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THE PINBALL ARCADE (PS4)
SEASON ONE | SEASON TWO
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Publisher: System 3.
Developer: FarSight Studios. Released: February 2014-March 2015 (Retail, Europe). Genre: Pinball. Other versions: PS3; VITA; XONE; X360; SWI; WIIU; PC. Posted 24th September 2023. By Tom Clare © 2023 |
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FarSight Studios was responsible for two Pinball Hall of Fame games during the 2000s, and those who’ve played either will find a number of the tables, as well as the general feel of The Pinball Arcade, to be familiar. However, its gameplay represents a step forward from these competent but underwhelming titles. There’s nothing spectacular to be found in TPA, but a catalogue of small, positive evolutions and improved features results in a more inviting prospect for pinball fans. The first two seasons combine for a whopping 42 real-world tables. These span several decades and feature creations from Bally, Stern, Williams and Gottlieb, meaning there’s just about as broad a range of styles as you could ever hope for.
The devil is in the detail with such endeavours and here The Pinball Arcade does a good job. Usefully, each table offers an accessible, blow-by-blow rundown of all its functions. As well as helping to impress upon players the depth the majority of them hold, it’s also extremely handy for aiding those struggling to score heavily. This ties in with ‘standard’ and ‘wizard’ goals, two sets of five targets each table presents to challenge the player. Completing all the standard goals makes for a fun, challenging task, something that kept me glued to a few of the tables for hours on end. The wizard goals will likely prove too daunting a challenge for most players to invest in too seriously, as they typically require absolute mastery of a table and a considerable talent for the pursuit as well. Relatively few of the tables make use of either ball-save or kickback features, which is frustrating as you’ll see a lot of pinballs lost cheaply via the outlanes.
Learning all the scoring tricks will take ages. When you're done, Season 1 has 21 more tables to master!
The tables aren’t world-beating to look at but they are tidily represented, thanks to some neat little tinkering options (such as adjusting the lighting levels of the room and bulbs) and the PS4 versions also exhibit cleaner visuals than the earlier iterations. Given that it exhibits an eye for fine detail, TPA’s presentation is surprisingly ropey. Ugly menus feature archive pinball photographs which, for reasons only the developers will understand, are zoomed in to such an extent that they appear a horrific mess of pixels. The flooring around the cabinets appears incredibly low-resolution and whilst you could argue this doesn’t affect the gameplay, it’s often in your eyeline and looks inexplicably naff.
I love the fidelity of the sound throughout both games, especially the crunched, digitised voice samples drawn from a remarkable array of sources, and whilst some of the music is quite maddening, you have to admire the authenticity. Online leaderboards offer a wealth of incentives, as measuring up against friends and players worldwide across the myriad versions makes for a great challenge. There are also challenge modes where the player must tackle a sequence of tables with the aim of reaching a minimum target score to progress. It’s an inviting concept, but with only three lives, challenge runs are momentously difficult.
I love the fidelity of the sound throughout both games, especially the crunched, digitised voice samples drawn from a remarkable array of sources, and whilst some of the music is quite maddening, you have to admire the authenticity. Online leaderboards offer a wealth of incentives, as measuring up against friends and players worldwide across the myriad versions makes for a great challenge. There are also challenge modes where the player must tackle a sequence of tables with the aim of reaching a minimum target score to progress. It’s an inviting concept, but with only three lives, challenge runs are momentously difficult.
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For pure gameplay, The Pinball Arcade still can’t match the Pro Pinball series at its height, as it continues to act as a high bar for the genre, two decades later. It might also seem a little straight-laced to those who enjoyed the more imaginative, left-field approaches to the genre, like the Crush series. That being said, if you’re a true pinball anorak and want to revel in the minutiae, you’ll find a lot to like with either of the first two seasons.
THE PINBALL ARCADE
System 3 | FarSight Studios | Pinball | February 2014 (Retail, Europe)
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Entitled simply The Pinball Arcade for its retail release, the disc version consists of the entire first season of content packs that were drip-fed to the PlayStation Network during the period. Pinball fans will appreciate this edition, offering an impressive 22 tables spanning 11 content packs and perhaps inevitably, representing significantly better value for money than its digital alternative.
What about the tables? There are more hits than misses here. Star Trek: The Next Generation is a delight for sci-fi fans, featuring specially recorded dialogue prompts from the cast of the show, as well as some unusual rotating turrets that allow the player to launch the pinball in the manner of a probe. Tales of the Arabian Nights offers a lot of hidden depth, as does the moreish but difficult Theatre of Magic. Another mid-nineties table, Medieval Madness, deserves a mention for its unusual historical theme and impressively busy layout: the mini-drawbridge is an especially cool addition.
