Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory Review (PlayStation 4)

very good
key review info
  • Game: Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory
  • Platform: Playstation 4
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Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory Archer action

Archer has parked his damn car on the right side of this table, and it's basically impossible to make some of the most interesting shots if it is not removed, which requires solid skill in itself and a good knowledge of the table.

When I started playing this new table for Zen Pinball 2, introduced via the Balls of Glory pack, I sometimes lost balls so quickly and after such weird interactions with the environment that I wondered if playing well on it was actually possible, which in turn drove me to carefully explore the layout and find ways to deal with this unusual feature.

I don't love the Archer table, but it is interesting enough for me to play it more than many others that Zen Studios has created for its longevous pinball simulation, which is a good sign that there are many other intellectual properties that the studio can explore.

Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory has some cool moments
Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory has some cool moments

Balls of Glory for Zen Pinball 2 allows gamers to play four new tables, all of them based on popular animated series that are aimed squarely at an adult audience: Archer, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers and American Dad.

Archer is the most difficult offering in the pack, with gamers asked to constantly vary the objectives that they accomplish in order to get the awesomeness required to reach an ultimate game mode and with limited means to get scores when no mode is running.

It's also relatively easy to get distracted by that car and constantly working around it adds a level of challenge that's interesting for long-term fans but might prove frustrating for new gamers.

Family Guy is very forgiving in terms of lane placement and it is relatively easy to get access to multiballs in order to achieve the various objectives.

The table is open and I suspect that a lot of players will quickly rack up points even if they do not know the layout at first and just shoot blindly.

For Bob's Burgers, the action is centered on clients and orders, and gamers will need to be careful in order to satisfy them all to access the special party that the entire family will enjoy by delivering massive increases in score.

Multiple balls are harder for the player to obtain because each family member centered task needs to be accomplished at least twice.

Finally, American Dad might be the least interesting of the bunch, with scores linked to a threat level that makes missions easier or harder and a ball that changes color based on the same mechanic.

Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory does not introduce any major visual upgrade for the game engine, which means that players will get a level of quality similar to the tables that they have played over the past few years.

The big accomplishment for the pack is that it nails the atmosphere of each of the four shows with the layout, the colors used, the voice acting, even the tempo of the music.

Fans can also explore the background of the tables for some surprises about their favorite animated series.


The Good

  • Table design
  • Fidelity to Archer, Family Guy, American Dad and Bob's Burgers

The Bad

  • Some hard to understand mechanics
  • Voice acting can become annoying

Conclusion

Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory is a solid collection of tables for Zen Pinball 2 that can deliver tens of hours of gameplay for a gamer who is a fan of all the featured television animated series included.

I only currently follow Archer at the moment, and even if the difficulty of the layout is relatively high, I thoroughly enjoy playing game after game in order to uncover more of the mechanics and plan for ways to increase my high score.

For the other three tables, it's harder to understand all the references and the gags based on characters and episodes and so my enjoyment is somewhat diminished.

Zen Pinball 2 has a solid history of creating cool pinball experiences based on movies, TV shots and other popular games, and it will be interesting to see how the development pushes the franchise further in 2016.

story 8
gameplay 9
concept 9
graphics 8
audio 7
multiplayer 0
final rating 8
Editor's review
very good
 

Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory Images (20 Images)

Zen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory Archer actionZen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory Family Guy momentZen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory Bob's Burgers designZen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory American Dad momentZen Pinball 2 - Balls of Glory details
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