Another month, and another excellent DLC table for Pinball FX2. This time though, the PS3 players had the chance to combat the evil sorcerer for a few months before PFX2 players. Lair is an entirely Zen Studios creation, that brings yet another fun table to the lineup of other excellent tables – this time however one major change I noticed from other games (with the exception of perhaps the Pasha table) is the very present mini-game modes along with the standard great ramp, orbit and combo centric style that’s standard to any pinball table.
After activating a hidden staircase at the top of the game field, two options appear – one which initiates a combo chain that results in some pretty specatcular point accumulation, and the other activates a minigame mode that sometimes takes you to a different playfield where you have to squash spiders, or simply escape the cellar. Other modes initiated here are an interesting puzzle mode where you must maneuver the ball through gears and a series of boards on pivot points to escape. It’s a fun little twist in the middle of a pinball game, but the challenge is lost on that once you figure out the best method. Other modes have you eliminating portals, chasing ghosts and escaping from skeletons.
Some easy to obtain multiball modes are also present, which means that with the right skills raising up that superscore is going to be possible. In fact, after only a couple short days of preview access, there were scores already inching towards 1 billion.
The only real downside to this table is that some of the voice work seems a little out of place. Given the story of a young boy and girl trapped in a building, it seems odd that with all the other great sounds and voice work, that the biggest and most booming voice goes to someone who yells out ‘Splendid!’ when you get a high score. Other than that this is a great table that will take a while for most to master – but once you find out the little tricks and tips, it’s sure to keep your attention for quite some time.
8.5/10
Platform reviewed: Xbox 360
