Zen Studios has been bringing many great tables to Pinball FX and with Pinball FX: Williams Pinball Volume 9 we have more tables that deliver great fun for fans of digital pinball. Best of all these three tables are some of the better tables that Williams released over the years, but how does the trio hold up in the digital form?
Pin-Bot is a pinball table that has seen an interesting history in video games, as there was a version of the NES in 1990 that was published by Nintendo and developed by Rare. This is a decent conversion that manages to capture the original table well, and the table plays extremely well on the Nintendo Switch 2 where the visuals shine as you play across the solar system. I did notice some slowdown when launching the ball, but otherwise, the physics felt right and honestly this is just a fantastic table that does not seem to age. I could go back and play the original table now and still have fun, and aside from the slowdown on launching the ball, Pin-Bot is a fantastic conversion that captures the game in a great way.
Also included is Taxi, designed by Mark Ritchie and this is one of his earlier designs. The high score chasing is lacking here, but the overall game is off enough to merit attention. You are a Taxi driver picking up numerous passengers such as Gorbachev , Dracula and others. I will be honest that the game’s mechanics do not do it for me and while the physics seem accurate, I just did not have fun with this table. The appeal seems to be entirely in how bizarre it is, but the missions and overall gameplay just do not click. It doesn’t help that the table’s speech is seriously annoying after a while and eventually I just moved on. Nowhere near as good as Pin-Bot, but the next table made up for this.
Who Dunnit is hands down one of the best tables I have played on Pinball FX, with a neat film noir murder mystery theme down well, and some of the best mechanics for a pinball table. Who Dunnit perfectly captures the atmosphere it is going for, and also handles a taxi aesthetic better than Taxi did. This was not a strong seller in 1995, but is honestly a fun time worth trying now. This is a table where you need to really get into a rhythm and go all out.
Who Dunnit nails almost everything about Pinball, with excellent physics and a magnificent use of its theme, especially with how it uses taxis for multiball. Speaking of themes, the Peter Gunn theme is here, along with other excellent sound effects and the design of the table makes this a feast for both the eyes and the ears. It also bears mentioning that Who Dunnit lets you select novice or expert at the start, the former giving you two minutes of play time with unlimited balls,which is great for learning the table.
So how was Pinball FX: Williams Pinball Volume 9? Well, while I did not like Taxi at all, Pin-Bot remains one of my all time favourite tables, and Who Dunnit is a masterpiece. Those two tables alone make the experience worth checking out, and will delight any fan of pinball. So with two great tables, we can say this is a worthy DLC, and I am sure there are some who like Taxi and will enjoy that as well.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
