A MAGICIAN, A PUGILIST, AND A THIEF WALK INTO AN PINBALL COLLECTION.

This is my third one of these so I’ll just jump into the tables right away.

First up is Theatre of Magic, a 1995 pinball table themed around a magic show. This is not a wizard themed table to be clear, but magic as in Las Vegas stage show magic. This is actually a great theme for a table with the ideas of making things disappear or multiply via a box and trap doors. It’s by no means an extremely unique table, but it is an extremely good one. It’s actually a table that I really suggest playing with the new Zen graphics because they added a lot of life to the table. A top hat, the sock and buskin masks, a wand that waves as the ball is ejected into play. These feel very natural while the magician in the center is very clearly new to the table, but her cards that fall to the ground as a ball is lost is just enough to feel new. I fully recommend this table.

PLATFORMS: XB1, PS4, PC, SWITCH, iOS, ANDROID
MSRP: $9.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $9.99

Next is The Champion Pub from 1998. This is a very gimmicky table. Based around a 1920s bar fight, the concept is to train and then face another fighter on a one on one match. The Zen makeover only really works to add animation to what was already a very animated table; in the center there is a punching bag that will rotate to feature a mechanical boxer that is fought by hitting it with the ball. There are health meters for both the player and the opponent, making this game a sort of pinball fighting game hybrid. At the top of the table there are two mechanical training minigames. The jump rope minigame has the flipper buttons pop the ball up over a metal wire jump rope which is quite neat and fun.

The other is a speed bag which I found difficult to get to. There are also digital minigames on the dot matrix display. This table however has one of my least favorite aspects of any table; being able to eject the ball and lose it without it ever coming near the flippers (it goes into the channel to the right of the flippers from where it comes out). I thought the physical ball saver would help in normal gameplay to make up for it but no, in fact it is easier to lose the ball. This is by far my least favorite table of this volume and probably a table I won’t revisit often.

Lastly is Safe Cracker. This 1996 table may be the best for pinball newcomers as there are unlimited balls. The idea of this table is that it a heist and there’s only so much time to make it in, so instead of balls it’s timed, which allows a newcomer to learn how to do skill shots without being punished with a lost ball. The bottom of this table is fairly basic, but when certain conditions are met the gameplay moves to the back of the machine where gameplay turns into a board game. If successful at the board game the multiball mode is activated called Assault on the Vault which was originally activated via a special token the game would dispense, but because this is a digital game it simply activates it immediately. The visual additions are fairly superfluous but that is by far not the draw of this table.

Overall this collection is a step up from Volume 2. I would probably recommend this set for anyone unfamiliar with classic Williams tables because it encompasses a better selection of how unique the tables can be. The fact that Safe Cracker is fairly forgiving is also a big draw.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Variety in table selection
  • The facts on the real life tables are still great
  • Safe Cracker is extremely accessible
  • Theatre of Magic is one of the best standard pinball tables available
Bad
  • The Champion Pub is easy to fail at
8
Great
Written by
Anthony is the resident Canadian. He enjoys his chicken wings hot and drinks way too much Coca-Cola. His first game experience was on his father's Master System and he is a loyal SEGA fanboy at heart.