Pinball FX3
FX3 could have been decent enough update even with the addition of the XP/leveling up mechanics to the tables that are required for maximizing your high scores. This was tolerable and even somewhat amusing to do for the first few tables but after playing a few more on top of that the novelty wears off and you quickly realize that the grind just gets in the way of enjoying the pure pinball experience (it isn’t strictly required since there’s a ‘classic mode’ but all the real competition is on the now regular mode, and unfortunately the level up mechanic is still active in this mode as well). The biggest issue with all this XP accumulation and leveling up is that it causes performance issues and random lag that in pinball means missed shots and needless gutter drains that are about the worst thing that can happen in this type of game where one single delayed input could mean the difference between a new high score or not. Multiply that by it happening continuously throughout your play session and its just a recipe for frustration.
– Real player with 532.7 hrs in game
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Pinball FX 3 is a continuation of a great pinball series, that has continued to grow in number of tables as well as improvements in game play and modes. I have played the full Pinball FX series and am not disappointed in how the game has progressed.
Most tables from FX 2 have made the climb into FX 3, with the tables from FX 2 getting somewhat of a overhaul if there were issues with the table, so some of the problems/bugs with tables from FX 2 have been corrected. With 90 tables available, there is a wide selection of fun tables to pick from. There is however a little bit of a glut of Marvel and Star Wars based tables, which isn’t horrible, but I would like to see more new fresh IP tables based on other movies, and non movie connected totally new concepts etc. Also, Zen studios has recently acquired the Williams pinball contract giving them a new base to make tables for. The tables so far have been good, but as an owner of The Pinball Arcade it’s kind of not such a big thing to get the new tables on release.
– Real player with 522.6 hrs in game
Pinball Arcade
If you are interested in Real pinball, as in machines out in the real world. This is the game for you.
All the tables are based on real tables, and does a pretty good job of it. So after playing the tables in this game, you already know what to shoot for out in the real world, and your scores will be that much greater.
However, Make sure you run this game in DX11, and make sure you adjust the lighting. (I usually go for 10-15% room brightness and 90-100% lamp brightness, to better emulate how games typically will look like in the real world.)
– Real player with 1091.2 hrs in game
Read More: Best Free to Play Arcade Games.
As pinball goes the game play is terrific and Pinball Arcade has been absent from Steam for far too long. The fact that it had to go through Greenlight is more testament to Valve’s incompetence and lack of understanding of the genre.
Farsight includes a free table with the distribution of their platform. Tales of Arabian Nights is outrageously good. Personally I can sit in one spot from dusk until dawn ignoring hunger or nature calling playing this table. The music, sound and game-play are all top notch. Unfortunately the pot ain’t all roses and there are some weeds, hopefully not permanently.
– Real player with 312.1 hrs in game
Malzbie’s Pinball Collection
As i made a fair but rather critical review of Malzbie’s Pinball Collection on day one of the release and as i promised in the following review thread that i would take my review up to consideration if some of the games problems was sorted out i thought it was about time to give it another go.
Previously i had issues with slowly reacting flippers, controller not working very well with the game and the pricing of the table dlcs among my main issues with the game.
Formerly posted comments in the reviews thread has been deleted as i believe they would cause more confusion keeping them up than doing any good in this new review of mine.
– Real player with 27.6 hrs in game
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This free to play pinball game is an unexpected gem as far as I’m concerned. I was a little dubious at first. The images of the paid for DLC looked a little simple; however, after playing the free table for a while, I decided to buy the DLC that was available. All six tables at £0.79 seemed pretty cheap, compared to tables for other pinball collections. The ball physics is spot on, the flippers are reponsive and you are able with a little practice to direct your shots in the direction you wish. The ball speed is pretty fast, but I like that. The only real negative I have is the inability to adjust the plunger shots. To activate the plunger you just press the down arrow key. The ball is then shot off to the top of the table with no finesse. Apart from that I have no complaints with this collection. It’s not Zaccarina, Pinball FX or the Stern pinball tables. All those mentioned have, like Malzzbie’s, a free table to play, so technically they are all free to play. Of the four collections I think this one is the weakest, but still very enjoyable to play. In fact I’d go as far as to say, this would be a perfect game for those new to computer pinball games.
– Real player with 19.7 hrs in game
Zaccaria Pinball
I’m a proud owner of the Platinum Edition. As of this review I have all 82*** tables, but they are making and releasing new tables on a regular basis. Zaccaria was an actual pinball machine manufacturer in Italy from 1974-1990. At their peak they were the third largest manufacturer of pinball machines behind leaders Bally and Williams.
Their first efforts were EM (Electro-Mechanical) tables. 12 of those have been released so far (most recently “Topical,” originally manufactured in 1974). An excellent table by-the-way. This was offered as DLC just this month. Naturally Zaccaria transitioned to Solid State tables. There are 27 SS tables released so far. I say ‘so far’ because beginning in 1988 Zaccaria was reorganized and renamed Mr. Game. While only a few Zaccaria tables remain unreleased none of the 6 Mr. Game tables have been added. By-the-way, five tables were released from 1988-90 under the Tecnoplay name. Those remain undigitized as well.
– Real player with 523.8 hrs in game
What a great game. What. A great. Game.
TL;DR; - this game offers something for all pinball lovers, just spend some time to find out which machines you enjoy and pick just them. If you enjoy older machines, stick with the SS and EM machines. If you enjoy 90s flashy machines, check out the remakes. If you enjoy over the top flashy machines - deluxe is for you. Just spend some time with the free download to see what is to your taste, and only pay for the machines you like.
Now,
I own pretty much all the pinball games here on Steam, and I have to say that although I enjoy all the major players' offerings (Pinball Arcade, Pinball FX3, Pro Pinball Ultra) I have to admit that I like Zaccaria just a bit more than the others.
– Real player with 124.7 hrs in game
Pincremental
The game doesn’t really have anything new to offer in terms of upgrades or progression. The whole basis of the game is to rebirth all your progress away for a next tier of points and all those tiers offer is faster score accumulation and automatically purchasing individual upgrades for a previous tier.
Getting the final tier of upgrades feels extremely unrewarding, getting there the first time mostly just upgrades your base point collection while making you start from the beginning again and after a few of those restarts there is just the upgrades to keep the things you already had automated from previous tiers automated.
– Real player with 1545.0 hrs in game
The pinball machine itself is too basic to be fun, so you’ll want to focus on the incremental aspects, and those too are a little bit lacking. Each new level of prestige effectively wipes your progress in exchange for a small bonus that will help you get back to where you were faster, but getting back is a pain since you’ll lose all of your automation. It will take many, many resets before you can get a higher level upgrade to make the lower level ones permanent. This leads to the game feeling less like a constant series of progressions and more like a constant series of setbacks. It effectively becomes a game about working a long while to rid yourself of an inconvenience, only for it to almost immediately be reintroduced.
– Real player with 214.3 hrs in game