Watch the new gameplay trailer for the second Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC Pack, called Devastation.
Devastation brings four small to medium-sized Multiplayer maps: Ruins, Behemoth, Collision, and Unearthed, for which is a re-imagined version of Dome, the fan-favourite map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
Devastation also includes the “Ripper,” a brand new tactical 2-in-1 weapon with the unique ability to switch from SMG to AR and back on the fly, in the middle of combat.
The Extinction saga picks up with Episode 2: Mayday. Following the events of Nightfall, players board an abandoned research vessel, in search of answers. Players will face two new alien foes – Seeders, and the 100ft tall “Kraken.” This exciting new chapter comes packed with new weapon mods and paths to explore.
Devastation arrives first, exclusively on Xbox Live on this Thursday 3rd April, with other platforms to follow at a later date..
The brand new HTC One (M8) is now available in trendy Amber Gold first at Carphone Warehouse. It will be available to purchase online at http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/htc/one-m8 and on the telephone from today (Tuesday 1 April) and in selected stores from tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd April). Prices start from £38 with a £49 upfront cost or free from £42 per month.
A Carphone Warehouse spokesperson says, “Over the past 12 months we’ve seen more gold handsets launch than ever before and that trend looks sure to continue this year as their popularity with consumers shows no signs of abating. HTC’s Amber Gold is a very tasteful colour option and fits the premium feel and unique metal design of the HTC One (M8) perfectly. This is the newest smartphone on the market and in the newest colour so we’re excited to help our customers get hold of it ahead of everyone else.”
The HTC One (M8) is built with a lot of attention to design with a durable high quality metal unibody and the subtle gold effect on this metal makes this the perfect choice for the fashion conscious.
Featuring stereo speakers and HTC BoomSound, the HTC One (M8) is ideal for when you want to get the party started. It also comes with a Duo Camera, which lets you take brilliant shots in any light thanks to HTC UltraPixel technology, before adding professional looking effects. In addition, the HTC One (M8) has been designed with selfies in mind, featuring a 5MP front camera – ideal for capturing your best side.
Disney Infinity has today announced the launch of the all new Phineas & Ferb Toy Box pack, including figures of the immensely popular children’s characters Phineas and Agent P from Disney Channel’s animated series “Phineas and Ferb.”.
Both character figures are accompanied by their own unique Adventures, and will be available for players to purchase from 4th April.
In addition, the third wave of Power Discs will be hitting UK stores on Friday, 11th April in blind packs of two – with new additions including Cruella DeVille’s car and Phillippe, the loyal horse from Beauty and the Beast.
The new Toy Box Pack features the immensely popular Phineas and Agent P characters from Disney Channel’s animated series “Phineas and Ferb.” Players will be able to embark on secret spy missions and defeat enemies with Agent P’s flying fedora or Phineas’ baseball blaster and tuck n’ roll moves.
Both character figures are accompanied by their own unique Adventures. In the Phineas Adventure, players are set into a giant pinball machine and challenged to create a play field where they can destroy waves of oncoming robots. In the Agent P adventure, players can participate in a top-down adventure with side-scrolling elements that pay homage to old school arcade games.
The Phineas and Ferb Toy Box Pack will also include two new power discs to give players’ Toy Boxes a makeover. The “Tri-State Area Terrain” Texture Set and the “Danville Sky” Sky Theme will provide players with well-known location backgrounds from the show, including the Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated building and a small waterslide park invented in one of the cartoon’s episodes.
