Also On: PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, iOS, Android
Publisher: Zen Studios
Developer: Zen Studios
Medium: Digital
Players: Multi
Online: Yes
ESRB: E10+
For this latest Pinball FX3 review I will be looking at a trio of new tables from the Jurassic Park series included in Zen Studios’ new Jurassic World Pinball pack. Pinball FX3 – Jurassic World Pinball includes Jurassic World, Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park Pinball Mayhem and is now available for a number of platforms including the Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC and mobile devices.
Read on to find out if this DLC pack is worth your time.
Jurassic World
A slightly cluttered table with some nice hidden bonuses. It is presented with some very dull colors and not very much flare. Unlike other licensed tables in Pinball FX3, this one uses real voice samples from the Jurassic World movie. It’s a nice change from the impersonators they used on other tables. You also have the ability to activate the movie scenes and play out the challenges they represent at random, or in the order they happened in the film.
Some challenges even change how the ball behaves, forcing it to sometimes act like a gyroscope. This adds some good challenge, but even with the ball behaving normally, its super easy to lose a ball. My first few plays, I lost all 3 balls rather quickly due to the cluttered bumpers. Overall, it looks rather bland, and bumper placement is questionable but the more you play, the more it grows on you.
Table Grade: B-
Jurassic Park
This is more of a classic style table, with many jets and flashy action to keep you entertained as you rank up high scores. Again, actual movie dialog is used as you activate challenges and shoot around ramps. There is more action and more animation in this table than in Jurassic World, but since there can be a lot going on at once, the voices sometimes overlap, making things hard to understand. Fortunately it doesn’t really affect the gameplay too much.
One stand out animation was when the Raptors escape their pen and surround your main flippers. Sometimes they snap and grab your ball, tossing it in another direction. Sometimes it makes you miss a shot, while other times it could help you reach bigger scores. Out of the pack, I kept coming back to this one the most. It could be my soft spot for the first movie, or the fact it’s the most lively table of the bunch. Plus, hearing actual lines read by Sam Neil and Richard Attenborough really hit me in the nostalgia!
Table Grade: A-
Jurassic Park Pinball Mayhem
At first, there isn’t really much Mayhem going on here, it seems to be a low scoring and slow table with less to offer than Jurassic World. As you progress however, the mayhem begins to let loose. Sometimes you will see a T-Rex and Stegosaurus begin duking it out while you are hitting tons of jets and bumpers. Stopping the giant battle earns you mega bonuses, if you can manage to hit the right spot. This table has a sort of day and night cycle, where the dinosaurs become more active in the dark, giving you access to more bonuses.
The weather system that appeared in “Son of Zeus” also adds to the on-going mayhem found here, making the ball slip and slide slightly around the table. There may of even been some wind effects included, but I can’t confirm this as it could’ve just been me distracted by the amount of animations on this table. This one started out very bland, then gets crazy the more you play. But it can also calm down to almost a whisper at a moments notice. A fun, yet very distracting table.
Table Grade: B+
Jurassic World Pinball offers a decent collection of tables if you are a fan of Jurassic Park and you’ll definitely have a good time with them. Another recommended addition to Pinball FX3!
Note: Zen Studios provided us with a Jurassic World Pinball Xbox One code for review purposes.