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| Pinball FX3: Jurassic World Pinball |
Score: 80%
Publisher: Zen Studios
Developer: Zen Studios
Media: Download/1
Players: MMO
Genre: Action/Classic/Retro/Arcade
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Introduction:Adaptation is a legal minefield, fraught with danger every step of the way. It’s not enough to honor a great original. Excuse the pun, but in the world of entertainment, royalties are king. Ultimately, for the adapting party, it all boils down to the choice between faithfulness and the bottom line. And in any business, the bottom line usually wins. It’s how it should be, and it’s how the market works, but sometimes the end result of these decisions is a product that’s generally inferior to what was originally intended.
The above is certainly true of Pinball FX3: Universal Classics, and to a slightly lesser degree, it’s also true of Pinball FX3: Jurassic World Pinball. Its timeliness is somewhat questionable: as of this writing, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom won’t be hitting theaters for another three months, and all its merits aside, Jurassic World lives deep within the shadow of the 1993 Steven Spielberg film. It feels like something of an add-on to Universal Classics, even though it doesn’t present itself as such.
It’s difficult to judge these tables as part of one cohesive whole, and I’ll explain why further down. But if you’re just skimming, all you need to know is that Jurassic World Pinball is the high quality pinball action you’ve come to expect from Zen with a necessary but no-less-unfortunate adaptation snafu. |
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Jurassic Park:The late Lord Richard Attenborough’s Scottish brogue may be a point of contention for some, but like Dick van Dyke’s butchery of the cockney accent, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thankfully, Pinball FX3: Jurassic World Pinball isn’t intent on delivering it any other way. Yes, the pinball table based on Jurassic Park utilizes actual sound clips and voices from the film itself, and it’s all the stronger for it. While its reputation as a cinematic experience has had its up and downs, it remains a very quotable movie. The novel’s characters, born almost wholesale from the Crichton Scientist Archetype Nursery, were infused with essence of Spielberg: that is to say, the kids are adorable and the business people are amoral jerkasses.
My distaste for Spielberg’s treatment of lawyer Donald Gennaro aside (he was a total badass in the book, come on!), this Jurassic Park pinball has a lot of what you would want out of a Zen-developed adaptation. It’s got Mr. DNA, it’s got mosquitoes trapped in amber, it’s got those beautiful Jeeps, and it’s got our old pal Rexie. It rounds the bases as we’ve come to expect it to, though I’m sure you’ll come up with scenarios you’d have liked to see. For my part, the ball launch should totally be Mr. Arnold’s severed arm. But ladies and gentlemen, the ESRB: am I right? I’m right. |
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Jurassic World:I feel like a jerk. I still haven’t seen Jurassic World. My taste in movies has undergone a fairly dramatic shift in the last half decade. I’m struggling to let go of my snobby tendencies. I can’t, and as a result, I’ve been having a hard time enjoying popcorn flicks. The renaissance of intelligent science fiction ( Arrival, Ex Machina, etc.) has spoiled me for just about everything else, and I’m getting dangerously close to the point where if someone tells me "they can’t all be Blade Runner 2049," my response is "well, why the hell not?" I’ve suffered a near-total burnout on reboots, revitalizations, and megafranchises. I’ve heard that Jurassic World is good fun, and I believe everyone who has told me that. But I just can’t bring myself to watch it.
That being said, I know the look, feel, and sound of the movie, thanks to the marketing bombardment that accompanied the film’s release as well as a comprehensive playthrough of Lego Jurassic World. I know the plot points, as well as a lot of the visual cues and creatures that define the flick. And what Jurassic World table would it be without Indominus Rex, Mosasaurus, and Gyrospheres? No Jurassic World table at all. The voices of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are instantly identifiable to me, and they’re definitely used to great effect. But the music… well, let’s just say it’s obvious that Michael Giacchino had nothing to do with this project. |
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Jurassic Park Pinball Mayhem:Zen Studios is clearly operating on the film’s version of Jurassic Park canon. How do I know this? Well, the existence of this third table is proof. At the end of the book, Isla Nublar was completely annihilated via napalm bombardment. The film’s version is far more idealistic (read: naïve): the survivors board the chopper and head on their merry way back to civilization. It doesn’t change the fact, however, that InGen left a mess that needs cleaning up…
I don’t know how to put this without sounding overly negative, so I’ll just come right out and say it: Jurassic Park Pinball Mayhem feels an awful lot like filler material. It fancies itself something of a supplementary experience, but it comes across like an easy excuse to rely on in-house talent instead of having to dish out for even more expensive studio assets. Considering the other two tables in this collection, this one stands out like a sore thumb. It’s… the dreaded f word. You know, fanservice.
As I insisted in my review of Universal Classics, don’t for a second take the previous criticism as a comprehensive dismissal of the entire thing. Make no mistake: the pinball itself is every bit as good as it is on the other tables. But as a Jurassic Park product, it fails pretty badly.
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| Conclusion:Pinball FX3: Jurassic World Pinball is a definite step forward from Universal Classics, but it’s not among Zen’s best work. I still feel these little stings of that bitter emotion that is best described with the two word question "what if?" But when I ask the question "what is?" I’m back to smiling. After all, Zen knows its pinball design, as well as its value pricing model. Anyone who’s read this review beginning to end knows the route I’d take when it comes to which two I’d purchase and which one I’d skip.
So overall, this is an imperfect but solid trio of tables that’s generally worthy of its source material. I would have loved it if Zen Studios truly spared no expense, but considering their indie status, it’s almost a certainty that John Williams’ music constitutes an expense that cannot be spared. But hey, developers find a way, I guess. |
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-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications AKA Jon Carlos |
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