Pinball Arcade

Genre: Compilation / Pinball

Players: 1

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Review:

Pinball Arcade, in some places referred to as The Pinball Arcade, is a free-to-play app to play Pinball using various tables you can purchase via paid DLC. It was released on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox 360 in 2012, PC in 2013, PlayStation 4 in 2013, Xbox One in 2014, Wii U in 2016, and Nintendo Switch in 2018.

However, despite that this game has been released on seemingly every platform available over the last decade-plus, one might wonder why anyone would bother with the Wii U version if they can get the game on a more modern platform. The answer to this is that the Wii U version still allows access to content that has been delisted from other platforms, including popular licensed pinball tables like Terminator 2, The Addams Family, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Unfortunately, those looking to only get the tables that are not available on current-generation platforms will find that the people behind these games or the licensing have worked hard to make this task as difficult as possible – not only have roughly half of the games available for this Compilation been made available on modern platforms via either the latest versions of Pinball Arcade or Pinball FX3, but the DLC seems designed in a way to force you to buy these releases when trying to get stuff that has been delisted elsewhere, with still-available content seemingly always packaged with delisted content. It’s odd and needlessly frustrating.

Of course, there is something to play here even if you don’t want to spend any movie – the game includes the table Tales of the Arabian Nights for free, and it’s a pretty decent table, with a fun spinning lamp in the center and decent theming. It’s also a good indication of the gameplay you can expect from other Pinball Tables you’ll be getting, with some good physics making the table feel fairly realistic. Overall Tales of the Arabian Nights is far from the best videogame Pinball table I’ve played, but it’s still worth getting this software for free so you can play it.

The presentation in this Compilation is generally pretty good, with detailed 3D visuals and sounds that do a good job of capturing the actual real-life Pinball tables. In addition, I had to smile when first starting up this game and hearing The Who’s Pinball Wizard playing in the intro and title screen.

In the end, I would say that if you have a Wii U, you might as well download this game now while you can even if you’re not the biggest Pinball fan. After all, it is free, and what’s included in the free package is decent. However, if you want to expand your library, this version of the game is your last chance to get some legendary tables, though be aware that if you want them, you’ll likely have to buy some other tables with them that you could easily get on newer platforms. It’s your call how much this is worth it to you.

tl;dr – Pinball Arcade is a free-to-play Compilation that includes one free Pinball table, Tales of the Arabian Nights, and the ability to buy others via paid DLC, including numerous tables that are no longer available on more modern platforms. Even if you’re not a big Pinball fan, if you own a Wii U you might as well get this while you can, since it’s free. And if you are a Pinball fan, be sure to download the tables you want now before the Wii U eShop closes in 2023 (Later this month!)

Grade: B-

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