i've got it a couple of hours ago, and i'm playing it since then... it isn't so bad, but why so small on iPhone? Farsight... WHY SO SMALLLLLL??? maybe you never played a Gameprom table??? i don't care anymore the Facebook integration and all those crap things, i would like to have a better playability on a greater table, and on this title is nearly impossible... and i don't even care if your tables are a perfect copy of the originals and those of Gamprom aren't... i want a good gameplay! essential
honestly the Zen tables don't look a whole lot better in habukaks pics. Blow sections of them up to 3 times normal and theres some unreadable text and blurry textures there too.
Exactly. The scrolling cam still doesn't allow you to keep up with the action, at least on the iPhone 4. Haven't tried playing on the iPad 2 yet but it doesn't sound like the graphics are going to be any good on that -- will have to see in the morning. But at this stage, I'm happy to have one table fully unlocked and 3 I can play a little bit of for 99 cents. Not jumping up and down in satisfaction [nor am I at Diggin' Dogs...yet...for that matter] but maybe I'm just a bit over the platform at the moment. I know, sacrilege but yeah.
Been playing this on my iPad 2. It's just amazing. I'll buy all future dlc. Haven't tried it on my phone yet, and not sure I want to after reading some of the comments here. But as an iPad game it's awesome my only complaint is that some of the textures seems to be a bit pixelated.
People are saying the Black Hole is super good because it is simple and lacks the crazy bells and whistles. That's why I love Tristan Pinball on the iPhone, is Tristan even comparable to the Black Hole table?
I think we have to take a step back and look at a couple things. Zen pinball and The Pinball arcade or two completely different products. Zen pinball is a game, The Pinball Arcade is a simulation. When you are doing original tables, you can take any liberties you want. You can design the graphics in such a way so that it plays to the iPhone/Ipad's strengths. If a ball bounces a little funny, it's just the way it is. When you recreate tables, you have to spend a good deal of the processing power on emulating the computers in the back box. This game uses true emulation. Zen has some extra horsepower for graphics because it's empty inside. The pinball arcade guys bought the tables, disassembled the tables and created a brand new *version 1.0* physics engine. I agree about the graphics, and I understand fully what a lot of people are saying. I have gripes of my own, but this is a version 1.0 product. Take some time and learn the rules. Find combos, strategies to make your scores skyrocket. You might have 10 bad games in a row, but when everything comes together it's a great feeling. Ripley's Believe It Or Not: Video Tutorial: http://pinball.org/videos/gameplay-videos/ripleys-believe-it-or-not/ Some more on rules and the game: http://www.pinballnews.com/games/ripleys/index5.html Tales Of the Arabian Nights: Video of gameplay. Sometimes the best way to learn a game is to watch someone who is really good at playing the the game: http://pinball.org/videos/gameplay-videos/tales-of-the-arabian-nights/ Rule Sheet (sometimes has strategy hints): http://www.ipdb.org/rulesheets/3824/TOTAN.HTM Theater Of Magic: Gameplay video, again, watch what they do for points: http://pinball.org/videos/gameplay-videos/theatre-of-magic/ Rule Sheet: http://www.ipdb.org/rulesheets/2845/THEATRE.HTM Black Hole: Not much :-(
you do realise Zen pinball is NOT first made for iOS but is a port from consoles which have these days incredible horse power, right? I like overal games and yeah, they could put a bit more effort on improving graphics for iPad2. A bit higher quality sound files could be used for having 2x ram compare to an iPad1.
This game is great on iPad, but on iPhone it's pretty uncomfortable to play due to lack of landscape view there (landscape is available for iPad), and it's not zoomed in enough for the screen size. Hopefully they'll add landscape play in an update, along with more view options. As far as the quality of the visuals on iPad, no it isn't as sharp as Pinball FX, but it's not terrible and it's the game play that matters more IMHO. PA wins there easily, both in being real games and in superior physics. The in-game tutorials will teach you a lot about the games. Black Hole is certainly a lot more fun once you go through and learn at least most of the info there about it. Especially important is learning how to open the gate when in the bottom playfield (and to not close it again!)
I'm playing in landscape on my iPhone 4S right now. I don't think you can change the orientation while in a game - you may need to exit to the menu to be able to do so.
I really want to love this, and in time I might. Right now I like but I see so much room for improvement. * Go screw, Facebook. Until Game Center arrives, that's a whole star off by itself. * If a soap bubble is a 1 and a regulation pinball is a 10, the TOTAN ball feels like it's around a 7. I've seen much worse in simulations, but floatiness is there. I had a bouncing ball deflect up the ramp and easily zip around the habitrail, and my eyebrow raised -- that ramp should require MUSCLE to clear. A direct flipper shot that's a little off will send that ball screaming back down the ramp on the real table. * The play-to-the-first-high-score free option for locked tables is fair enough. * Two Popadiuk tables in the first four? Meh. I suppose I can't dock points for that -- TOTAN is visually striking and TOM is very newbie-friendly -- but I'd have chosen differently. We'll see what the Table of the Month is in March. Can't say I've ever seen Ripley's in the wild (the curse of Stern), so I'll have to fiddle with it to see if it's up to Lawlor's usual high standards. * A tad surprised that there isn't an 'operator's menu' mode, or at least not one I've found yet. That's one that Zen gets right, letting you fiddle with table settings but only recognizing high scores on default.
Game Center is coming, but I think you are missing the point of Facebook. Game Center is Apple only, they wanted their leader boards to be universal across all devices, and for that you need a 3rd party. At that point, you might as well use facebook. It's not like they are posting to your wall or anything.
Game Impressions I'm not minding the concept of Facebook highscores...but is this feature working? How long does it take until your scores are posted?
I find it really bothersome that the scoreboard isn't a true dot matrix display. It just makes it feel like a port and loses the authentic feel.
I'm finding it really annoying that I can't feel my fingers sticking to the buttons and there's no odd smudges and gunk on the glass...
Then you need to dip your fingers in some mayo and smear it all over your iDevice screen for greater REALISM!
Should be interesting to see if they can make any improvements to this version while also trying to ship all the other versions.
