One of my earliest memories is when my father took me to see The Empire Strikes Back. It was at this huge movie theatre located right off of Route 9 in Framingham, Massachusetts, and we waited outside for what seemed like forever just to see the film. By the time I left a few hours later, I was converted. I was a Star Wars fan.
As a result, I love all things Star Wars. When Zen Pinball first introduced Star Wars pinball as an in-app purchase in their game, I bought it and enjoyed banging on my screen. Now, Star Wars Pinball is its own app, complete with three different tables. Well, kinda. Let’s take on the Kessel Run after the jump.
A Game Based on IAP
OK, that header sounds harsh, but hear me out. When you first open up Zen Pinball, you’re presented with three Star Wars options: The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett and The Clone Wars TV show. The Empire Strikes Back is the default that you can play all day long, and to unlock the other two, you have to pay $1.99 each. Meaning, if you want all three tables, you’re paying $5.97 for the game.
Seriously, it’s Star Wars and pinball. Soak that in.
Now is that bad? I don’t really think so. Putting aside the value part which I’ll get to in a minute, this is the kind of IAP I’m OK with. I pay for a game and I get that game — but, if I want more, I can pay for it. Better than paying $5.99 right off the bat, from my perspective.
Next Level Graphics
As you’ve probably gathered, Star Wars Pinball is a pinball game. As such, you have a virtual table and a ball that gets smacked around by bumpers and various other objects along the surface. And this is serious pinball, in that there are multiple levels, chutes and trap doors all over the place, and lots and lots of detail. Look at the image of Luke Skywalker in the middle of the screen and you’ll see what I mean.
These are some beautiful graphics.
These incredibly detailed images are also a bit of a downside, however. This app is universal, so on the iPad there’s a bit more leeway with appearance. But everything is jammed in tight on the iPhone, so there are times when you can lose the ball on the screen. On the plus side, the developers did add a trail to the ball to make it easier to find, but it may take some practice to get the hang of things.
Gameplay
Tap the left side of the screen to operate the flippers on the left side of the table, and vice versa for the right. There’s not much else to talk about with the controls, because there’s not much else to do — it is pinball, after all.
Yeah, he doesn’t look happy.
As for the fun factor, well you have to like pinball; I do, so naturally it’s good with me. But there are also additional features that go beyond what a physical pinball game is able to accomplish. Occasionally, a character will pop out of the screen and tell you to do something or fly across the table. Then there’s the lightsaber that lights up and guides your ball to specific areas. That’s just cool.
Back to the IAP Thing
So about the IAP. Because the first table is so fun, buying a second made sense to me, so I picked up the Boba Fett level. It’s a blast, and just as good as the Empire Strikes Back one, but with a different feel. However, the download time for the table was forever.
But Jabba the Hut is worth the wait, right?
Seriously, it was 10 minutes, give or take. Now I have the fastest available Internet connection at my house, something like 50+ Mbps down. There’s no reason why it should take so long to download a pinball table in my eyes, and yet, there I was. That speed actually put me off from buying the last table, because I just wasn’t willing to put in the time since it’s not like you can navigate away and let it run in the background. That’s frustrating.
Final Thoughts
Pinball isn’t everyone’s game, and although the Star Wars series is fairly ubiquitous at this point, this is still a niche app. You may not like either pinball or Star Wars, and therefore, you should probably pass it over.
But this is both a solid pinball app and Star Wars game, which means that I dig it. It’s not without its faults, but overall, it’s a good purchase, whether you play just on one table or all three.