Zen Studios keeps cranking out the hits when it comes to DLC tables for their highly enjoyable and totally addicting Zen Pinball 2 game for the PlayStation 4. This time they are taking on those adorable scamps from South Park Colorado in a two-table pack that features South Park: Super Sweet Pinball and South Park: Butters’ Very Own Pinball Game.
Both of these new tables exemplify the very essence of South Park with bright bold colors and 3D constructs for the various thematic elements from the show. Zen is known to throw in some 3D animated character models in their licensed tables but seeing as how this show is created from virtual construction paper, they do a great job with 2D characters that pop-up much like a shooting gallery target.
South Park: Super Sweet Pinball
First up is the Super Sweet Pinball table that encompasses the entire cast, as well as key locations from the fictional city of South Park. In a classic spoof of the O.J. Simpson chase episode Kenny rams the ball into action from the highway launch chute right into a miniature South Park Cows football field where you try to keep the ball in play for as long as possible with dedicated flippers. Eventually the ball will drop down onto the table where you will find plenty of ramps, targets, bumpers, and lanes that all relate to various characters, and moments pulled from episodes of the long-running series.
The one thing I loved (and hated) about this table is that for the first time Zen Studios is making some interesting use with the vertical back panel of the pinball table, which features a large movie theater screen with always-changing images, based on your current goal in the game. The sad thing is that there are only two or three camera angles that actually give you a good view of this back screen, and none of those are particularly good for playing pinball due to their low angle that makes it way too easy to lose track of the ball. I was really torn between playing from the 1W view to see all the content and playing from view 5 or 6 where I can actually get high scores.
South Park: Butters’ Very Own Pinball Game
If you are wondering why Butters got his own table, then you haven’t been watching the recent seasons of the show. Butters is the breakout character of the cast, even achieving his own dedicated episode, so having South Park: Butters’ Very Own Pinball Game was only logical. His table is a bit simplified but no less elegant with plenty of gold rails that elevate the ball above numerous ramps and curved lanes that all lead to targets and mission goals. While all of the content is centered on Butters the rest of the cast makes frequent cameos in homages to episodes dealing with Professor Chaos, the Coon, the show where Butters infiltrates the girls slumber party to steal their “future telling device”, and my personal favorite, Good Time With Weapons. Professor Chaos even gets his own mini-pinball table if you can manage to trigger it. Butters is such a central character to the show now that they could have easily created two tables worth of content.
Both tables are loaded with sound clips from the show including favorite lines from Chef, Crabtree, and Mr. Garrison as well as all the boys and girls. Admittedly, some get very repetitive, especially on the Super Sweet table where it is entirely too easy to keep dropping the ball in Stan’s blue chute triggering the same lines and romantic music cue. But as someone who has seen every episode of South Park at least 4-5 times I am no stranger to repetition and these tables always put a smile on my face.
The PS4 version of the new South Park tables delivers fantastic visuals in stunning 1080p with a few DualShock 4 specific features like view panning using the touchpad and SIXAXIS panning around the table. Admittedly, these aren’t huge bullet items, and I would have preferred some sort of use for the built-in speaker. Of course, the biggest and best perk of playing on Sony’s platform is that a single purchase gets you the PS3, PS4, and Vita copies of the DLC thanks to the cross-buy system – just make sure you redeem the code on the PS3 first then import your tables to PS4. I still love playing all of these tables on the Vita if for no other reason than being able to rotate the game and play vertically.
Make no mistake about it – The Walking Dead table is still my favorite pinball table to date, but South Park makes a valiant effort to unseat the reigning champ, and if you love South Park more than The Walking Dead this latest two-pack could easily become your favorite. Zen Studios has once again taken everything we love about a licensed property and somehow managed to turn it into a fun and addictive game of pinball.
Now if you’ll excuse me…I need to clean the Cheesy Poof crumbs off my controller.