What about the tables? There are more hits than misses here. Star Trek: The Next Generation is a delight for sci-fi fans, featuring specially recorded dialogue prompts from the cast of the show, as well as some unusual rotating turrets that allow the player to launch the pinball in the manner of a probe. Tales of the Arabian Nights offers a lot of hidden depth, as does the moreish but difficult Theatre of Magic. Another mid-nineties table, Medieval Madness, deserves a mention for its unusual historical theme and impressively busy layout: the mini-drawbridge is an especially cool addition.
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Big Shot misses the mark a little due to its simplistic layout and frustrating nature, Cirqus Voltaire offers a nice game of pinball but is aggravating due to its persistent, lengthy stoppages, robbing what should have been a fun pursuit of its pace. Funhouse is also a little bit gaudy, though many of the old-school themes make for engaging themes, notably The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Attack from Mars.
There are trophies galore, with three up for grabs on each table: one for setting a high score, and one each for completion of all standard and all wizard goals. 22 tables is likely the most that has ever been assembled in a single pinball retail release and fans of the genre will get a huge amount of mileage from The Pinball Arcade.
There are trophies galore, with three up for grabs on each table: one for setting a high score, and one each for completion of all standard and all wizard goals. 22 tables is likely the most that has ever been assembled in a single pinball retail release and fans of the genre will get a huge amount of mileage from The Pinball Arcade.
OVERALL: 7/10
THE PINBALL ARCADE: SEASON 2
System 3 | FarSight Studios | Pinball | February 2015 (Retail)
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Season 2 is fractionally leaner than its predecessor, but still weighs in with a very respectable 20 tables. As before, some of these tables, such as Tee’d Off, PIN-BOT and a few others will be familiar to those who played the sixth-generation Hall of Fame series.
As before, there are plenty of good tables and only a few duds. Among the best and most entertaining tables are Cactus Canyon, which makes extensive use of its theme with whip-cracking sound effects, collectable bounties and quick-draw shootouts. White Water makes smart, evocative use of undulating ramps, whilst Centaur is the best-looking table in the game, with its intricate, detailed black and white detailing offset nicely by splashes of red.
As before, there are plenty of good tables and only a few duds. Among the best and most entertaining tables are Cactus Canyon, which makes extensive use of its theme with whip-cracking sound effects, collectable bounties and quick-draw shootouts. White Water makes smart, evocative use of undulating ramps, whilst Centaur is the best-looking table in the game, with its intricate, detailed black and white detailing offset nicely by splashes of red.
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It can be a little tricky to sight the pinball, but the Centaur table looks awesome
There are a few quite creative spins on the formula and though they’re not always among the best tables, they’re still worthy of mention. Haunted House is a tricky proposition with several sets of flippers, whilst Goin’ Nuts is absolute bedlam because every turn starts with a multiball scenario, though the table is let down by its frankly appalling sound effects. On the licensed side, there’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day with its Arnold Schwarzenegger sound bites and slick, points-galore table layout that’s brimming with fun features and a cool video mode that sees the player blasting Terminators with a crosshair controlled by the flipper buttons.
Other tables prove similarly unusual but less entertaining: Central Park is difficult to get into because of the yawning gap between flippers. Class of 1812 is underwhelming due to the prominence of its outlanes making it really easy to lose lives, whilst Firepower proves a dull layout with little in the way of notable features. Trophy hunters beware: there are far fewer available on Season 2. Every single one is excessively difficult, as the sole trophy attached to each table asks the player to complete all standard AND all wizard goals. Unless you are the proverbial pinball wizard, you won’t be unlocking any of these. Overall, it’s a fraction less impressive than Season 1, but still a very decent effort.
Other tables prove similarly unusual but less entertaining: Central Park is difficult to get into because of the yawning gap between flippers. Class of 1812 is underwhelming due to the prominence of its outlanes making it really easy to lose lives, whilst Firepower proves a dull layout with little in the way of notable features. Trophy hunters beware: there are far fewer available on Season 2. Every single one is excessively difficult, as the sole trophy attached to each table asks the player to complete all standard AND all wizard goals. Unless you are the proverbial pinball wizard, you won’t be unlocking any of these. Overall, it’s a fraction less impressive than Season 1, but still a very decent effort.
OVERALL: 6/10
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VERDICT
"Two Pinball simulations that represent excellent value for money. Fans will be in dreamland with all the detail and online leaderboards, though some of the content has appeared in earlier compilations and it's not as playable as some of its competitors." |
OTHER PINBALL GAMES WITH AN OLD-SCHOOL VIBE REVIEWED
Pro Pinball: Big USA (1998, PC)
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Pinball Hall of Fame: Gottlieb Collection (2005, PlayStation 2)
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