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DS-Scene Official Review
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[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding:10px;text-align:justify;line-height:22px;font-size:14px;background-image:url(http://img.files-ds-scene.net/reviews/eshop/template/eshopbg.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:bottom;padding-bottom:20px;]Zen Studios, based in Budapest, Hungary, have a pedigree of developing critically acclaimed pinball videogames. Their newest, Zen Pinball 3D, previously released on PSN and mobile devices, is now available on the 3DS eStore for 5€, £4,50 or 7$ respectively, taking up 540 blocks on your SD Card.

The game consists of four tables, namely Excalibur, set in Britain's mythology of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, El Dorado, a treasure hunter adventure taking its cues from the likes of Indiana Jones, further the tribal/voodoo themed Shaman, and lastly Earth Defense, sporting a huge, nasty robot in campy alien invasion fashion. The developers have again confirmed that there will be additional tables released as DLC, news on those should be incoming shortly.

The feature set includes local multiplayer via hot seat play, local and online leaderboards both globally and for your friend list, a variety of different missions for each table and ingame achievements for completing specific goals.
[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:5px;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dashed;border-bottom-color:#ccc;]Gameplay[/td][/tr]
[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding:10px;text-align:justify;line-height:22px;font-size:14px;background-image:url(http://img.files-ds-scene.net/reviews/eshop/template/eshopbg.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:bottom;padding-bottom:20px;]Pinball games can generally be divided into two categories. The first being ones that closely resemble the mechanics of a real world pinball machine, the second category augmenting the game with extra stages, enemies and boss fights that you can really only experience in a videogame. Zen Pinball 3D's tables certainly belong into the first category, but every table is painstakingly constructed to give you the perfect pinball experience, and secret areas, additional toys and a variety of different missions add a lot of depth to the game, and ensure a high replayability.

Learning the ins and outs of a new pinball table very much compares to getting to grips with a new map in an online shooter or an unfamiliar character in a beat 'em up. Although you know the basics of the game, you still have to get the hang of their specific layout and timing. Once you've memorized the placing of ramps, targets, and sinkholes you can begin trying to rack up high scores by mastering the multiple tasks the table design sets out for you. And there is plenty to learn and perfect here. The game maps out these missions and skillshots for you in an in-depth tutorial for each table, pointing out and zooming in on the ramps and targets you have to hit to fulfill their requirements.

Reliable and believable physics are the foundation that let you reach these higher skill levels, and Zen Pinball 3D does a remarkable job here. The ball feels weighty, it never jitters or acts unpredictable, and albeit running at only 30 fps the framerate always remains rock solid even in the most hectic multiball frenzy. Additionally the eight different camera perspectives let you find the viewing angle and distance to the action that you are most comfortable with.

The controls are very responsive, and the button layout is standard fare for a pinball game: activate the paddles with the shoulder buttons or alternatively with the D-Pad and face buttons, and nudge the table with the analog slider. Though why the latter function can't optionally be mapped to the 3DS's gyroscope or the touchscreen is beyond my understanding.

[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:5px;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dashed;border-bottom-color:#ccc;]Audiovisual Presentation[/td][/tr]
[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding:10px;text-align:justify;line-height:22px;font-size:14px;background-image:url(http://img.files-ds-scene.net/reviews/eshop/template/eshopbg.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:bottom;padding-bottom:20px;]All four tables are beautifully rendered with crisp, highly resolved textures and applied anti-aliasing. The game may miss the particle effects and motion blur of its PS3 sibling, but the 3D more than makes up for that. The added depth perception also greatly helps distinguishing the multiple layers of the tables; the ramps, slingshots and toys really pop up from the playfield and the ball zooms seamlessly from fore- to background, as does the whole table when going from a closed in perspective to a wide angle view for multi-ball play. There is absolutely no ghosting effect visible, and even with the 3D slider dialed all the way up, the stereoscopic effect never felt strenuous on the eyes.

The classic dot matrix display was placed on the lower screen of the 3DS and resides always just a quick movement of the eyes away, so you never lose track of the action on the upper screen while marveling at the authentically reproduced animations for skillshots and mission objectives.

The audio department falls a bit flat in the light of this graphical prowess. Generic music tracks bring nothing memorable to the (huh) table, and the sound effects lack a bit of the brilliance I came to love about the clicking bumpers and chiming bells of real life pinball machines. It almost appears as if everything was heavily downsampled and/or compressed, probably to fit the file size limitations Nintendo set for downloadable titles. The voice samples, albeit clear and fitting, are also noticeably fewer than in the game's console counterpart, which makes for a bit of repetition after a while. There is nothing explicitly bad to be found here, but the overall sound is just simply mediocre.

[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding-top:25px;text-align:justify;line-height:22px;font-size:14px;padding-bottom:20px;][iframe width=640 height=380 src=http://www.youtube.com/embed/VgDcKguxZEo?hl=en_US&fs=1&color=white&showinfo=0&rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&autohide=1 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen][/iframe][/td][/tr]

[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:5px;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dashed;border-bottom-color:#ccc;]Closing Comments[/td][/tr]
[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding:10px;text-align:justify;line-height:22px;font-size:14px;background-image:url(http://img.files-ds-scene.net/reviews/eshop/template/eshopbg.png);background-repeat:no-repeat;background-position:bottom;padding-bottom:20px;]Zen Pinball 3D is a graphical and technical powerhouse and its level of polish is astounding. The stereoscopic 3D feels like a gameplay enhancing feature that actually adds to the experience and not at all like a tacked on gimmick.

Every table is meticulously crafted and holds a multitude of gameplay layers that will let you discover new elements of play for a long time, and the achievement system, online leaderboards and direct competition against your friends' scores extend the replayability towards infinity. And should the existing offerings ever begin to bore you, then there is already additional downloadable content in form of new tables on the horizon.

The lackluster sound scape could only marginally cloud the overall amazement I felt while playing this title, and I didn't miss an online multiplayer at all.

For its price of admission Zen Pinball 3D is a definitive recommendation for any 3DS gamer, and should not be missed unless you are seriously allergic to balls of steel.

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[tr][td colspan=2 style=padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:5px;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dashed;border-bottom-color:#ccc;]Overall Conclusion[/td][/tr]
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Graphics

Sound

Gameplay

Replayability[/td][td valign=center align=right]Score: 9.0/10[/td][/tr]

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