Wave 3 Power Discs
Circular Discs
Chernabog’s Strength – A representation of pure evil from Fantasia, you can summon the demonic power of this villain to do 3% more damage
Rapunzel’s Healing – The magic of Rapunzel’s hair does more than make blonde locks continue to grow. Her golden hair has healing properties that can give a character 40% more health
Violet’s Force Field – The quiet daughter of The Incredibles can not only turn invisible, she can generate a force field that can reduce damage by 3%
Mickey’s Sorcerer Hat – The infamous and iconic hat from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice allows characters to gain experience at a 2% faster rate
Hexagonal Discs
Cruella DeVille’s car – Jump in to the villain’s car from 101 Dalmations to chase after friends and foes
Disney Parks Parking Tram – This vehicle can bring back fond memories of a trip to the Disney Parks. It provides the great comedic value of driving around a parking lot tram, especially when challenging fancy racecars
Calico Helicopter – The cunning and merciless villain from Bolt is always surrounded by cats and its master strategist. Take control of Dr. Calico’s helicopter which is fully equipped with rockets to rain fire from above
Phillippe – The loyal horse from Beauty and the Beast is the trusty companion and only mode of transportation for Belle and her father Maurice. The horse is loyal, but has been known to get spooked easily
Tantor – Tantor often seems to be timid and even cowardly. However, the gentle elephant has a deep bond with his friends and is often inspired to acts of bravery
Dragon Firework Cannon – The cannon from Mulan originated in ancient China and precedes modern guns as one of the first projectile-launching weapons
Wall-E’s Fire Extinguisher – A rare toy inspired by a classic scene from WALL-E, it allows characters to use the propulsion from a fire extinguisher to hover in the air
Wall-E’s Collection – Transform the Toy Box in to the desolate wasteland that the Earth has become due to consumerism and neglect
Buy ‘N’ Large Atmosphere – The Sky Theme becomes a swirling dustbowl filled with empty buildings that are mere husks of their former glory. The most notable thing in the barren horizon are the numerous Buy ‘N’ Large signs
Toy Story Mania Blaster – The toy originates from the Toy Story Midway Mania ride in Disney Parks. Unlike the Goo Guns from the Toy Story Play Set, this is a weapon designed to damage opponents
Angus the Horse – The beautiful black Clydesdale from Brave is fiercely loyal to Merida. Although he can be stubborn at times, his strong bond to his owner allows him to be coaxed into almost anything
Tri-State Area Terrain – A simple and subtle texture, along with a few gadgets, that is reminiscent of summertime when Phineas and Ferb create their incredible inventions
Danville Sky – Turn the Sky Theme into the backdrop of Phineas and Ferb’s Tri-State Area. One of their greatest projects, a giant roller coaster, can be seen off in the distance. In addition, you can spot the iconic building of Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, the lair of Agent P’s nemesis
Last week we told you about Morphsuits and today they have launched the first ever costume designed to make the wearer entirely invisible to the naked eye.
The suit, dubbed ‘Hollow Man Morphsuit’ has undergone over three years of research and development using a blend of technologies developed by the company’s ex-NASA engineer, Mark Rober. The ground-breaking outfit, covers the wearer from head to toe combining advanced image projection and ‘light bending’ technology to give the illusion of total invisibility even when moving. The suit consists of an engineered material fused with spandex, thousands of micro-LEDs and mirrors, and dozens of small cameras capturing required angles to ‘project through’ the wearer.
The invisibility Morphsuit covers every square millimetre of the wearer’s body, making the figure completely invisible when still and in motion
The camera lenses measure less than five millimetres in diameter that display the surrounding images through the suit’s LED pigments that replicate the pixel functionality found inside computer and TV screens
A team of global scientists and engineers were secretly recruited to develop the patent-pending ‘MirrorMorph’ technology that creates the invisibility effect
To deliver 100 per cent invisibility the team has designed over 200 concept suits and trialled multiple applications of technologies
Ex-NASA engineer, Mark Rober joined forces with Morph Costume Co. last year, implementing his patented smartphone and tablet illusional innovation into costumes
Rober was brought to Morphsuits‘ attention when creating his Halloween outfit using two iPads linked through Facetime designed to give the appearance of a hole through the wearer
Rober’s Halloween costume was the main inspirational development of the invisible Morphsuit
The Pokémon Company International has announced an exciting Easter promotion for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video game players, with a special Pokémon Trading Card Game: XY expansion treat, at the UK game retailer, GAME UK.
Starting this Friday 4th April and for a limited time only, Pokémon video game players can receive a free Pokémon character—Magmar for Pokémon X or Electabuzz for Pokémon Y— at all GAME UK stores. The redeemable codes for the characters will be printed on cash receipts upon request, and no purchase is necessary. The Pokémon X and Pokémon Y video games have already enjoyed huge success, selling nearly 12 million copies globally in the first four months since the worldwide launch in October 2013.
Both seasoned Pokémon Trainers and newcomers to the games will enjoy playing with Electabuzz and Magmar, who appeared in the very first Pokémon video games, Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version. Battling, trading, and collecting have always been at the heart of the Pokémon experience, so fans will appreciate the special bonus items that come with this distribution: Electabuzz is holding an Electirizer, and Magmar is holding a Magmarizer. When traded holding these items, Electabuzz will evolve into Electivire, and Magmar will evolve into Magmortar.
