Zen Pinball 2: Marvel Civil War (DLC)
|
| Zen Pinball 2

Back in October, we spoke quite highly of Zen Pinball 2. And then we gave it a Gold Award.

We congratulated Zen Studios for creating a cohesive physics system that worked perfectly alongside a plethora of pleasingly unrealistic tables, all with their own rules.

While I may not quite share reviewer Peter Willington's enthusiasm, there's no denying that Zen Pinball 2 is an essential title for any Vita owner who's even vaguely interested in pinball.

Now, the folks at Zen have released another table for you to snap up. And this time it's by far the most interesting one you'll play.

Politically Charged

Drawing on the Mark Millar Marvel crossover comic series 'Civil War', the Marvel Civil War table contains an interesting story - especially for a pinball table.

Marvel Civil War sees the world of superheroes torn into two distinct camps, after a clash between super-humans near an elementary school resulted in a huge explosion and massive loss of life.

Naturally, this left many normal citizens worrying about their safety in a world of anonymous super-humans.

Because of the Sanford Incident, as it came to be known, the US government introduced the Superhuman Registration Act. An act that calls for all super-humans to forgo their secret identities and come clean about who they really are.

It's here that we join the struggle between the two camps: one fronted by Iron Man, the other by Captain America.

It may be a story shrouded in politics, and thus rather difficult to tell through the medium of steel balls and flippers. But out of all the tables on offer it's fresh, fun, and surprisingly relatable.

Future Freedom Fighters

It's easy to take story for granted in a game of pinball, but Zen Studios has integrated this politically charged conflict right into the table's mechanics.

You can either align with pro-future Iron Man on his quest to unify all super-humans under the new act, or you can side with pro-freedom Captain America, who wants to liberate super-humans from the legislative oppression the new act is ushering in.

This decision isn't merely aesthetic. Siding with one faction over another dictates which missions are available to you. It also means some heroes will be more inclined to join your cause - although you can snatch some from the opposing side if you're good enough.

This means that it's not just a high score-hunting experience, it's an interesting way to retell a popular Marvel comic series.

Mind you, that is if you manage to keep the ball in play for any meaningful length of time - a problem I suffer from regularly due to being utterly awful at pinball games.

My utter lack of skill aside, Zen Studios has provided a lot of content to keep you entertained. In fact, it's provided so much that this is not only the strongest use of the Marvel licence in its pinball games, but it's also one of the best tables in the series.

Zen Pinball 2: Marvel Civil War (DLC)

Despite putting its own spin on the short Marvel comic series, Zen Studios has managed to strip back the Marvel lore so it appeals to pinball heads everywhere. It's as good as the firm's Plants vs Zombies table, if not better
Score
Vaughn Highfield
Vaughn Highfield
Quite possibly the tallest man in games, Vaughn has been enamoured with video games from a young age. However, it wasn't until he spent some time writing for the student newspaper that he realised he had a knack for talking people's ears off about his favourite pastime. Since then, he's been forging a path to the career he loves... even if it doesn't love him back.