Zen Studios have bagged another new set of tables to add to their ever growing Pinball FX2 collection and this time we’re goin’ down to South Park. Will gamers be able to leave their woes behind and unwind in a worthy homage to the animated hit?
This new set consists of two tables, both inspired by the goings on in South Park but we’ll start with the Super-Sweet Pinball table. Join all the characters at the heart of the quiet little mountain town and I don’t just mean Cartman, Kyle, Kenny and Stan. No, dotted around the table as part of the features is the loveable Timmy, the flatulent Terrence & Phillip and the smooth talking food maker Chef just to name a few.
There are a lot of features to trigger here and they all link to certain characters, each with a little moment to relive from the show such as Cartman getting a probe and Stan puking on Wendy. The features aren’t as exciting as on other tables but the fact you can trigger a multiple of them at once is rather nifty. These could see you shooting lanes to lock balls, collecting treasure coins dotted around or even hitting poor old Kenny as he moves around. By completing all the features you can access the Wizard mode, just don’t ask me what it’s like because I am not a gifted enough player to reach it.
Due to the overlapping objectives it can get a little hectic whilst also becoming a better and more enjoyable table as your score begins to climb. The layout allows for multiple shot variations with plenty of lanes and kickout holes to aim for from the main two flippers and one additional left flipper for those hard to reach places. It certainly takes some getting used to though as the ball can come back at you rather quickly at times, so you’ll need good reactions.
Authenticity is important when recreating a hugely popular theme like this one and I’d say it looks the part for sure. Sadly it’s missing a key element that has helped South Park become a success… adult content. Not once have I heard an f-bomb nor seen anything outrageous that you’d expect from South Park and that lets it down slightly. Maybe it’s to attract the younger audience into buying but I think the hardcore fans will be disappointed.
Over to everyone’s favourite student, the gullible and naive Butters Stotch as he stars in the second table of the pack “Butters’ Very Own Pinball Game”. If there was to be a table focussed on any one person I’m sure young Butters would be near the top of everyone’s choices. Join him to relive some of his fondest memories of the show, even if the poor sod doesn’t have a clue what’s really going on.
There’s aren’t as many features on this one which will have Butters’ becoming a vampire, crossing the border as a “Meeheecan” and even transforming into a superhero. The superhero feature takes you into a separate mini table where you, as Professor Chaos, shoot a couple of areas to take down the rest of the local kids dressed as superheroes.
The overall feel of the table is more relaxed and in some ways this makes it the easier of the two tables to sit back and play. Again it lacks any adult material but for the innocent Butters it makes sense to convey a more child-like feeling to the presentation. All the action takes place on the upper end of the table with two ramps, three lanes and a couple of holes in this rather spacious layout, giving an abundance of time to react to the ball’s movements.
When you consider the price of the pack is just £3.99 then it’s a no brainer that for two really well made tables it’s a darn bargain. Once I got over the initial shock of something South Park related not being overly offensive I grew to really like the two tables. I think they were missing more creative features other than just shooting lanes and such yet I still enjoyed playing both time and time again.
So head on down to Pinball FX 2 to purchase another quality pinball pack of tables.