Pokémon Trading Card Game fans can also get in on the action with a free Pokémon TCG: XY special sampling pack available in store and while stocks last. All packs will include a special foil Pikachu card, plus one additional card from the Pokémon TCG: XY expansion. No purchase is necessary.
Pokémon TCG: XY launched on February 5 in the UK and includes all-new Mega Evolution Pokémon and new Fairy-type Pokémon. Since its release, the Pokémon Trading Card Game has shipped over 20 billion cards across 74 countries. Pokémon X and Y have sold over 12 million units combined for the 3DS since going on sale last year.
So the long waiting game is over and Titanfall successfully made it into stores to pick up and play without any hassle. Other than a Day 1 patch, which made the game even more stable, the launch of this year’s most anticipated video game sold in vast amounts and boosted sales of the Xbox One console. I’d like to think I’m one of Titanfall’s biggest fans who couldn’t wait any longer in between the public beta and the 3 weeks until official launch and I must say Respawn have once again made an instant classic.
Anyone who read my previous feature ‘T is for Titan’ would remember how satisfied I was with just having the 2 playable levels from the Beta with only 5 weapons and 3 match types. Since launch I’ve continued to be won over whenever I experience something that wasn’t playable before. The map variety is a sufficient number all with different terrain and design keeping Pilots and Titans happy. The weapon variations are strategy and I’d even say map specific to keep players alert to finding the right gun for the situation. Every detail in this game comes across as tried and tested and the balancing has been perfected. So why is it that Titanfall has met and bettered expectations? Here are 3 reasons why I think Titanfall has dominated the market:
Balancing
The secret to having an enjoyable game that offers different playable classes, whether it is solo, co-op, multiplayer or massively multiplayer online role-playing games is balancing. Having the choice to pick a character is always great even if you wanted to customise what they bring with them onto the battlefield but always remember good balancing means you might be stronger for some situations but always weaker in others. In Titanfall you have the option to choose one of three class of Titans, the nimble Strider, the all rounded Atlas, or the tank Ogre. Each handle differently with my personal favourite Strider class having a triple dash with the infinite dash power up. Compared to the Ogre who is built to withstand heavy amounts of damage unlike the Strider it only does a single dash but has an overshield power up meaning it can survive even more damage, an example of good balancing.
It takes a good player to notice this but a better player to work out how to change their loadout to lessen these cons to their classes to be able to stand a chance in battle. Do you go for a Vortex shield to catch any projectiles fired at you before throwing it back or do you go for the Electric Smoke to kill pilots and damage Titans at close range? Strider players like myself must be able to learn that dashing is their best friend when going up against tougher classes as you’ll avoid most of the incoming payload, whereas Ogres are sometimes better to hold defensive positions when playing domination or taking on Titans when outnumbered.
Campaign Multiplayer
Many people have complained that Titanfall isn’t going to be right for them due to the fact there isn’t any campaign mode, the kind with a solo/co-op experience with levels, story and an epic battle as the climax. The campaign multiplayer is a great mode which still incorporates all the above but playable with the other players, think of a war with every solider being played by another player. Amongst these we’re given our grunts and field captains who drive the story forward as well as A.I controlled Titans to tackle at the start of every level unlike the core multiplayer mode. The Story is dictated to you in the pre game lobby screen whilst you’re changing your loadouts and waiting for people to join. You start off playing the IMC side of the battle for the Frontier before switching to the resistant Militia in this 2-part story seeing it from both sides which is a nice touch, similar to the game Brink. Unlike Brink, the story is already set and whether you win or lose each chapter the outcome will be the same story-wise and nothing you do is contextual. Compared to a war scene in any of the Halo games what you do will progress the mission, whether it be destroying a group of enemies or taking down a shield to be able to continue, in Titanfall even though you’re capturing hardpoints or destroying masses of Titans, win or lose the story won’t change.
I don’t have a problem with this mode, in fact I wish I could have understood more from it. By this I mean anyone who’s played campaign multiplayer knows that during each chapter there’s story still going on within the picture-in-picture in the top of your screen and voiceovers. Respawn have made such an action packed engaging game that you’ll forget to care what drama might be happening in the background whilst you’re diving from a building onto the back of a Titan avoiding all incoming rockets, hitting cloak and tearing open a Titan’s hatch, shooting inside before dismounting the exploding metallic beast for the win. I’d love to be able to know what was happing behind the scenes of these battles in-between the lobby screen and the post lobby screen, but too much awesome wall running, Titan rodeo’ing and drop kicking got in the way.
