By Ned Jordan
The
Avengers Chronicles is a set of four Marvel universe inspired tables for Marvel
Pinball on the PS3 and Pinball FX 2 on the Xbox 360. It's a bit of a departure
from previously released superhero tables in that each table is not dedicated to
a single hero, but rather to storylines in the Marvel canon. The four tables
include The Avengers, based on the movie, Fear Itself, World War Hulk, and
Infinity Gauntlet.
The Avengers table draws on the likenesses of the characters and look of The
Avengers film to the point where the table looks like it's embedded in the
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier itself. As in the film, you'll be battling Loki who
stands tall towards the back of the table. Credit ZEN Studios because they
didn't just deliver up a standard table, dress it up with an Avengers skin, and
call it a day. The table introduces specialized pinballs, each with its own set
of distinct bonuses and missions. There's a special ball for each Avenger and
you can select which Avenger you want to play each time you launch a new ball
into play. Choose Captain America and get bonus ball saves and combos. Go with
Hawkeye and enable kickbacks and extra skill shots. Once you select an Avenger
and launch a ball into play you won't have any trouble remembering who you've
selected because each ball is uniquely painted to represent each Avenger, from
Cap's iconic white star on a blue field with a red ring ball to Hulk's
iridescent green ball. The inclusion of special balls in the game is a stroke of
genius and adds to the experience of controlling an entire team of superheroes.
And as an added bonus the paint jobs on the balls really help you to see how
much spin is currently on the ball.
Fear Itself stars Thor and his struggles against the Serpent, but if there's
any doubt that other heroes have been dragged into this conflict the broken and
split Captain America shield that sits on the lower bumpers will quickly dispel
that. Fear Itself's most distinguishing feature is the half-circle formed by the
outlanes that runs behind the flippers. Using magnets controlled by the flippers
you'll need to perform circuits and combos by slinging the ball through the
half-circle without losing momentum and letting the ball fall.
World War Hulk chronicles the vengeance unleashed on New York by the Hulk
upon his unexpected return to Earth after being banished to space by the other
heroes. World War Hulk is by far the most traditional of the tables in this
pack, with ramp combos driving most of the gameplay (and there are plenty of
ramps here to combo with). Probably the most intriguing mission on this table
involves Hulk repurposing Madison Square Garden into a gladiatorial arena in
which heroes are pitted against each other in combat ' combat that takes place
on a separate mini table that requires you to hit the lanes while trying to keep
the ball in play with undersized flippers. Although I felt that this table was a
bit weak compared to the others in the pack in terms of both innovation and fun,
I still found myself enjoying the time I spent with World War Hulk.
The final table is Infinity Gauntlet and it has the heroes battling Thanos as
he attempts to build a monument to Mistress Death and impress her by
extinguishing lives throughout the universe. Once you open the way into the
monument you must work to collect each of the six Infinity Gems, with the catch
that each alters the 'reality' of the game. Pinball aficionados looking for a
challenge will appreciate the changes wrought by the gems such as changing the
flipper buttons to pull the flippers back instead of flipping them forward and
flipping the entire table upside-down. At first pass I thought that I had found
my favorite table in the pack in the Avengers table, but I kept coming back to
Infinity Gauntlet more often than the others and now I'm certain that it's my
favorite in the bunch.
Overall, the Avengers Chronicles pack is a very strong set of tables, not
just for the super hero fan but for anyone who enjoys Pinball FX2 or Marvel
Pinball. Kudos to ZEN Studios for continuing to push the boundaries of video
game pinball.
Final Rating: 90%
