Guardians of the Galaxy Pinball

Written by Jeremy Duff on 9/22/2014 for XONE  

It is only fitting that with an epic movie in theaters from Marvel Studios, Zen Studios would be quick to release a tie-in table for the Pinball FX platform. While the Guardians of the Galaxy are still tearing up the box office, they are also tearing up the rails with a new table from the evil geniuses at Zen. The gang is all here: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot and, of course, the lovable and cuddly </sarcasm> Rocket Raccoon. The table is meant as a direct tie in to the movie rather than the comic, although it might have been better in the long run to focus on the latter.

Since this table is directly tied to the movie, one would expect it to feature all of the key things that made the movie so great. The movie was blessed with great personalities amongst its cast, a killer soundtrack, and awesome visuals, all bundled up with great action. Aside from the visual similarities, this table really leaves a lot to be desired in regards to those other key points. While we will dive into more details later, the voices and characters are nothing like their silver screen counterparts. The action on the playing field is decent, but just not up to par with the standards set by the film. And when it comes to the soundtrack, well that is just a no-win situation because it just isn’t realistic to expect licensed tracks in a digital pinball table.

Let’s talk about the positive, that being the visual appeal of the table. Everything looks great, from the movie art on the main area of the table to the Ronan, Peter, and Rocket renders who occupy the screen. Even the Milano parked at the top of the table looks picture perfect when compared to their ship from the film. There is a lot going on and a lot to see as everything bounces around the screen. The one-on-one encounters between Ronan and Star-Lord are well done, with them trading shots at one another across the playing field.

The action isn’t bad either, although it really isn’t as varied as most of the other tables are. Things start off really well, mirroring the previously released Avengers table. Your first mission starts right out of the gate as you have to reenact the prison break scene from the movie, which is when the union of the Guardians of the Galaxy forms. The table throws out multiple pinballs onto the field, each representing one of the members of the team. Mind you, this is all before you even launch your first ball. You get a short amount of time to basically give yourself a headstart on your score before you pull the plunger for the first time. It’s a nice touch that starts things off in such a frantic manner.

After that initial sequence, however, things slow down a bit and become incredibly predictable. Nearly every mission in the game is based on the various one-on-one confrontations in the film. They all boil down to the same concept: hit your target(s) to inflict damage on your enemy and dodge their attacks. This premise gets a little old very quickly and I find myself longing for the variety that other Marvel themed tables offer.

Audibly, things are pretty bad, especially given how much the game depends on dialog and reenacted scenes from the movie. While I don’t expect them to use the actual Hollywood cast, the voice work used on this table leaves a lot to be desired. Drax and Rocket are perhaps the only voices that sounds remotely appropriate and similar to the movie, while the others sound like some random person blindly reading the lines from a script. The dialog is often void of any sort of emotion and does’t sound anything like you would expect considering this table is based on the movie. Peter Quill’s voice, in particular, just doesn’t sound appropriate for the character and comes across more as a cheap cartoon version of Star-Lord as opposed to the cocky smartass he is in both the comic book and the movies. The Groot voice uses emotion sometimes but is crystal clear and too easy to understand to be the lovable monstrosity we grew to love in the film.

The same thing can be said about the soundtrack. It is extremely disappointing. I am not sure if it is fair to really criticize the table for that, since the only way they could have really lived up to the musical experience from the movie would be to license some of the music from the official soundtrack. Zen Studios does its best to replicate the feel of the soundtrack with a variety of guitar-laden custom tracks that vary in their tempo and genre, but it just isn’t the same. This isn’t really a shortcoming of the game, but rather a testament to just how great of a soundtrack was put together for the film.

Also, I should note that I really dislike the lack of a traditional plunger setup on this table. There is a strategy to weighing the pull of your launch and modifying the speed in which your ball enters the playing field. You don’t get to do that on this table, it just automatically shoots it onto the playing field at a predetermined speed and gives you a chance at the skill shot. This really takes away from the genuine pinball experience for me and makes this table feel a lot more "digital" than realistic (which is not a good thing).

All in all, Guardians of the Galaxy is a solid table, but it isn’t a spectacular one. It is a bit too formulaic for my liking and doesn't give me the same replay value that I have gotten from Zen’s other offerings. Zen did their best to replicate some of the scenes and scenarios from the movie, but they just couldn’t do it without the star power of the film (both in the form of the actors and the musicians from the score). Give it a try, though, because it is worth having in your catalog. Just don’t expect it to be at the top of your favorites list.