Burn Cards
I’ve played my fair share of online multiplayer games to be able to say kill streak rewards and character perks aren’t exactly a balanced feature even though they try hard to be. Using Call of Duty for example I’ve levelled up to a point in every game where I’ve unlocked something that’ll always give me the advantage over the newer players even if we’re at the same skill level when it comes to games. Titanfall does something different with Burn Cards which is a unique approach to having perks but also keeping the game fair. Burn cards are rewarded to players doing different challenges but most importantly are handed out indiscriminately. You’ll find cards that give you a different weapon, a faster boost to your next Titan or even faster movement but most importantly these cards are expended after activating it and only last as long as you’re alive. With only 3 slots to fill with burn cards per game it adds a tactical approach to every match you’ll play. With the random cards you’ll come across even the newer players might get the chance to call down an instant Titan at the start of the match.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it, 3 of my favourite things that has made Titanfall so enjoyable and different to any other shooter out there. The game is worth every hard earned penny and has masses of replayability. With a season pass and new content in the near future Titanfall will only get better. With great balancing every game you’ll play would be different all with memorable moments you’ll share amongst peers at the water cooler or post up online with the Xbox One’s DVR and upload feature. And to think people were worried about having 6 verses 6. We’re in good hands!
Irrational Games have released BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2 featuring an all-new story for Booker and Elizabeth, set in the underwater city of Rapture before its fall, and we are starting another Let’s Play series.
Irrational Games have released BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode 2 featuring an all-new story for Booker and Elizabeth, set in the underwater city of Rapture before its fall, but it is worth playing?
Episode 2 starts off from the point we left Elizabeth at the end of episode 1, only this time we are playing as Elizabeth and we have to rescue Sally (I’m not going to spoil the ending of episode 1 for anyone who hasn’t yet played it, but for those who have, well then you know what happened!).
It’s really good to be able to play as Elizabeth for once, although this is not the same Elizabeth from either BioShock Infinite, or episode 1 of Burial at Sea. Again, I won’t spoil it, but this Elizabeth doesn’t have the ability to open tears, see all the doorways, and anything else that gave her those unique abilities. In fact, she even has her pinky back! But she is still Elizabeth, and as a character she is very strong and determined to do what has to be done. Don’t worry Booker fans, he is still in the game, although he is reduced to a voice on the radio that Elizabeth talks to throughout the game.
This game is really all about stealth – you have to sneak around (Elizabeth is wearing heels and you can hear them making noise as you walk – crouching reduces the noise, as does walking on carpet) and as you have very limited ammunition for the various weapons you have to take out a lot of the bad guys with melee attacks from behind. You do however have some new weapons in the form of a crossbow that shoots darts, and you also get gas darts later in the game that can render a group unconscious.
Remember Elizabeth’s lock picking skills – well they are still there, and still needed, only this time you have to pick the locks through a series of mini games. Get the right tumbler and the lock opens, get the wrong one and an alarm is sounded bringing you nothing but trouble.
The vigors are back, and this time Elizabeth can use them – there are a few new ones in there too!
Length wise, episode 2 was quite a bit longer than episode 1 – my only complaint about episode 1 was that you could finish it in a little over an hour. Episode 2 took me around 3 hours to finish, and there were still a few things I hadn’t done, and a few items to collect.
Fans of the original BioShock games will really enjoy episode 2 (again, spoilers!) and you might want to consider watching the “previously on BioShock” intro at the start of the episode, as it’s all about the original BioShock game rather than episode 1 of Burial at Sea.
I really enjoyed Episode 2, even more than I enjoyed Episode 1. There are parts in the game that explain certain actions from BioShock Infinite which only goes to enhance the original as well. Good job Irrational, the debt has been paid in full.
The two episodes are available individually for £9.99 (1200 Microsoft Points), and are also included as part of the BioShock Infinite Season Pass.
The BioShock Infinite Season Pass is available now for £15.99 (1600 Microsoft Points) and includes all three pieces of add-on content, as well as the Early Bird Special Pack, which includes powerful weapon upgrades, exclusive gold weapon skins and infusion bottles to upgrade abilities.
BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode 2 is available now on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Windows PC.
Episode 4 of the Untold Stories of Los Perdidos is out and its the final chapter.
Playing as the dedicated ZDC Agent, Brad Park must discover what actually went on behind the outbreak even if it undoes everything he fights for. This episode crosses over once again with Nick’s story arc from the main campaign with a couple of familiar faces throughout. I hoped that this final DLC offered a lot more seeing as every episode leading up to this got better and better but it didn’t, in fact it digressed.
