I have already written about one of the first Pat Lawlor pinballs, the famous Banzai Run. In my tribute to Lawlor I even included a photo of the playfield and of the backglass. When I presented the new Dialed In! pinball by Lawlor I wrote that I was crossing my fingers for FarSight to offer us a Banzai Run simulation one day.
Well, that day has arrived. When the monthly newsletter of FarSight appeared in my inbox I could not believe my eyes. Banzai Run was here. I fired my iPad and a few minutes later I was playing this mythical pinball.
What can I say? It's a fabulous game. I am an unconditional Lawlor fan, so I love everything signed by him. But Banzai Run is really special because of the vertical playfield. Every reflex you have developed over the years is useless when you are experiencing full gravity. (I remember that when the first ProPinball, The Web, came out there was a possibility to increase gravity and that made for a very, very tough game. But as we all know there is no hope to see a modern version of The Web in any foreseeable future, the ProPinball revival having gone awry).
Banzai Run is an oldie and so the playfield is uncluttered. On the other hand the table graphics make it impossible to find a clearly visible ball. I ended up playing with blue but there are moments when one has to guess the ball's position.
Getting access to the vertical playfield is not particularly difficult (but things do get harder once you get there). I did enjoy greatly playing Banzai Run and I am sure you will also. So, do not hesitate. Go and grab it asap.
Zen Studios just released a pinball trilogy inspired from the iconic Jurassic Park film franchise. Let me make it clear from the outset. I haven't watched any "Jurassic" film and do not intend to do so. I simply do not find them interesting. So, there is no nostalgia effect whatsoever when it comes to appraising this new Zen release. It consists of three tables:
Jurassic World,
Jurassic Park
and Jurassic Park mayhem
As always the tables are superbly drawn. And as always there are moving sprites (usually dinosaurs) which I find always eminently distracting. I am perfectly aware that this is a matter of personal taste, but their presence makes the game less attractive for me. One can argue that this is a new generation of pinball games taking full advantage of their digital nature. But somehow I prefer to stick to more classical tables. In this direction FarSight's Pinball Arcade does really excel (although I always find something to criticise).
The game physics are, as always, OK and the ball does not drain exceedingly easily. After the first few seconds I turned the sound off, and unless you are a fan of dinosaur roars, I suggest that you do the same.
I realise that a whole month has passed without any pinball news. Well, this is the sad state of digital pinball. Where it not for FarSight I would be an unemployed pinball-blogger. On the other hand as I wrote some time ago I am not going to try to pad the blog with articles on uninteresting stuff. So, I write whenever there is something worth writing about. This time it's the new Pinball Arcade table, Sorcerer.
It's a game from the mid 80s and it has the simple structure of the tables of that period. The playfield is particularly uncluttered and the rather dark colours make the choice of a visible ball rather easy. The game play is medium interesting but one has to be extra careful is one wishes to reach a high score since the ball has the tendency to drain rather easily. I must admit that I have rather mixed feelings about this game and all in all I don't think I will come back to this game after the novelty has worn out.
One thing that i liked particularly about Sorcerer was the artwork of the backglass. You can judge for yourselves.
If the tabs I keep are correct, Sorcerer may be the last table of Season 7. It will then be a particularly small one, with just 10 tables, like seasons 3 and 4. But then I may be wrong.
I have already written about one of the first Pat Lawlor pinballs, the famous Banzai Run. In my tribute to Lawlor I even included a photo of the playfield and of the backglass. When I presented the new Dialed In! pinball by Lawlor I wrote that I was crossing my fingers for FarSight to offer us a Banzai Run simulation one day.
