Publisher: Zen Studios
Developer: Zen Studios
Genre: Pinball
ESRB rating: Everyone
Release date: Available now

Some of Marvel’s toughest villains are running amok and need to be stopped. Enter the Marvel super group of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man, and…Blade? In Marvel Pinball, developed by Zen Studios, you battle the forces of evil using webs, lasers and a tiny metal ball.

Marvel Pinball is a pinball game for the Playstation 3 that features four tables. Each table’s theme is one of the heroes listed above. The tables feature Marvel sights and sounds, including comic drawings and classic catchphrases. As you play to raise your score, the tables offer missions for you to complete, which include unlocking new areas of the tables and defeating some well known Marvel villains. The game features a single-player mode as well as two multiplayer modes: offline and online. The offline multiplayer has you taking turns, while the online MP is played simultaneously by both players.

Anyone who has played Zen Studios’ other pinball offerings (Zen Pinball or Pinball FX2) can tell you their pinball physics and tables are always top-notch. The same care has been brought to Marvel Pinball. Each table features many pinball elements, allowing for high-scoring rounds and dizzying twists and turns. The controls handle very well, and the Playstation version even lets you shake the table using the Dualshock controller. Marvel Pinball features constantly updating leaderboards that do their best to make you feel bad about yourself. Think your 6 million-point score on the Wolverine table is impressive? Tell that to the guy at the Spider-Man table who is currently leading the scoreboard with a whopping 178 billion. (That’s billion, with a B.) Marvel Pinball also features regular tournaments that are free to join for any player wishing to pit their skills against the world.

Visually, this is a great pinball game. The tables are covered with Marvel artwork and drawings. Each table is set up to appear as if it was lifted directly from that character’s specific universe. The tables change and react to the events going on in your game, adding to the challenge. For example, Mysterio flips your paddle controls during your boss fight. Each table features unlockable trophies that are based on both points and objectives. As a bonus, using the Playstation Eye camera allows for video chat while playing online with friends.

While the visuals do the Marvel universe justice, the voice acting brings it shame. During rounds, characters such as Wolverine, Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus spew out catchphrases about web slinging and such. The voice work is poorly done, and none of the voices are worthy of the characters. Wolverine is easily the worst of the bunch. The striking visuals add to the experience, but it’s easy to lose sight of the ball in some places. Triggering multiple boss fights at once usually results in anarchy, making tracking the ball almost impossible.

Marvel Pinball is a must-have for pinball fans. Zen has proven time and again that they are the best at what they do, and what they do best is pinball. While Marvel Pinball is available as a standalone title for PS3 users, it’s also available as an add-on for Pinball FX2 on the Xbox 360.

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Update:

Two new tables are now available for Marvel Pinball. The first features the Fantastic Four. The table includes each member of the Four as well as their arch nemesis, Doctor Doom. As the ball speeds across the table, certain triggers cause the heroes to interact with it. Thing picks up and punches the ball, while Mr. Fantastic stretches out to catch it later on. While the character interactions are fun, I found this to be one of the weaker tables the game has to offer.

Alongside the new Fantastic Four table comes a brand-new Captain America table. This features the hero squaring off with some of his more famous adversaries, including Red Skull. While this table is a little barren compared to some of the others, it features the best sound effects of any of them. Each of these two new tables adds more chances at trophies and high scores, and are available to download now.