Pinball FX2 – Super League

Developer: Zen Studios | Publisher: Microsoft Studios | Release Date: 2014 | Genre: Pinball / DLC / Casual / Simulation | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

While I am not that big fan of the sport, I still remember the amount of fun I had playing the World Cup Soccer pinball table by Bally Manufacturing. It was a sad day when my local pinball arcade carted off the machine due to a busted flipper, but they replaced it with Stargate so I got over it pretty quick. Now, thanks to Zen Studios, there is a new football themed table to bring back those memories.

The Super League tables are a bit of a departure for Zen after a string of Marvel and Star Wars themed tables, but they have once again knocked it out of the park. While there is only one table on offer, you can decide which team you want to support. The full lineup includes Arsenal, Liverpool, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Juventus and AS Roma, but if you don’t like any of these themes there is also the Zen Studios FC table. To make it clear, the table is the same no matter which team you purchase and the only changes are cosmetic, so there will be different jersey’s, playfield art and mascots depending on the club. As each licensed team has to get their cut from the already paltry $2.99 price tag, this is a very fair compromise.

I really enjoyed the layout of this table, although it is one of the easier ones to come out of the Zen stable. You take part in a ten game league season against five other teams which range from easy to average and hard. The difficulty of your opponents are represented by the speed of the pass meter, the length of timed game modes as well as the number of shots that is needed for defense mode. Just like the real game you win matches by scoring goals on a little mini playfield at the top of the table. To access the mini playfield, you first need to activate the left and right inlane rollovers but it is advisable to make a few combo shots beforehand as this reduces the amount of defenders you have to deal with. Scoring a goal activates the celebration multi-ball, which is just one of the multi-ball modes on this table. Another unique feature of the table is the outlane flippers which seriously reduce the chances of outlane drains.

There are five extra balls available on the table and you can also earn or defend against penalty kicks, which is quite nice. I was able to activate the wizard mode after only a few games so this is definitely a table that newcomers will enjoy. The club mascots clowning around on the side of the table are a neat touch and you also have a football player kicking the ball into play. The audio is very good, with lots of crowd noise to really draw you into the match. There are even commentators that are pretty spot on with their remarks on what you are doing. I love how everything is given a football spin, so to someone in the next room it may actually sound like you are playing a game of FIFA or something! The music is also pretty catchy and I have had the tune that plays during halftime stuck in my head since the day the game has launched already. It might have something to do with the fact that the table is so addictive that I haven’t stopped playing it yet.

Even if you are not a fan of football there is a lot to like about this table. It is a refreshing change from the Marvel and Star Wars, stuff but retains the high level of polish that Zen Studios apply to each table. As always, you can try a timed demo of the table for yourself to see if it is worth your while, but personally I can’t recommend it enough.

*Review originally published February 2014.