What The Last Agent offers you is the opportunity to play with a generic boring lead character that’s doing tasks that isn’t unique in any way shape or form. I’m starting to think that these episodes were released primarily to give us new weapons, combos and vehicle blue prints because that’s the only thing that seems to be the most enjoyable aspect of the DLC. Brad’s only mission is to be errand boy for the local hospital gathering helpful items like Zombrex and that’s about it. The variety comes from introducing civilians that need saving, just like in the main campaign, and some cool new toys which I’ll touch upon later. What I loved about the previous episode was the introduction of bosses in the episodes which mixed up the pacing of combat making you have to dodge quite a few attacks and actually take care of your health bar as they weren’t too easy to defeat. Brad will sail through this episode easily due to the lack of bosses and weapons that’ll tear through hordes of zombies like a knife through butter, a real shame.
The most annoying thing other than the fetching quests is trying to do the fetching quests with almost every route on the roads now being blocked and you having to find alternatives. Yes, it does feel like these missions were last minute after thoughts and to make the content last an hour roadblocks were added so it’ll last longer getting around them. To be fair it didn’t feel like a challenge but more a chore and that’s something we certainly stay away from when trying to enjoy video games.
This episode offers weapons with high splash damage and area of effect properties that range from setting groups of zombies on fire with a single flaming projectile, think of a flaming catapult, to the most devastating single fire rail gun which disintegrates enemies. The police van you unlock towards the end focuses on freezing enemies by either firing a cluster of nitrogen grenades from it’s top canon or close range blasts from the pipes on the side. My favourite weapon does however go to the portable turbine, which very rarely kills anything, blowing any enemy, vehicle or debris out of the way. Perfect for clearing out paths and looking cool whilst doing so. It however doesn’t justify the cost of the pack and isn’t the saving grace.
I have to admit that the season pass with all the episodes kept me engaged with promises to keep Dead Rising 3 fresh and new, which it did at times, but sadly in regards to interesting story only half was fun to be a part of. The season pass was really just good for the new weapons and vehicles which isn’t enough to justify the overall price.
Have you ever wanted to be Spiderman, or Ironman? Well now you can get one step closer with a Morphsuit!
Morphsuits unveils new official Marvel costumes that incorporate wearable technology and augmented reality to bring the character’s super powers to life. Spiderman, Ironman, Deadpool, Wolverine and Captain America are all available now.
A new range of Marvel super hero costumes that actually incorporate super powers unleashed through wearable technology and augmented reality using Zappar technology, have been officially launched by costume mavericks, Morphsuits. Alongside the costumes, Morphsuits has unveiled its smartphone application that makes a mobile handset an active part of the costume with bespoke animations for Marvel characters such as Iron Man, Spiderman, Wolverine, Captain America and Deadpool.
In order to bring the costumes to life, super heroes simply select the relevant animation on the Morphsuits app available to download for iOS and Android and slip their smartphone handset into the specially engineered slot in the costume to complete the transformation from zero to hero.
To activate Marvel super powers, the costumes also feature augmented reality markers to sling webbing, fire repulsors, or unleash Adamantium claws when viewed through a smartphone or tablet.
The patented innovation of integrating smartphone animations into Morphsuits was developed by ex-NASA engineer turned app developer and costume designer, Mark Rober. Following Morphsuits purchase of Rober’s Digital Dudz start up last year, he has teamed up with Morphsuits’ design team to bring to life some of the biggest super hero names in the world.
I called up Jarvis and had him send over an Ironman suit, but don’t worry, this isn’t a picture of me in it!
The Morphsuits are available now for £44.95 and come in Medium, Large, Extra Large, and Extra Extra Large!
It is very easy to get the app installed and running – the hardest thing is getting the suit on, or off – but then once you have it on, why take it off?
To celebrate the launch of Titanfall in early March, freerunners dressed as Pilots invaded London.
The duo first wowed commuters as they scrambled across the city scape, before putting on spectacular wall-running displays at the official Titanfall launch party. The video also includes commentary from Artem’s Laura Sindall on how the Pilots’ costumes were made.
Are you playing Titanfall? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Here Be Monsters, the massive adventure game from Gamesys, is available now for the iPad.
A game for lovers of Animal Crossing, Pokémon and Farmville, Here Be Monsters is a gloriously detailed game with 1,000s of hand drawn assets and the whole world as the setting for your adventure.
