Season 7 of Pinball Arcade starts with a bang. The first table of the series is an oldie (I adore them) and a beauty. I wrote in my previous post that I was looking forward to this table. In fact I was captivated by its backglass and the artwork of Paul Faris. And now Paragon is here!
I did not have the time to test it thoroughly but I can assure you that this table is hard. Usually I manage to get to the lowest high score at my first try (barring accident). For Paragon it took me several tries. And I have the feeling that It will necessitate an effort akin to that for Eight Ball before I register a real progress.
There are so many things that I do like in this game. First the fact that it is an oldie and thus, while having a relatively simple layout, it manages to provide a challenging gameplay. I did really like the original touches like the isolated bumper guarding the outlane gap or the inline drop targets. Managing the four flippers effectively is a major challenge, all the more so since the two lower right ones have a draining gap between them.
As always with FarSight pinballs I had to find the most visible ball. The fact that the playfield is high in colours does not help either. After having tried the black and the white balls I finally opted for the blue one. It is probably the best compromise.
I any case, Paragon is a great pinball and you should absolutely give it a try.
I have written several times about games that are abusively called pinballs. I wrote for instance about Ascending Pinball and Super Hyper Ball both of which we can readily forget. They present no interest whatsoever and I wouldn't consider them even as a pastime.
Now don't get me wrong. Sometimes people are managing to do something really original with flippers and, although the game is not a pinball, it is interesting and really worth one's time. I have written very nice critiques for games like INKS or Pinout. They are games I did (and still do) enjoy.
However, when I saw the new breakout variant, Throw Pinball, I knew immediately that I was not going to waste a dollar just to give it a try.
If you are curious you can track down the video of gameplay, just in order to convince yourself that the game has zero value as pinball. Of course there are plenty of pinballs in the App Store that are pure trash. But at least they are pinballs. Pinning the name of pinball on a game that just happens to hit a ball with flippers is something I cannot stand.
Back in my March 16th post I was predicting that Cactus Jack's was going to be the last table of Season 6. Well, I was wrong but just by a hairbreadth. Swords of Fury came at the beginning of April and with them Season 6 was indeed completed. In a recent newsletter FarSight teased about the first table of Season 7, Paragon. An oldie (as I like them) and in particular one with graphics by a great artist, Paul Faris. Faris has designed many pinballs starting in the seventies. Two of his creations are already part of the Pinball Arcade: Phantom of the Opera and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. But what FarSight is promising for some time in May is Paragon. Just have a look at the artwork of the backglass.
It's fabulous. Now I am itching to get the Paragon table and take it for a ride.
By the way, Paul Faris did the graphics for the first Eight Ball pinball in 1977. I have included a picture of the table in my post on Eight Ball tables. Just so that you can appreciate it in its totality I give below a picture of the backglass.
Still. I like Paragon's backglass artwork much, much more. I don't know, it's its Frazetta-esque quality that attracts me.
Season 7 of Pinball Arcade starts with a bang. The first table of the series is an oldie (I adore them) and a beauty. I wrote in my previous post that I was looking forward to this table. In fact I was captivated by its backglass and the artwork of Paul Faris. And now Paragon is here!
