Star Wars: The Force Awakens Pack review for Zen Pinball 2, Pinball FX2

When the force awakens, it does so for everyone – good and bad. Just as the next generation of Big Deals in the Star Wars galaxy includes players on both sides, the new tables for Zen Pinball 2 include one for the good guys and one for the bad.

The rebel-Rey-themed table picks up the sandy motif from Jakku. Like all great Zen Pinball tables, there are plenty of ramps and tracks swirling all over the place. This table, even more than others, does a nice job of hiding just enough of the ball during travel to make it very challenging but not a complete mystery. Some of the most difficult targets are extremely tough to hit. That?s ok, but we couldn?t help but feel these tables were even busier than average. There?s a lot going on, and it takes a while to figure out how to trigger the coolest transitions. For example, you?re not on Jakku forever, but it will take practice to see all there is to see.

On the other side, the bad guy table is all about Kylo Ren and his need of your help to crush the resistance. In many ways, it?s the cooler of the two. In the same way Star Destroyers and all their gray-ness, both inside and out, are cooler than sand, the Kylo Ren table is more interesting at first play. It has, also, a more open main board, which makes it a lot more accessible.

Just like the Rey table, hitting just the right spots for the cool stuff to happen is very difficult. One of the rewards here is a level of play below the main board. The second layer of glass captures the multi-level look of Star Destroyer flight decks wonderfully. Unfortunately, we still have no idea why that Stormtrooper is so insistent on lighting the table on fire.