A (not so) long, long time ago in arcades (not so) far, far away, there was pinball.  While pinball isn’t as big as it once was, Zen Studios helps keep it alive with their video pinball titles for many of today’s major game consoles.  Some of these tables feature popular characters from licenses like Marvel Comics.  Another one of their more well-known licenses is Star Wars, and now you can download for new tables in Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within (reviewed on Pinball FX2 for 360 here).

When you download Pinball FX 2 or Zen Pinball 2 (depending on which game console you own), you’re just downloading the hub.  It’s free, and then you purchase separate tables for play in the game.  There are four new tables in Heroes Within, and I’ll briefly go over them next.

Han Solo

This table features the adventures of everyone favorite space rogue.  I think this is my favorite table out of the four.  I love the jazzy Cantina music that constantly plays in the background, and you can play mini pinball games inside the Millennium Falcon (although they are hard to figure out).  Plus, Han Solo is one of my favorite Star Wars characters (aside from the Ewoks of course), and the Millennium Falcon was one of my favorite toys as a kid.  It’s easier to keep the ball in play in this table as well.

Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

The movie that started it all is now in pinball form.  Send the ball up ramps and targets to open up challenges that are based on famous scenes from this iconic first film.  This is a real high scoring table, which is always fun.  But it is a little harder to keep the ball in play.

Droids

This table is made to look like the inside of the Jawa Sandcrawler vehicle, and it stars R2-D2 and C-3PO.  Shoot up ramps and hit targets to help the two droids free their robot friends and escape from the Sandcrawler!  It’s a unique idea, but the rules were a little hard to figure out to me.

Masters of the Force

And finally, this table is split down the middle into two halves, representing both sides of the Force.  Even the flippers are different colors!  Depending on which ramps and targets you hit, you’ll make the table go from Balanced to either siding with the Dark or Light sides of the force.  This table features Jedi masters such as Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Darth Maul.

And those are all the tables.  Really the only problems I had with this collection is that some of the rules were hard to figure out and some of the tables were more difficult to keep the ball in play.  But it’s still a great download for Star Wars fans and pinball Jedis alike.

Kid Factor:

Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within is rated E for Everyone with an ESRB descriptor of Comic Mischief.  It’s pinball, so it’s non-violent and reading is only needed if you want to check out the rules and instructions.  Plus, it’s Star Wars, and kids love Star Wars.  If your kids are OK with the movies, they’ll definitely be OK with this game, too.

Tags: Game Reviews, Movies with Children, Television