hard to get that same ball in there 3 times, I had no idea what to do in order to defeat him.  Maybe I missed some on screen, out of the blue tutorial but I failed having no idea what just happened.  This is something that you should be well informed of especially considering how damn cool that actually is for a pinball game.  Other than that the only other complaint I have about the game which might not necessarily be seen as a complaint through other peoples eyes is that table vary and you might have to get used to a table to do well in it, so switching from table to table might be hard rather than concentrating on one table to master it.

Wolverine and Sabertooth Battle on the Table.

To close my review of Pinball FX 2 and all its add-on content, this game is a no-brainer for any pinball fanatic to purchase, because your going to love it.  As for the people and gamers who are not pinball fanatics, you will be surprised as to how addicting and fun this game is, especially as you progress through the game getting better the more you play.  Let’s say the game is something like 90% skill 10% luck, that my friends could just be the rule of any good competitive game and Pinball FX 2 is no exception.  So casual gamers be warned, the game is highly addictive especially if you have friends playing it but fun too and hardcore pinball fans.. just get the game already.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.