14 DAY TRIAL // 
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the biggest entertainment launch of 2015 and is on track to break all the records that the movie business can throw at it. However, when it comes to video games, those who love the franchise need to engage either with Star Wars Battlefront, which is multiplayer-only and centered on the original trilogy, or with older releases, which might suffer because of stories that are no longer canon or limited graphical or gameplay appeal.
The solution for all those frustrated is to get into pinball by picking up the new Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens release, which delivers two very well-crafted tables, built around the events of the movies, and challenges them to find all the cool mechanics included and then aim as high as they can on the leaderboards.
It might take some time to become familiar with the unique mechanics of video game pinball and to understand all the ways to activate content and story beats, but fans of the new movie will be happy to spend it, given the solid experiences they get access to.
Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens is created by Zen Studios and can be played on the PlayStation 4, the PC, the Xbox One, the PS3, the Xbox 360, the PlayStation Vita, and on mobile devices.
Story
Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens is based on the recently launched movie, which is designed to introduce an entirely new trilogy based on the familiar universe, using both characters fans already know and new faces that can sustain the series in the coming years.
The Zen Studios-created set of tables is designed to offer access to two perspectives on the events of the film, taking gamers through the most important moments of the narrative without providing any hints about the future destinies of any of those involved.
The actual The Force Awakens table is centered on the character of Rey and also features appearances from BB-8, Poe Dameron, and Finn as they seek to help the Resistance battle the First Order. The narrative thread takes the young Force user from Jakku and her scavenging days to her confrontation with Kylo Ren and the forces of the Dark Side.
There are 12 story modes packed into the design, allowing players to experience some of the best moments of the movie in a new way.
The Might of the First Order table for Star Wars Pinball is a little more speculative because if focuses on the villain of the story, giving players a chance to try to extend the domination of the Dark Side as far as possible by using Kylo Ren as the main avatar, although other characters also make an appearance.
Those looking to fully enjoy new The Force Awakens content for the pinball title from Zen Studios will get more out of it if they have seen the movie on which it is based. Nevertheless, I suspect that even those who do not care about the story or the characters will find plenty to love in the new package because the overall design is very solid.
Gameplay
In many ways, pinball is a pretty simple activity, with a ball and a set of flippers that need to be used to keep it in play for as long as possible, hitting as many areas of the table as possible in order to generate both points and satisfaction.
Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens offers plenty of exciting classic moments, allowing players to explore the new content to find how each story sequence can be activated, which are the most productive combos, and how to avoid losing balls to those sneaky side channels.
But in the virtual space, the development team at Zen Studios has the tools to push back on many limitations that affect real-world pinball, and the newly released tables offer a perfect showcase of how the playing field can evolve in order to keep the player interested and make the action more exciting.
For the Rey-driven The Force Awakens table, this means each story sequence offers a new take on the design, introducing familiar elements from the movie and asking gamers to adapt their strategies on the fly for the best results.
High scores are relatively accessible, and the playing field is pretty open, encouraging gamers to try out new ideas and enjoy the relatively easy-to-activate multiball situations, which are some of the most fun I’ve had with pinball recently.
Might of the First Order brings players closer to the Dark Side and focuses on Kylo Ren, with his frustration and pain clearly reflected in the design, with less space to play around with, and a smaller playing field that feels claustrophobic but also central to the scoring system.
“Both tables in Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens are very fast at times, creating that great feeling that you do not know exactly what you are doing and just enjoying the light show while at the same time racking up plenty of points to compete on the leaderboards.”
The only criticism that can be leveled at the new pinball content is that there are times when it is hard to make out exactly how to increase combos or activate certain gameplay elements.
Graphics and audio
The core presentation elements of the pinball simulation from Zen Studios are now tweaked in any major way by Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens, but the developers are using the style, the art and the sounds of the movie to great effect.
The models for all the characters capture their personality and nature very well, and it is great to get encouragements from Rey when a ball is lost or to hear comments from Kylo Ren about the performance in a particular high-score run.
The Force Awakens is a good-looking movie, and the two new tables manage to deliver the same sense of place, even if at times there are a few too many visual cues for gamers to follow, like when the multiball on The Force Awakens is enhanced by two TIE fighters chasing the Millenium Falcon around the screen.
As always with the most narratively crowded content for Zen Pinball 2, it might take a little time before gamers become accustomed to the layout and the hints that they need to follow, but once that happens, mechanics and the presentation go hand in hand to offer a solid experience.
When it comes to music, Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens also takes its cues from the main themes of the movie, but it wisely tweaks them, sometimes in subtle ways, in order to make sure that the player remains immersed in its unique atmosphere.
The Good
- Transformation mechanics for the tables
- Solid story implementation
- Great use of movie connection
The Bad
- Some gameplay elements need time to be discovered
Conclusion
The two new tables do not deliver any new narrative elements, but they manage to create a new level of excitement around the adventures of Rey, Finn, Kylo Ren, and the rest of the cast by delivering interactivity, even if it is somewhat limited by the pinball mechanics.
The development team at Zen Studios is introducing a lot of innovation in Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens, mainly by making it easier for players to continue storylines they have started even after they lose a ball and by transforming the tables themselves to offer more variety.
There are some already some impressive high scores for both The Force Awakens and Might of the First Order, and I suspect that plenty of fans will spend tens if not hundreds of hours trying to break them in the coming months.
Star Wars Pinball: The Force Awakens is a great pinball release and shows how the franchise can be transformed into a cool video game experience by a dedicated team, without the need to commit to photorealism or the development of an entirely new story.
