14 DAY TRIAL // 
Zen Studios seems to have been given free rein to take any pop culture artifact that has a loose connection to gaming and turn it into a table for the Zen Pinball series, and now they are allowing players to immerse themselves into the world of iconic Spider-Man villain Venom, using a layout which has some cool moments and mechanics to offer.
Venom was first introduced to the comic book universe in 1984 and the Symbiote was initially attracted to Spider-Man as a host, but the superhero quickly understood that the extra power he gained came at a price, and after a long struggle the pinball table mentions, he managed to get rid of it.
The second host was to become the most famous one, as Eddie Brock linked up with the alien and then went on to battle the superhero incarnation of Peter Parker for quite some time.
Other notable hosts include Mac Gargan, the former Scorpion, and Flash Thompson, and over time Venom even creates a sibling, called Carnage, who is even more insane.
The backstory and adventures of the character are featured in the pinball table and gamers can explore them at will.
The Venom Pinball title introduces a Spider sense concept which allows for balls to be saved with very good timing, and there’s a big bell you can ring on the left that features prominently during gameplay.
Gamers can choose to try and free Carnage by spelling his name in order to then team up with Spidey to battle him.
The table also features goo balls, a web to trap a ball for later use, and ways to lock up the drains on the left and right, which can be unforgiving, in order to increase the high score that can be achieved.
There’s a lot of content to be experienced on the Venom Pinball table, but it requires some time before it becomes enjoyable.
For the first few attempts, the layout made me feel frustrated and angry because I lost balls way too easily and failed to open up the more interesting modes.
The supervillain from the Marvel universe seems to have lent a little of his personality to its Zen Pinball incarnation, and patience and some luck are required in order to get solid scores and reach a multiball moment.
From a graphics standpoint, Venom Pinball looks pretty similar to the rest of the Marvel-themed tables that Zen Studios has created, with a lot of details crammed into the table, most of them based directly on comic book apparitions of the character.
At first, the layout will seem strange to those who have played other games offered in 2014 by the same studio, but after a few games it will be easy to see which areas need to be targeted, and as always, the game offers a lot of feedback to the player.
The only element that I will continue to hate is how Spider-Man moves across the table when a new match starts, often obscuring a good potential hit.
The music of the game is also suited to the theme but it can get a little annoying during long sessions, while the voice acting is adequate but not impressive.
Venom Pinball also has the traditional leaderboards, allowing players to compare their scores with those of their friends, but this feels limited and I would love to see a way of getting more details about how other players approach the table, its unique mechanics and content.
The Good
- Marvel universe implementation
- Carnage mechanics are cool
- Challenging
The Bad
- Frustrating at times
- Villain focused
Conclusion
The studio understands that, on the PC or on a console, they do not need to put together content that can actually exist in the real world, and it’s a joy to see how they manage to balance the freedom that the medium introduces and the desire to create impressive high-scoring sequences.
Venom is not the best table they have introduced to Zen Pinball this year, but it remains close to the way the character is presented in the comics and allows players to relive the most interesting moments associated with him.
Some of the content will be a little too obscure for all but the most dedicated of fans, but the mechanics and the design are solid enough to keep players interested in the long term, chasing that high score, looking to find all the secrets of the table.
That being said, I would have loved to see a more accessible table which introduces a little bit of story content faster.
As it is, Venom Pinball can be a frustrating experience and it is actually hard to come up with a solid strategy to deliver a high score.
I suspect that, at the end of the year, tables like the Walking Dead or South Park will be the best-sellers for Zen Studios, but it’s also good to see the company experimenting with some elements of their game, even if the results are not perfect in any way.