Here Be Monsters imagines a world where the countless mysterious creatures that inhabit the myths and legends of different cultures aren’t so mythical after all. Players join the Ministry of Monsters as new recruits and build ingenious traps and craft irresistible baits to capture over 100 monsters from around the world – from the Loch Ness monster of Scotland to the Dropbears of Australia.
layers will join a huge cast of quirky characters with a uniquely British sense of humour. From mysterious Mystics at Stonehenge, to a temperamental Master Chef in London, Gnomish engineers, Mermaid Princesses and a Yeti with a thing for teddy bears.
Along the way they’ll discover hundreds of exotic species of fruits, flowers, butterflies and fish, all found in their real world locations. Intrepid explorers will make creative use of these resources back on their Homestead which serves as their base of operations, and a place to show off souvenirs from their travels.
Also available online, Here Be Monsters is entirely cross platform with iPad players joining hundreds of thousands of existing players from around the world. With 600 quests already live and new episodes released every two weeks, the adventure just keeps growing.
One of the first digital titles for the PlayStation 4 has just been released as a physical title, which includes the Challenge Pack – and so here is our review.
Pinball Arcade on PlayStation 4 recreates the greatest pinball machines of all time, featuring 22 licensed tables from Bally, Williams, Stern and Gottlieb. Everything from classic electro-mechanical tables to the greatest tables of the 90′s and beyond!
Every flipper, bumper, sound effect, and display animation has been painstakingly emulated in astonishing detail!
Expandable with regular updates via PSN to add additional tables as well as Online Tournaments to challenge yourself and compete against your friends!
There are 22 classic tables included with the game, including Tales of the Arabian Nights, Star Trek The Next Generation, Elvira and the Party Monsters (who reading this is actually old enough to remember Elvira?), Twilight Zone, and many more.
To give you can idea just how much effort has gone into making the tables look the same, we played Monster Bash, and then played the Monster Bash pinball machine.
Monster Bash (1998): The goal of the table is to get six of the most iconic Universal Studios Monsters to form a band the likes of which has never been seen! If you can dig out the Mummy, he’ll dust himself off and plug in his bass. Dracula will fly out of his coffin, dying to sink his teeth into a mean guitar riff. The Creature from the Black Lagoon will crank on his sax! Frankenstein will jump off his slab and jam on his keyboard. The Bride of Frankenstein will start to sing about her Ball and Chain and the Wolfman will give you a howling drumbeat. With the help of the PHANTOM FLIP auto-play feature, you can let go of the flippers and watch the game complete your shots.
So this is how Monster Bash looks in the game:
And here is how the original looked:
As you can see System 3 really have done a great job in recreating every little detail from the look of the table, each flashing light, the sounds – basically everything!
Another example is Tales of the Arabian Nights.
Tales of the Arabian Nights (1996): The setting is ancient Baghdad where wishes can be granted in the ultimate battle to rescue the Princess from the clutches of an evil Genie who taunts all foes. There are jewels to be collected and a playfield that will have players spinning Aladdin’s Lamp, flying on Magic Carpet ramps or visiting the Bazaar for countless awards. With a deep set of rules, beautiful artwork, engaging voice over, and excellent sound effects, this is one of the most popular and highest rated tables of all time.
Again, we played the version in the game:
And then we played the original pinball version:
So as you can see, the tables themselves have been beautifully recreated, but how do they play?
Well to put it simply, very well. I have never been a huge fan of pinball games on either consoles or PC, primarily because you don’t necessarily get the same feel you do playing a real table, but when it comes to Pinball Arcade, I found it to be the next best thing to actually playing on a real table. Everything from the flippers and bumpers, to how to ball reacts is recreated perfectly, and add to that the lights and sounds, and you think you are actually playing the real thing. I really liked that depending on which table you were playing on, the flippers could actually feel lighter or heavier, which is a really good addition to the game.
Something unique to the retail version of Pinball Arcade is the Challenge Pack. This is a new mode then enables you to play on a series of tables my manufacturer (so if you are a real fan of Ballys tables you can play on just those) and also by season. This release is currently season 1. Season 2 is already out on other formats and season 3 is just arriving now.
You then have three attempts to beat a score for each table. This adds an fun element to the overall game with you revisiting the tables to try and beat each challenge – and each table has its own unique challenges, so you won’t get bored easily, although you might get frustrated if you have problems on a specific table.
Overall I would have to say that this is by far the best and most accurate pinball game I have ever played, and I look forward to seeing what other tables will be released.
