Chicken…gave me a bad coupon.
I seem to be the pinball reviewer for ZTGD. Originally, I never really got the appeal of pinball as many others have. A few years ago I couldn’t care less about those types of games, both physical or digital in nature. Since reviewing pretty much every pinball table Zen Studios have produced, I have become a pretty avid player of virtual pinball games, and Zen Pinball really does a fantastic job with them all. Even when they make a table that is not really for me, it’s still a good table. Now we get a four pack featuring some of TV’s most popular cartoons.
The Balls of Glory pack gives players four tables consisting of Family Guy, American Dad, Bob’s Burgers, and Archer. Each comes with their own unique set of missions and modes, layouts, and themes. While each table has something to offer, there were a few tables I preferred over others.
MSRP: $9.99
Platforms: PS4, XB1, PC, PS3, 360
Price I’d Pay: $9.99
The Family Guy table is my favorite in the pack. It offers up some pretty easy lanes to hit and missions that are reasonably obtainable. It has a bit more open space than the others in the pack and can really be a high scoring table with a good run. The multiball that features Peter and the giant chicken is pretty easy to get and the overall table is relatively funny. Hitting Peter with the ball when being launched is always a good chuckle.
Bob’s Burgers is another pretty open table with some decent lanes thrown in. The biggest complaint for this table is the upper deck always seemed to obscure my view at times. It was hard for me to judge where the ball was going. On top of that, while the lanes are fine, hitting them took a lot more skill than normal. That then made getting mission objectives sometimes difficult.
Archer is my least favorite due to one simple factor – it feels a bit cramped. Hitting the lanes is a challenge and usually resulted in me hitting the edge of one and sending the ball flying right back down into the flippers faster than I expected. The missions available in Archer were some of my favorites, but getting to them was a difficult task. Like I said earlier though, even if this is my least favorite table, it’s still a good one.
American Dad is another open table that has a good lane variety, although it took some skill to actually hit the lanes I wanted to. I seemed to always hit Wheels and the Legman lanes when I was going for another one. Oh, and this is by far the most annoying table as far as sound effects and music go. I eventually had to play this one with the volume down. Still, this has some pretty good missions in it as well.
All in all, this is a pretty great pack that has some really well done tables in it. There are a few hiccups with the Archer table, and while it wasn’t my cup of tea, people have different tastes in pinball tables. Even then, there is a lot to have in the Balls of Glory pack. Zen Pinball players should pick this up without a doubt. More pinball is always a good thing and Zen knows how to make some fun tables.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
