Zen Pinball 2: Ant-Man
Developed by Zen Studios
Published by Zen Studios
Available on PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Wii U
With traditional pinball falling more and more toward the wayside over the last decade, along with the arcades which once housed these fabled tables of fate, Zen Pinball and its sequel have managed to carve a clever little niche in the digital market for nostalgia hounds who grew up blasting off that little silver ball with each lucky quarter.
Their latest effort is Ant-Man, a wild and flashy new addition that coincides nicely with the release of the film of the same name. Now as a DC nerd by trade, I must publicly admit that I know next to nothing about Ant-Man in any of his forms. I haven’t seen this film, and I probably won’t see it. However, this has had no effect on my enjoyment of Zen Studios’ latest table.
The first thing you’ll notice when you load it up is the towering figures of Ant-Man and a scientist co-hort reigning hugely over the table, a nice cinematic touch that connects succinctly with the Marvel universe. Then the ball flies with a fluid arc from a very slick looking launcher on the right, and you’re in the game.
There’s tons of great bonuses to be found in Ant-Man as well, particularly on the azure-tinted back end of the table where the right combination of luck and precision will have you upping your score by the millions in a manner that makes all of your previous work look like nothing. Another part of the table that makes itself known to the player pretty quickly is a small section to the left of the flippers which features a picture of Ant-Man’s daughter and allows you one last chance to tilt your way out of oblivion, almost like a pinball representation of a dying man fighting his way back to life for someone who needs him. This was definitely the most impressive part of the table for me as it communicated a piece of the adapted media in a way that I never imagined a digital pinball game could be capable.
Featuring the responsive gameplay and intuitive design that Zen Pinball 2 has come to be known by since it’s initial release, Zen Pinball II: Ant-Man is a great addition to their already sizable list of tables, and one that will be of particular enjoyment to those who are invested in the Marvel cinematic universe.