Here we go, ladies and gentlemen, another Star Wars table from the brilliant design masterminds over at Zen Studios. This time they’ve put together an experience based upon the excitement and daring behind Star Wars: Rogue One. Full disclosure, I haven’t seen Rogue One so there is a good chance that some, or many, of the fan service elements in this table will go over my head, but that didn’t stop me from loading Star Wars Pinball: Rogue One up through Steam on my cabinet to bring you my thoughts.
First off, let’s talk about the table’s graphics. We’ve come to expect amazing playfield artwork from Zen, and this table delivers. The playfield items; pop-up targets, bumpers, slingshots, orbits, rail ramps… they all look good, really good. I have no issue with the way anything on this table looks. I might even go so far as to say that Zen did a beautiful job creating this table.
Next we’ll talk about the table audio. The voice over is well recorded – no wooden delivery here – and even the standard gameplay audio is top-notch. Bumpers, targets, and random hit sounds all give a good sense of feedback to play. Turn up your speakers during a particularly intense session and it will certainly crank up the excitement. There are no missing marks in this department, that’s for sure.
Finally, we’ll talk about the actual gameplay itself, which is a major component of a pinball table. Everything looks great and sounds great, but does it play great? Other than a personal preference regarding the outer orbit helping the ball move when it should have stopped, yes, it delivers. There is quite a bit hidden in this table, and I won’t be able to go over all of it. While I wish I could, it would be best for you to find out once you have access.
What I can talk about is the mid-upper playfield area, which is where much of the game activities take place. Sneaking past Stormtroopers, making droids do your bidding, there’s even an appearance from an AT-ACT. Players have even been given 2 sets of symmetrical flippers. There is the typical grouping by the center drain, as well as a set just over a third of the way up the playfield. With there being so many targets, bumpers, and other activities in the mid-upper, these extra flippers will allow you some shot angles that the traditional pair wouldn’t let you achieve.
Based on all of the above, Star Wars Pinball: Rogue One is yet another of a slew of amazing Zen pinball tables that fans of either Star Wars or Zen’s Pinball FX2 will most likely enjoy. I may have been spoiled in the past by Zen’s typical table packs, allowing me more than one way to experience a franchise, but at $3.99 you’re paying for 3 or 4 plays on a physical pinball machine, only you get to keep this one forever.
