The folks at Zen Studios have been very busy with their Zen Pinball series. They’ve done so many different themed tables over the years, you wouldn’t be blamed if you thought they were running out of ideas. You would be wrong, though, as their latest release, the Super League Football table set, clearly shows us. If you’re a fan of football (that’s soccer to us Americans!), you’ll definitely want to pay attention (and read our review!).
Out now in several territories, the Super League Football table costs $2.99 as DLC for Zen Pinball 2. Your $3 gets you the table itself, plus the choice of a single football club. Your choices today are: Arsenal, Liverpool FC, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid C.F., A.C. Milan, Juventus Football Club, A.S. Roma, and a custom developer-themed Zen Studios FC.
If you’re wondering, the table layout does not change per team. Instead, the table’s look and feel changes to match your chosen team’s colors. This includes the ramps, playfield art, flippers, team anthem, and more. Each team’s mascot comes to life on the left side of the table, and will toy around with a ball based on your progress in the game. Again, the table itself does not change, so if you really only have allegiance to one team you may only want to buy the table and pick your club.
The Super League Football table has you playing as your chosen team over a five-game mini season, each lasting the standard 90 minutes (which obviously go by much more quickly than real-time). If you can keep the ball alive long enough, you’ll reach halftime, which gets rid of most of the table’s rules and enters a four-ball multiball mode. Don’t think you can just trap the ball and wait, though – the opposing team will eventually score a goal against you if you do nothing. There are a multitude of ramps, and successive “kicks” of your ball into alternating ramps moves the ball towards the opponent’s goal – the scoreboard updates player and ball positions from time to time. Hit the “Longball” ramp enough times and you can try for a goal in the upper playfield. There are a lot of nods to the game of football/soccer, such as removing defenders out of your way before trying to shoot a goal, free kicks, and tackles to save your ball. There’s even announcers that react to the on-screen action.
Aside from the sport theme, the table itself is pretty full-featured, with all the elements you’d expect. Pinball fans will enjoy all the ramps and challenge of playing through five games to “win,” and fans of the sport will certainly enjoy seeing their favorite club in pinball form. Don’t see your team available yet? Zen Studios has assured us that they “have interest from other clubs and may add more in the future.” Have you tried out the latest table available for Zen Pinball 2 yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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Great, compact table.
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In-game announcers and crowd bring the table to life.
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Fully-licensed for a handful of clubs.
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Not all teams available (yet!).
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"End-game" goal of 5-game season might be too tough for many.
